Final thoughts
The Baltimore Orioles have been eliminated, so all that’s left now is to see who will attempt to beat the Kansas City Royals in the World Series. Game 4 of the National League Championship Series begins later tonight at 8:00pm EST, with the St Louis Cardinals (1-2), with Shelby Miller on the mound, taking on Ryan Vogelsong and the San Francisco Giants (2-1) at AT&T Park.
This however, will be the end of the Guardian’s live baseball coverage for tonight but we’ll continue to cover the MLB Playoffs from here until the end of the World Series (which will, if this holds up, be a Kansas City sweep). Thanks to everyone who followed along with us today to watch the Royals finish their sweep over the Orioles, especially those who helped contribute with their emails and tweets. Ciao!
Updated
Cain named MVP
Lorenzo Cain named #ALCS MVP #Royals
— MLB Public Relations (@MLB_PR) October 15, 2014
And there we are. Well deserved, a vacuum on the field and a difference-maker at the plate.
Understandably, nobody is leaving at Kauffman Stadium, which hasn’t hosted a playoff game since 1985.
If Lorde isn't singing the National Anthem at Game whatever the Royals are at home 1st, I quit.
— Lizzy (@Lizzy_Nielsen) October 15, 2014
“Hello, Lorde? This is Brian Cashman. I’d like to offer you $33.5 million to write a song called “Yankees.”"
— Rodger Sherman (@rodger_sherman) October 15, 2014
ALCS MVP
Okay it’s almost time for the MVP to be announced, the last bit of drama left here in the ALCS, it has to be Lorenzo Cain right?
sigh
— Jonathan Bernhardt (@jonbernhardt) October 15, 2014
Tough break for the Baltimore Orioles, they could have won any one of these one-run games. They deserved better but sometimes the Baseball Gods just favor the other guys.
The Royals are going to the World Series!
And they haven’t lost a single game along the way! They sweep the Angels, they sweep the Orioles and now they’ll face either the St Louis Cardinals or the San Francisco Giants!
Kansas City wins!
Orioles 1-2 Royals, FINAL
The Orioles season is down to J.J. Hardy. He takes a ball. 1-0. Fouls one off. 1-1. Swings and misses. 1-2. One strike away. Hardy fouls the next one off, just staying alive. 2-2. Hardy swings and hits a routine grounder to Hosmer and the Royals win!
Orioles 1-2 Royals, top 9th
Orioles put on a pinch-runner (Alejandro De Aza) for Cruz here with one down now. Delmon Young swings at the first pitch, 0-1. Holds up on a swing the next pitch. 1-1. He fouls off the next two pitches. 1-2.
He SWINGS AND STRIKES OUT! One out away!
Updated
Orioles 1-2 Royals, top 9th
Nelson Cruz takes ball one. 1-0. He’ll be swinging in a hitter’s count. Cruz grounds out to Davis the next pitch, they get Jones out at second.
Orioles 1-2 Royals, top 9th
Well first off is Adam Jones, also a home run threat. Holland’s first two pitches result in two swings and misses. 0-2. The third pitch is in the dirt, which Jones lays off on. 1-2. Jones fouls it off out of play. Still 1-2. Another ball in the dirt. 2-2. Perez is having an adventure there as catcher.
Next pitch? Ball three, full count. 3-2. Jones fouls another one off. Still 3-2. Payoff pitch? Oh wow Holland has walked him. The tying run is on the basepaths.
Updated
Orioles 1-2 Royals, top 9th
Greg Holland to close out the game, the series and the Orioles season.
You intentionally walk Delmon Dogg under any circumstances here, right?
— ihateprospects (@ihateprospects) October 15, 2014
Orioles 1-2 Royals, bottom 8th
That brings up Moustakas, and the Baltimore Orioles infield (now with Johnson at third and Flaherty at second) shift around expecting him to pull. On a 2-1 count, Moustakas fouls one off. 2-2. Moustakas fouls one off again. On the next pitch he hits a flare that’s caught to end the inning.
Can the Orioles scratch out a run in the ninth or will their season end in three more outs?
