ALCS RECAP

Royals advance to World Series with sweep of Orioles

The Sports Xchange

October 15, 2014 at 11:58 pm.

Oct 15, 2014; Kansas City, MO, USA; Kansas City Royals players celebrate on the field after defeating the Baltimore Orioles in game four of the 2014 ALCS playoff baseball game at Kauffman Stadium. The Royals swept the Orioles to advance to the World Series. Photo Credit: Denny Medley-USA TODAY Sports

KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Jason Vargas pitched effectively into sixth inning and the Kansas City Royals scored two runs in the first inning without getting the ball out of the infield in a 2-1 victory on Wednesday to sweep the Baltimore Orioles in the ALCS.

The Royals have won a major-league record eight straight playoff games to open postseason play. They will face either the San Francisco Giants or St. Louis Cardinals in the World Series, beginning Tuesday at Kauffman Stadium.

The Royals last went to the World Series in 1985, beating the Cardinals in seven games.

The Orioles, who won the American League East title and swept Detroit in the ALDS, were swept for the first time in 20 postseason series. The Royals won the final two games of the series by 2-1 scores.

Vargas gave up one run and two hits while walking three and striking out six in 5 1/3 innings to post the victory.

Then manager Ned Yost turned the one-run advantage over to his dominating relievers Kelvin Herrera, Wade Davis and Greg Holland.

Herrera worked 1 2/3 scoreless innings, allowing one hit and striking out one. Davis pitched a scoreless eighth, yielding one single. Holland finished it off and logged saves in all four ALCS games.

Holland walked center fielder Adam Jones to lead off the ninth inning after having him down in the count 0-2. Left fielder Nelson Cruz, who led the majors in home runs, hit a bouncer back to Holland that should have been a double play. Holland’s throw was off the mark and shortstop Alcides Escobar had to reach far to his right to pull down the throw and barely got a toe on the bag.

Holland then struck out designated hitter Delmon Young and retired shortstop J.J. Hardy on a grounder to end the game.
The Royals played their normal spectacular defense, which included Gold Glove left-fielder Alex Gordon doing a face plant into the fence while catching Hardy’s liner in the fifth inning.
The Royals threatened to pad their advantage in the eighth, which designated hitter Billy Butler started off with a double. Terrance Gore ran for Butler but was stranded at third.
The opportunistic Royals scored two runs in the first inning without the ball leaving the infield.

Escobar led off with the Royals’ 15th infield single in the playoffs. Orioles right-hander Miguel Gonzalez hit right fielder Nori Aoki with a pitch on the right leg and center fielder Lorenzo Cain bunted the runners over to second and third.

Eric Hosmer hit a sharp grounder to first baseman Steve Pearce, who threw home. Escobar, however, kicked the ball loose from catcher Caleb Joseph on his slide, which also allowed Aoki to score. Hosmer was credited with a fielder’s-choice RBI and Aoki’s run was unearned.

Vargas, who went 3-6 with a 4.50 ERA in 11 starts after having an appendectomy in July, needed only seven pitches to retire the Orioles in the bottom of the first. He walked Cruz to lead off the second but erased him when designated hitter Delmon Young grounded into a double play.

The Orioles trimmed the lead to 2-1 in the third inning, which third baseman Ryan Flaherty led off with a home run to right on a 1-0 pitch. Alex Avila and Oswaldo Aricia are the only other left-handers to homer off Vargas this season.

Vargas walked center fielder Adam Jones to lead off the fourth, but again Young grounded into a 6-3 double play.

Gonzalez, who was pitching for the first time in 16 days, got out of a jam in the fifth, stranding Aoki at third and Hosmer, who was intentionally walked, at first when designated hitter Billy Butler hit a fielder’s choice grounder to Hardy at short.

NOTES: David Cook, the 2008 American Idol winner who is from Blue Springs, Mo., in suburban Kansas City, performed the national anthem before the game. … The game Tuesday was played in 2 hours, 55 minutes, the first ALCS game to end in less than three hours since Game 6 in 2010 when the Texas Rangers defeated the New York Yankees 6-1. … OF Lorenzo Cain added two singles in Game 3, giving him eight hits in the ALCS, one short of the Royals’ record in the ALCS. OF Willie Wilson collected nine hits in the 1985 ALCS. … The Orioles’ three hits Tuesday were their fewest in a playoff game since Oct. 11, 1996, when they had three hits against the Yankees in a 5-2 loss with RHP Mike Mussina the losing pitcher and LHP Jimmy Key picking up the ‘W.’