KC Royals: Top Ten Moments During 2015 Postseason
Toronto Blue Jays right fielder Jose Bautista (19) and second baseman Ryan Goins (17) misplay a ball – Mandatory Credit: John Rieger-USA TODAY Sports
7) The seventh inning of Game 2 of ALCS
It was Saturday afternoon at Kauffman Stadium, and the Royals were up 1-0 in the ALCS against the Toronto Blue Jays. David Price was dealing for the Blue Jays, mowing down the Royals batter after batter.
Once the seventh inning began, the Royals needed to get something done. All postseason long, the Royals made it clear that if the other team made a crucial error, they’d capitalize on it. The seventh inning was when that error appeared.
Ben Zobrist popped up with what should have been an easy out, but miscommunication between second baseman Ryan Goins and right fielder Jose Bautista led to the ball plopping onto the ground and allowing Zobrist to get on first base with no outs.
That was when the “Keep the line moving” motto jumped into effect, as Lorenzo Cain singled and then Eric Hosmer singled Zobrist home. That was only the beginning, as Kendrys Morales grounded out to second for what should have been a double play, but Hosmer had a brilliant steal of second. Instead, Cain scored to make it a 3-2 game and Hosmer was now on second base with only one out.
Mike Moustakas then singled home Hosmer and the game was tied. Alex Gordon doubled home Moose to give Kansas City the lead, and that’s when Aaron Sanchez replaced Price on the sound. Sanchez then allowed Alex Rios to single home Gordon and it was a 5-3 lead.
Wade Davis went on to scare everyone by allowing two base runners in the ninth, but closed the door to give the Royals the win and the 2-0 lead in the division.
An underrated moment from this game was when Volquez loaded the bases with only one out. Luke Hochevar came in to relieve him and got Kevin Pillar to pop up to second and Goins to ground to first to get out of the inning without any further damage. Hochevar really impressed me during the playoffs and this was one of his most admirable performances.
With the rate this game was going and how Price was straight up dealing on the mound, it would have been easy for the Royals to have thought, “Meh. It’s just one game, we’ll get ’em in Game 3.”, but not this team. This team continued to be relentless. They saw their crack (the pop up falling for a hit) and they capitalized on it.
It’s what all great teams do.
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