Orioles 1-2 Royals, bottom 8th
And the Orioles decide to intentionally walk Omar Infante? Um okay?
Orioles 1-2 Royals, bottom 8th
One down, and here’s Salvador Perez. He hits a bouncer to first for the second out, Gore makes it to third on the play.
@HunterFelt ugh. I just want to cry. At least the rain stopped and I saw a rainbow.
— Meg Fairfax Fielding (@PigtownDesign) October 15, 2014
This score holds up, this is going to seal up the Orioles as having the more frustrated fanbase.
Orioles 1-2 Royals, bottom 8th
Butler is relieved for a pinch-runner, Terrance Gore, one who can actually, y’ know, run. Britton falls behind Alex Gordon 3-1. Gordon swings and misses at Britton’s next pitch. And Gordon takes a 3-2 pitch... for a strike!
Orioles 1-2 Royals, bottom 8th
Showalter brings in Zach Britton, his closer, to keep this one a one-run game. He’s here to face Billy Butler. He hits a flyball that hits off the wall, a ground rule double and a Kansas City insurance run is on second base with no one out.
Orioles 1-2 Royals, top 8th
Three outs left in the season. The only thing standing between me and complete emotional breakdown is Greg Holland. I'll be fine right?
— Cespedes Family BBQ (@CespedesBBQ) October 15, 2014
Updated
Orioles 1-2 Royals, top 8th
Steve Pearce is up with the tying run on base. Do the Orioles have a Dave Roberts here to steal a base?
Doesn’t matter, Pearce grounds out to Moustakas to end the inning. The Royals are three outs away from the World Series.
Orioles 1-2 Royals, top 8th
Here’s Nick Markakis, who hits a base hit on a 0-2 count. That quiets the crowd, but just a little.
Orioles 1-2 Royals, top 8th
Kelly Johnson: pinch-hitter.
That’s it that’s the joke. Poor Orioles fans. He pops the first pitch foul and out of play. Pitch 2? Out of the zone. 1-1. He grounds out to Davis who corrals it on a hop and throws to first for the second out.
Orioles 1-2 Royals, top 8th
Davis will face Flaherty to start the eighth. He hits a shallow flyball to Cain for the first out of the inning.
Orioles 1-2 Royals, top 8th
Baltimore’s impossible task just gets impossibler with Wade Davis on the mound for Kansas City.
Orioles 1-2 Royals, bottom 7th
Eric Hosmer strikes out to end the inning, holy heck has Miller earned a ridiculously expensive reliever contract this offseason.
Orioles 1-2 Royals, bottom 7th
Cain is, ahem, not able, he grounds out to third.
Orioles 1-2 Royals, bottom 7th
The untouchable lefty Andrew Miller is up just trying to keep the Royals off the scoreboard. Dyson is up to lead off the inning instead of Aoki, he grounds out to Pearce.
Updated
Seventh inning stretch
I love the Baseball Project and if you love baseball, so should you.
Orioles 1-2 Royals, top 7th
Caleb Joseph is up with nobody on, Herrara gets him to strike out and the Royals are six outs away from the World Series. I KNOW RIGHT?
Orioles 1-2 Royals, top 7th
Dyson has replaced Aoki in the outfield, although Aoki was scheduled to lead off the next inning. Interesting. With Dyson in center, Cain moves to rightfield.
J.J. Hardy grounds out to Escobar and that’s two out.
Updated
Orioles 1-2 Royals, top 7th
Delmon Young will lead things off, the Royals should just walk him to set up the double play.
I guess, Herrara agrees with me, he falls behind 3-0 before getting Young to look at strike one. Then Young grounds out on 3-1. Nevermind.
Updated
Orioles 1-2 Royals, bottom 6th
Darren O’Day is in to face Escobar with two on and two out. Escobar grounds out out and, man, it’s looking like no matter how this game ends, it’s going to be decided by a single run.
Orioles 1-2 Royals, bottom 6th
Gonzalez stays out there and the Moose swings and misses at pitch one. On 0-1 he fouls one off. 0-2. Next pitch, a ball outside. 1-2. He survives by fouling off the next one.
