Tuesday, February 2, 2016
2015 KC Royals win HF15-16 Crown !!!
HF Finals - GAME 7 - "Ben Hur-ts Jints, as KC wins crown"
GAME 7
Hudson vs Ventura
Royals 6, Giants 4
It all comes down to one decisive game 7. Hudson vs Ventrua. #6 seeded Giants vs #1 seeded Royals. Both teams were on an incredible run to get here. Both managed by a guy named Andy. Tension at it's finest as there is no margin for error for either team. The Giants draw first blood with an RBI single from Posey in the top of the first. Might have been more, but Aoki got caught stealing second. Still, first blood is first blood. KC answers back with a 2 run single from Eric Hosmer in the bottom of the inning to gain a 2-1 advantage. For the next 2 1/2 innings no one scored. A Moustakas solo shot in the bottom of the 4th made it 3-1 KC, which was followed by 2 more scoreless frames. Then we hit the top of the 7th and the fireworks started. Brandon Belt led the inning off with a solo shot to make it 3-2. Crawford, who has been Babe Ruth and Barry Bonds all rolled up into one during this series, flew out weakly. Panik singled and moved to third on Byrd's one out double. An IBB to Aoki loaded the bases. Blanco hit into a 6-4 force play while Panik scored to tie the game at 3 all. Matt Duffy's RBI single scored Byrd to give the Jints a 4-3 lead. Pose hit one to the track in dead center to end the inning, but just like that the worm had turned and the Jints went from being down by 2, to being up by one. To start the bottom of the 7th manager Weinrib brought Romo in to replace Hudson (6 IP / 3 ER). Romo got Escobar to ground to short. The normally sure handed Crawford bobbled the ball then airmailed his throw to first mistakenly thinking he could nail the speedy Escobar. Spark-plug Ben Zobrist came to the plate looking to advance the runner into scoring position. Instead he hit a 2 run shot to put the Royals back up by 1. Gordon and Cain followed with back to back doubles to make it 6-4, which is how it would remain. The Royals pen (Madson and Davis) came on to get the final 5 outs to clinch the championship.
Royals win series 4-3
Hudson vs Ventura
Royals 6, Giants 4
It all comes down to one decisive game 7. Hudson vs Ventrua. #6 seeded Giants vs #1 seeded Royals. Both teams were on an incredible run to get here. Both managed by a guy named Andy. Tension at it's finest as there is no margin for error for either team. The Giants draw first blood with an RBI single from Posey in the top of the first. Might have been more, but Aoki got caught stealing second. Still, first blood is first blood. KC answers back with a 2 run single from Eric Hosmer in the bottom of the inning to gain a 2-1 advantage. For the next 2 1/2 innings no one scored. A Moustakas solo shot in the bottom of the 4th made it 3-1 KC, which was followed by 2 more scoreless frames. Then we hit the top of the 7th and the fireworks started. Brandon Belt led the inning off with a solo shot to make it 3-2. Crawford, who has been Babe Ruth and Barry Bonds all rolled up into one during this series, flew out weakly. Panik singled and moved to third on Byrd's one out double. An IBB to Aoki loaded the bases. Blanco hit into a 6-4 force play while Panik scored to tie the game at 3 all. Matt Duffy's RBI single scored Byrd to give the Jints a 4-3 lead. Pose hit one to the track in dead center to end the inning, but just like that the worm had turned and the Jints went from being down by 2, to being up by one. To start the bottom of the 7th manager Weinrib brought Romo in to replace Hudson (6 IP / 3 ER). Romo got Escobar to ground to short. The normally sure handed Crawford bobbled the ball then airmailed his throw to first mistakenly thinking he could nail the speedy Escobar. Spark-plug Ben Zobrist came to the plate looking to advance the runner into scoring position. Instead he hit a 2 run shot to put the Royals back up by 1. Gordon and Cain followed with back to back doubles to make it 6-4, which is how it would remain. The Royals pen (Madson and Davis) came on to get the final 5 outs to clinch the championship.
Royals win series 4-3
HF Finals - GAME 6 - "KC Chucks Heston"
GAME 6 - Kaufman Stadium
Heston vs Volquez
Royals 8, Giants 5
With the momentum now on their side the Royals returned home for game 6 needing one more win to force an improbable game 7. As he was in game 2, San Francisco's Chris Heston was horrible in game 6. After giving up solo runs in 3 of the first 4 innings, Heston was chased from the hill in the 6th after surrendering a 5 spot. To their credit the Giants answered right back with a 5 spot of their own in the top of the 7th, but they were unable to climb out of the canyon that they had dug for themselves. Eric Hosmer (2-4, 3RBI) led a well balanced attack that saw everyone but yesterday's hero (Alex Gordon) getting a hit. In fact everyone but Gordon and Perez scored a run. The stage was now set for the all decisive game 7.
