"It's hard to put my emotions into words right now, got a lot of hurt right now in here," Royals designated hitter Billy Butler said in the clubhouse after the finale. Christopher Hanewinckel-USA TODAY Sports
KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Back in the World Series after a 29-year playoff drought, the Kansas City Royals couldn’t quite capture their second championship.
After sweeping through the American League playoffs without a defeat, the Royals came up just short in the Fall Classic, falling 3-2 to the San Francisco Giants in Game 7 on Wednesday.
“It’s hard to put my emotions into words right now, got a lot of hurt right now in here,” Royals designated hitter Billy Butler said in the clubhouse after the finale. “This unit wanted it. There is only one team that goes home a winner. We were real close. That’s what hurts so much. Game 7, winner take all, and just to fall a little bit short …
“Right now, all I feel is what happened out there. I’ll be able to process it more as time goes by and sit around and think about all we accomplished and the adversity we did go through.
“We came out stronger from it, but just came up a little bit short. I couldn’t be more proud of a group of guys in here. We left it all out on the field. We have nothing to be ashamed of. We’ll go out with our heads up high.”
After winning eight straight against the Oakland Athletics, Los Angeles Angels and Baltimore Orioles, the Royals dropped four of seven to the Giants. They had left fielder Alex Gordon at third base when the game ended, with San Francisco ace Madison Bumgarner induced a foul pop from catcher Salvador Perez.
“As magical as our run has been, to end up losing the ballgame by 90 feet is tough,” Royals manager Ned Yost said. “I mean, it hurts.”