And a swing and a foul-tip and Gonzalez ends his outing on a strikeout! Now here comes Showalter.
Orioles 1-2 Royals, bottom 6th
Omar Infante, who just saved the tying run from scoring a few minutes ago, is up at the plate with one out and one on. Gonzalez falls behind 3-0, which means another ball might end his outing.
Which he does throw, but there’s not a lefty ready for Moustakas so it’s pitching coach Dave Wallace who is out there, not Orioles manager Buck Showalter.
Orioles 1-2 Royals, bottom 6th
The Orioles bullpen is warming up quickly. Meanwhile Perez lines out on one pitch.
Orioles 1-2 Royals, bottom 6th
Miguel Gonzalez, who deserves so much better is still in the game. he nicks Gordon to put on the leadoff man with nobody out. This keeps happening.
Orioles 1-2 Royals, bottom 6th
No breaks are going Baltimore’s way. None.
Orioles 1-2 Royals, top 6th
Nelson Cruz with two down and two on and this could be ballgame. Cruz stakes a ball. On 1-0 he gets a line drive...
AND IT’S CAUGHT BY DESTINY-IN-THE-FORM-OF-INFANTE!
Orioles 1-2 Royals, top 6th
Let’s see if Adam Jones manages to avoid making an out before I finish this sentence...
Oh wow, Jones hits a base hit the other way and it’s runners on the corners for the Orioles.
Orioles 1-2 Royals, top 6th
Herrara is out to face Steve Pearce, getting him to pop out to Esobar on a 2-0 count. Two outs, still one on.
Orioles 1-2 Royals, top 6th
Pitching change! Ned Yost is putting Kelvin “Seventh Inning Guy” Herrara even though it’s not the seventh-inning! CATS AND DOGS LIVING TOGETHER PEOPLE!
Orioles 1-2 Royals, top 6th
This might be Vargas’s last guy, especially after that whole walking Schoop thing (I know, leadoff walks are all the rage this game, but still).
And he gets Markakis to swing-and-miss at a 1-2 offering and that’ll do it! Yost goes get Vargas who leaves the field to a much deserved ovation from the Kansas City fans.
Orioles 1-2 Royals, top 6th
Vargas still out there, Yost is getting his nearly unhittable bullpen working. Vargas is facing ninth-hitting Schoop, whom he walks. Somehow.
Orioles 1-2 Royals, bottom 5th
Email from Patty Cross:
Loving your feed from rural East Texas, where I’m a transplanted Royals fan.
Thanks, there are Royals fans coming out everywhere these days, all they needed was something to cheer for. Well they have it.
Orioles 1-2 Royals, bottom 5th
Runners on first and third, two out, Butler grounds out to end the threat. If Baltimore manages to survive this game, that inning will be key.
Orioles 1-2 Royals, bottom 5th
And with Aoki at third base, and two out, the Orioles intentionally walk Eric Hosmer.
Orioles 1-2 Royals, bottom 5th
A runner does get to second anyways as Aoki advances on a wild pitch with Lorenzo Cain at-bat. Cain hits a groundball off to the pitcher.
Updated
Orioles 1-2 Royals, bottom 5th
Aoki is up with a runner on first. Gee, I wonder if the bunt is on here? Aoki takes ball one. 1-0. He spins out of the way of ball two. 2-0. Aoki takes the next pitch, a strike on the outside corner.
Aoki grounds out into a force, just beating out a potential double play. Maybe he should have bunted, Escobar is erased on the play.
Orioles 1-2 Royals, bottom 5th
Escboar leads off the bottom of the 5th, he hits a liner off Gonzalez for his second hit of the game.
Orioles 1-2 Royals, top 5th
Hey we’re halfway through this game, if we’re betting that this one won’t go extra innings (not the best bet this October but I digress). A reminder that I could use your emails (to Hunter.Felt@theguardian.com) or tweets (to @HunterFelt) throughout this liveblog.
