The Kansas City Royals defeated the Oakland Athletics in the American League Wild Card round with a thrilling comeback, extra-inning 9-8 finish. The Royals victory marks the first time since the second Wild Card team was added to the playoff format, that the American League home team has won the one game playoff, and the first playoff victory for the Kansas City Royals since they won the World Series on October 27, 1985. The Royals will move on to the American League Divisional Series, which will begin against the Los Angeles Angels Thursday in LA.
Kansas City Royals: Wild Card preview
Recap
James Shields started the game for the Kansas City Royals and was already in hot water before the first inning was over. After giving up a two-run home run to Brandon Moss, Shields really settled in as he had done all season. It was not until the 6th inning, where Shields was pulled for Yordano Ventura that things started to slip away for the Royals. After being put in an unfamiliar position, Ventura gave up Brandon Moss’s second home run on the night. The Royals ended the fifth giving up five runs and were down 7-3 and were still facing the tough left-hander Jon Lester..
Just win everyone has given up on Kansas City’s playoff run, the Royals put together a string of hits in the eighth inning and were able to close the gap to finish the inning down only one run. Greg Holland pitched the ninth inning, and although it was not his typical performance, he was able to get the job done nonetheless. In the bottom of the ninth inning, Josh Willingham pinch hit for Mike Moustakas and was able to reach first base on a single to right field. Jarrod Dyson pinch ran for him, and after being bunted over by Alcides Escobar, Dyson stole third and ultimately scored on a sacrifice fly to right field by Nori Aoki. The ninth inning ended in a 7 all tie, heading into extra innings.
After a fairly uneventful 10th and 11th innings, the A’s scored in the top half of the 12th. After Eric Homser tripled high off the wall, a chopper by Christian Colon tied up the ballgame. After missing two chances in the late innings, the third time was the charm for Salvador Perez as he doubled down the left field line to score Colon and give the Royals their first playoff victory in nearly 30 seasons.
Looking forward
It is unclear who will start Game one of the ALDS in LA Thursday, but you can bet that whoever starts, the Royals will be looking to build off their late inning heroics from Tuesday night. The Royals and Angels split their six games against each other this season, so it should be a very competitive and exciting series. The Angels definitely have the hitting edge in the power category, but the Royals’ speed and pitching may be too much for the Angels to overcome.
It doesn’t have to be pretty, it just has to get the job done, and that’s exactly how the Royals were able to move past the Athletics on Tuesday night. With a best out of five game series in front of them, it should take a little pressure off of the Royals and hopefully turn into multiple victories to come.
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