Orioles 1-2 Royals, top 5th
Flaherty only hit seven home runs during the regular season, so there’s little chance of that happening again.
Nope, instead he strikes out. This looks grim for Baltimore.
Orioles 1-2 Royals, top 5th
What an insanely great catch and Gordon is staying in the game, glad he’s okay. Kauffman Stadium is LOUD now! Every game a brilliant catch by the Royals.
"How can we take WAR seriously when it ranks Alex Gordon as one of the best players in baseball?" - no one ever again, I hope.
— Rany Jazayerli (@jazayerli) October 15, 2014
Caleb Joseph then strikes out for out number two. Kauffman is louder and here’s Ryan Flaherty again.
Orioles 1-2 Royals, top 5th
Alex Gordon makes an over-the-shoulder catcher on what should have been an extra-base hit from J.J. Hardy, hitting the fence in the process. He hits the ground hurt.
Orioles 1-2 Royals, bottom 4th
Moustakas grounds out to end the inning. Oh man, my slugfest prediction is not looking like the best here. I miss Yankees/Sox series.
Orioles 1-2 Royals, bottom 4th
Infante hits a two-out single, again an untimely double play.
Orioles 1-2 Royals, bottom 4th
Oof, there one of Yost’s decisions works against him, he puts Gordon in motion with Perez at bat. Perez pops up to Gonzalez who doubles off Gordon trying to get back to first. Two down.
Orioles 1-2 Royals, bottom 4th
A full list of players slower than Delmon Young:
— SI MLB (@si_mlb) October 15, 2014
Alex Gordon faces Miguel Gonzalez and also works a leadoff walk. Hey there are baserunners this game!
Orioles 1-2 Royals, top 4th
The Royals are so anti-stat that they hold Baseball Prospectus Book Burning after every Sunday game.
— Old Hoss Radbourn (@OldHossRadbourn) October 15, 2014
Over under on bunts by the Royals the rest of this game?
Orioles 1-2 Royals, top 4th
Delmon Young is here, and he.... works a 3-2 count. He really is a different player in October. Except he hits into his SECOND inning ending double play of the series. Shame this keeps happening to such a “nice” guy.
Orioles 1-2 Royals, top 4th
One on, nobody out with Nelson Cruz at the plate. Vargas gets ahead 0-2, Cruz swings and and then looks at a strike, before Cruz unleashes a mighty cut that’s nowhere near Vargas’s pitch and that’s a strikeout for the first out.
Orioles 1-2 Royals, top 4th
Adam Jones vs Jason Vargas to start off the fourth. He falls behind 3-0, man does Jones need to do something/anything this series. He takes a strike at 3-1. And he takes ball four for a leadoff walk. That’s a good sign for the strikeout prone Jones.
Orioles 1-2 Royals, bottom 3rd
@HunterFelt kansas city radio > network feed
— Aram Mushegian (@arammush) October 15, 2014
Pretty much always, yes. Triply so when it’s a FOX game. At least there’s no Harold Reynolds here.
Orioles 1-2 Royals, bottom 3rd
Here comes Billy Butler, man we haven’t even talked about Butler’s stolen base yet have we? Such a weird playoffs this has been. Butler grounds out into a force to end the inning. To the fourth!
Orioles 1-2 Royals, bottom 3rd
Gonzalez strikes out Lorenzo Cain for out number two, that’s his third strikeout. Eric Hosmer hits a two-out single to extend the inning.
Orioles 1-2 Royals, bottom 3rd
Oh great, afternoon playoff games mean “afternoon shadow talk.” I will not succumb, if hitters and fielders screw up I’m going to say it’s because of moral weakness. I’m going full-Puritan.
Nori Aoki hits a shallow flyball of Gonzalez for the first out of the inning, predestination tells me he deserved that.
Orioles 1-2 Royals, top 3rd
Gordon makes a nifty to grab to rob a possible outfield hit from Pearce and that will do it for the Orioles in the third, but Baltimore has a pulse.
Orioles 1-2 Royals, top 3rd
Markakis bounces out to Infante for the second out. That gets Kauffman Stadium a little bit out of its shock.
Orioles 1-2 Royals, top 3rd
Man did the Orioles need that and the “runs are only allowed to be scored on errors and solo home runs” rule for this postseason continues.
Oh and then Schoop strikes out, shoulda pronounced your last name like it’s spelled kid.
HOME RUN!
Orioles 1-2 Royals, top 3rd
Ryan Flaherty is up for Baltimore and he hits one long and deep and fair and GONE! What the heck? Ryan Flaherty just hit a home run? REALLY?
Orioles 0-2 Royals, bottom 2nd
@HunterFelt I don't want to live in a world where I have to admit that somehow Ned Yost has redefined baseball strategy
— Bevo One (@bevowon) October 15, 2014
Ned Yost is basically Maxwell Smart from “Get Smart,” making all the wrong moves out of sheer incompetence and yet they work out every single time and he comes out each episode victorious. It’s frustrating to watch intellectually and absolutely the most entertaining thing ever to watch as just a fan.
Orioles 0-2 Royals, bottom 2nd
Escobar hits a little flare that gets caught and that’s the end of the second inning.
Orioles 0-2 Royals, bottom 2nd
...yesterday’s hero Mike Moustakas is up at the plate. Gonzalez gets ahead of “Moose” 1-2, Moustakas fouls one off before swinging and missing for the second straight strikeout of the inning.
Orioles 0-2 Royals, bottom 2nd
Gonzalez is back on the mound, hoping for a less... uh... eventful first inning. Detroit Tigers castoff Omar Infante is up for the Royals, there are a lot of castoffs on this Royals roster, and promptly strikes out. Then the MOOOOSE chants begin which can only mean...
Orioles 0-2 Royals, bottom 2nd
Orioles fans are getting very uneasy, with good reason.
@HunterFelt this whole thing is making my stomach hurt. braving the torrential rains (from kansas) to go home and listen with a BIG drink.
— Meg Fairfax Fielding (@PigtownDesign) October 15, 2014
Orioles 0-2 Royals, top 2nd
Here comes Caleb Joseph, who hits a long deep ball that Gordon gets a good read on, tracks down and catches for the final out of the inning. Nice play.
Orioles 0-2 Royals, top 2nd
J.J. Hardy loops one into centerfield that not even Cain can get to. The double-play looks particularly untimely now.
Orioles 0-2 Royals, top 2nd
Oh man, even Delmon Young’s postseason witchcraft doesn’t work here, he grounds out into a double play to clean out the bases. Two down, nobody on.
Orioles 0-2 Royals, top 2nd
Nelson Cruz takes a leadoff walk to become the Orioles’ first baserunner and here’s the hardest-out-in-the-playoffs Delmon Young.
Orioles 0-2 Royals, bottom 1st
@hunterfelt you do realize Os fans are more long suffering, right?
— Yung Crock (@crocken) October 15, 2014
Since this is the Royals first postseason appearance since 1985, and they’ve been consistently one of the worst teams in the AL for a good stretch of that time, it’s hard for me to sign off on that. BUT it’s a good debate to have, both of these teams would be underdogs in almost any other situation.
So: Royals vs Orioles, which fans have suffered more? Tweet @HunterFelt or email Hunter.Felt@theguardian.com.
Updated
Orioles 0-2 Royals, bottom 1st
Salvador Perez flies out to end the inning but already the Royals are smelling blood here. The Orioles have to respond quickly here.
Orioles 0-2 Royals, bottom 1st
Alex Gordon walks after making Gonzalez work a bit, walking after working a 2-2 count. This is looking like a disastrous first inning for Baltimore. Two out, runners on first and second now.
Orioles 0-2 Royals, bottom 1st
Billy Butler grounds out to third for the second out. Hosmer has to stay at second.
RUNS!
Orioles 0-2 Royals, bottom 1st
WHAT DID I TELL YOU? Hosmer grounds into what could be a force, but the throw at home gets away! Two runs score! Hosmer is safe at second!
Orioles 0-0 Royals, bottom 1st
And here comes Lorenzo Cain (8-for-12 and a million defensive gems), the probable ALCS MVP if they win. So of COURSE Ned Yost bunts, with two on and nobody out in the FIRST INNING! THE PROBABLE SERIES MVP!
He gets the bunt down and, guess what, it’s probably going to work because everything Ned “Inspector Gadget” Yost works this postseason.
Orioles 0-0 Royals, bottom 1st
Gonzalez then hits Nori Aoki with the very next pitch. That’s two men and nobody out. This is... a bad start.
Orioles 0-0 Royals, bottom 1st
Miguel Gonzalez is up here to face Alcides Escobar, who falls behind 0-2 almost immediately but hits a bouncer towards Omar Infante, who has no play, so it’s an infield hit for Escobar.
Orioles 0-0 Royals, bottom 1st
Note: Jeremy Guthrie is very sorry for the shirt he wore last night (this controversy is ridiculous, by the way).
Transcript of Jeremy Guthrie's apology/interview, if you're interested. Very open, profuse apology. pic.twitter.com/V15LqD8SFr
— Ryan Fagan (@ryanfagan) October 15, 2014
Orioles 0-0 Royals, top 1st
Adam Jones takes strike one, and then a pitch inside. 1-1. Jones fouls the next one out of play, that’s a 1-2 count now and doubles Vargas’s pitch count. Jones swings on the very next pitch, the catcher Salvador Perez throws to first to complete the strikeout. THAT is a shutdown inning.
Orioles 0-0 Royals, top 1st
Steve Pearce is up next, he drills a ball but it stays in which means the Royals fielders catch it. Gordon makes the grab for the second out.
First pitch
Vargas’s first pitch is a ball, that’s not how it’s supposed to be, but Markakis grounds out to Hosmer on the very next pitch. We’ve begun!
Updated
Not a whole lot of orange here... pic.twitter.com/e1HSF84aps
— Cespedes Family BBQ (@CespedesBBQ) October 15, 2014
Think Royals fans are excited?
Kevin Millar pep talk
The only MLB team to have won a series after falling behind 0-3 were the Boston Red Sox in 2004, who beat the New York Yankees and went on to win the World Series for the first time in 86 years and that makes me happy to type every single time I do. The Orioles could do worse than to listen to the inspirational words of Kevin Millar: “Don’t let them win tonight.”
Updated
Mike Moustakas is hitting 9th, which is kind of crazy to think about considering the fact that he not only made the defensive play of the postseason he also hit the game-winning home run against the LA Angels of Anaheim way back in Game 1 of the American League Division Series:
Do people still use the word “gumption?”
Predictions
The Kansas City Royals will have to lose sometimes, right? RIGHT? You know what, I’m saying the Baltimore Orioles are too good to go down like this, and their bats are too good to be this silent. I predict the Orioles win this afternoon in a (relative) slugfest, like 6-2.
Your thoughts? Email your predictions to hunter.felt@theguardian.com or tweet them to @HunterFelt and we’ll put them up here. Do the Royals finally lose today? Heck, does anyone have the gumption to say that Baltimore has a shot to win this series? Let’s hear it.
National League Championship Series
The National League Championship Series continues tonight with Game 4 at 8:00pm EST with the San Francisco Giants holding a 2-1 lead over the St Louis Cardinals. If the past two games are any indication, it should be a good one.
The San Francisco Giants won game one of the NLCS on the road at Busch Stadium with a relatively easy 3-0 victory, and it’s been craziness since then. First, in Game 2, the Cardinals took a 4-3 lead after tying the Giants in the, guess what, 7th inning, thanks to an 8th inning solo home run by Matt Adams. The Giants did tie the game in the top of the 9th thanks to a wild pitch issued during an intentional walk, which seemed like it would doom the Cardinals…
But then Kolten Wong came up as the first batter in the bottom of the 9th inning and ended it right there.
In yesterday afternoon’s 10-inning Game 3, the Cardinals again tied it up in the 7th inning (Roland Grichuk with the obligatory solo home run this time), but this time the Giants were able to fully exploit a St Louis error: winning 5-4 after Cardinals pitcher Randy Choate committed a throwing error on a a Gregor Blanco bunt. Yes, the Giants won on a walk-off bunt.
Updated
Kansas City Royals starting lineup
1. Alcides Escobar, SS
2. Nori Aoki, RF
3. Lorenzo Cain, CF
4. Eric Hosmer, 1B
5. Billy Butler, DH
6. Alex Gordon, LF
7. Salvador Perez, C
8. Omar Infante, 2B
9. Mike Moustakas, 3B
Baltimore Orioles starting lineup
1. Nick Markakis, RF
2. Steve Pearce, 1B
3. Adam Jones, CF
4. Nelson Cruz, LF
5. Delmon Young, DH
6. J.J. Hardy, SS
7. Caleb Joseph, C
8. Ryan Flaherty, 3B
9. Jonathan Schoop, 2B
Note: Sadly that’s pronounced “shope” and not “shoop,” sorry Salt-n-Pepa fans.
Preamble
So the Kansas City Royals could clinch a spot in the World Series this afternoon. No, no I’m totally serious. This is a thing that could happen. How? Well, I’ll let my colleague David Lengel explain because, quite frankly, I still haven’t processed it:
The Royals are on a run for the ages, winners of seven straight postseason baseball games and are now just a single victory away from a place in the World Series.
Only days ago that KC were reeling in their Wild Card match-up vs Oakland, down four runs in the eighth inning and then by a run in extra innings. Then the relentless Royals scratched out two runs in the bottom of the 12th inning, dramatically eliminating the Athletics.
They haven’t cooled down since.
The big home run, the timely hit, lights out pitching, and some of the best playoff defense you will ever see has KC on the verge of their first Fall Classic since 1985, and their fans hungry to complete an ALCS sweep over the Baltimore Orioles tonight at Kauffman Stadium.
In Game 3 on Tuesday, Mike Moustakas became the latest Royals player to steal the show - in pursuit of a sixth inning Adam Jones pop fly in foul territory, the Royals third baseman made the a catch while falling into the field level seats, landing spikes up while surrounded by adoring fans. The play is emblematic of a team that has done nearly everything right since the playoffs began, a ballclub that has not lost a single game for nearly three weeks.
Game 3 also featured more superb Royals pitching - their bullpen has pitched 11 straight shutout innings while KC’s pitchers retired the final 16 Orioles batters to close out the O’s on Tuesday.
The Royals speedy bench player Jarrod Dyson promised the O’s wouldn’t make it back to Baltimore, and now Buck Showalter’s team have no wiggle room in their bid to get back home for a Game 6.
It’s not as if Baltimore have been terrible - far from it. The O’s have lost three games by a total of five runs, but for everything they’ve done right, KC have answered with the type of force no one would have expected when these playoffs began.
Now their season is on the line. Can the Orioles channel the 2004 Boston Red Sox and become the second team to come back from an 0-3 deficit in a seven game postseason series?
Well, first they’ll have to win this afternoon’s Game 4. That will have to start with the starter, Miguel Gonzalez, who hasn’t pitched in a game since September 28th. Not the guy they probably wanted with the season on the line, but October has an ability to create unexpected heroes.
Meanwhile the Royals have Jason Vargas, who hopefully will not get seen wearing the taunting t-shirt worn by Game 3 winner Jeremy Guthrie. The Royals, and their long-suffering fans, have to be careful about not jinxing themselves like Wile E. Coyote plummeting to earth (or into the Kauffman Stadium fountain) after realizing he had been walking on air this whole time.
But we’ve talked enough here, we want to hear from you. Email Hunter.Felt@theguardian.com or tweet @HunterFelt with your comments, questions, jokes or just anything about the game, the MLB playoffs or baseball in general. It’s the Baltimore Orioles vs Kansas City Royals at Kauffman Stadium for Game 4 of the American League Division Series! First pitch is scheduled around 4:07pm EST/9:07 BST, but we’ll be back before then with starting lineups, National League Championship Series updates and much more rambling beforehand.
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