Series tied 3-3
HF Finals - GAME 5 - "Flash Gordon"
GAME 5
Cueto vs Bumgarner
Royals 7, Giants 6 (12 inn)
No tomorrow for the #1 overall seeded Royals who were down 3-1 in this best 7 championship series. Once again Johnny Cueto was completely spotting the Royals a 5 runs after 4 innings. With no room for error the bullpen was now in play and the bats needed to wake up. To make matters worse Giants ace, Madbum, was on the hill and he had a shutout. Things looked bleak for KC, but this crew NEVER quits...just ask the 2015 Mets or Blue Jays. Escobar led off the 5th with a triple and scored quickly on Rios' double to make it 5-1. After Perez fanned pinch hiter Kendrys Morales singled to put runners on the corners for Lorezo Cain who shocked everyone by going yard and making it a 5-4 game. The Jints truck back by scoring an unearned run in the 6th when Pence singled home Blanco. Ryan Madson got Brandon "HR" Crawford to hit into an opportune DP to save more runs from scoring. This kept it a 2 run game, which would loom large later on. Neither team scored in the 7th or the 8th, which suited the Giants. Down 6-4 with 3 outs to go the Royals started the inning with Rios singling off of Romo, who was immediately replaced by Casilla as Perez (the tying run) came to bat. On a 2-2 count Perez hit a medium roller to first that Belt was more than comfortable with picking up and taking the force. In the process Rio moved up 90 feet, but the Giants were more than happy to exchange outs for advanced runners at this stage of the game. Next up was Dyson who found himself staring at an 0-2 count with one out and a runner on second. Casilla lost his control and put one right down the middle instead of in the dirt and Dyson grounded a triple past Belt that went into the RF corner to score Rios and make it a one run game. Lorezo Cain hit on to short that handcuffed Crawford, who threw home too late to get Dyson at the plate. The game was now tied 2-2 and the Royals were alive ! Casilla finally got the next two outs to end the threat. San Fran went weakly in the bottom of the 9th and off to extra innings we went. KC threatened in both the 10th and 11th but couldn't score. Sa Fran went weakly. In the top of the 12th Alex Gordon ran the count full vs Kontos then hit the payoff pitch just inside the foul poll for a solo shot. KC didn't score again, but they didn't need to as Hochevar came on for a spotless bottom of the 12th to seal the come from behind series saving victory.
Giants lead series 3-2
Cueto vs Bumgarner
Royals 7, Giants 6 (12 inn)
No tomorrow for the #1 overall seeded Royals who were down 3-1 in this best 7 championship series. Once again Johnny Cueto was completely spotting the Royals a 5 runs after 4 innings. With no room for error the bullpen was now in play and the bats needed to wake up. To make matters worse Giants ace, Madbum, was on the hill and he had a shutout. Things looked bleak for KC, but this crew NEVER quits...just ask the 2015 Mets or Blue Jays. Escobar led off the 5th with a triple and scored quickly on Rios' double to make it 5-1. After Perez fanned pinch hiter Kendrys Morales singled to put runners on the corners for Lorezo Cain who shocked everyone by going yard and making it a 5-4 game. The Jints truck back by scoring an unearned run in the 6th when Pence singled home Blanco. Ryan Madson got Brandon "HR" Crawford to hit into an opportune DP to save more runs from scoring. This kept it a 2 run game, which would loom large later on. Neither team scored in the 7th or the 8th, which suited the Giants. Down 6-4 with 3 outs to go the Royals started the inning with Rios singling off of Romo, who was immediately replaced by Casilla as Perez (the tying run) came to bat. On a 2-2 count Perez hit a medium roller to first that Belt was more than comfortable with picking up and taking the force. In the process Rio moved up 90 feet, but the Giants were more than happy to exchange outs for advanced runners at this stage of the game. Next up was Dyson who found himself staring at an 0-2 count with one out and a runner on second. Casilla lost his control and put one right down the middle instead of in the dirt and Dyson grounded a triple past Belt that went into the RF corner to score Rios and make it a one run game. Lorezo Cain hit on to short that handcuffed Crawford, who threw home too late to get Dyson at the plate. The game was now tied 2-2 and the Royals were alive ! Casilla finally got the next two outs to end the threat. San Fran went weakly in the bottom of the 9th and off to extra innings we went. KC threatened in both the 10th and 11th but couldn't score. Sa Fran went weakly. In the top of the 12th Alex Gordon ran the count full vs Kontos then hit the payoff pitch just inside the foul poll for a solo shot. KC didn't score again, but they didn't need to as Hochevar came on for a spotless bottom of the 12th to seal the come from behind series saving victory.
Giants lead series 3-2
HF Finals - GAME 4 - "Jake-Quake"
GAME 4
Vargas vs Peavy
Giants 4, Royals 1
For the second day a row the Jints got a clutch pitching performance from a veteran arm. Jake Peavy (4-0 in the tournament) gave up 1 run in 7 innings then let the pen do the rest. The Giants scratched out all 4 solo runs in separate innings with Crawford once again hitting another tournament homer (his 9th).
Giants lead series 3-1
Vargas vs Peavy
Giants 4, Royals 1
For the second day a row the Jints got a clutch pitching performance from a veteran arm. Jake Peavy (4-0 in the tournament) gave up 1 run in 7 innings then let the pen do the rest. The Giants scratched out all 4 solo runs in separate innings with Crawford once again hitting another tournament homer (his 9th).
Giants lead series 3-1
HF Finals - GAME 3 - "Hudson River"
GAME 3 - AT&T Park
Ventura vs Hudson
Giants 7, Royals 3
Tim Hudson was throwing up goose eggs for 6 innings before the Royals exploded for 3 runs in the top of the 7th to make it a one run ballgame. San Fran answered right back with 3 runs of their own in the bottom of the inning to put the game away. Brandon Crawford, who knocked in the first of those 3 runs was 2-2 on the day with 3 runs scored and 2 runs knocked in. He also hit his 8th homer of the tournament.
Giants lead series 2-1
Ventura vs Hudson
Giants 7, Royals 3
Tim Hudson was throwing up goose eggs for 6 innings before the Royals exploded for 3 runs in the top of the 7th to make it a one run ballgame. San Fran answered right back with 3 runs of their own in the bottom of the inning to put the game away. Brandon Crawford, who knocked in the first of those 3 runs was 2-2 on the day with 3 runs scored and 2 runs knocked in. He also hit his 8th homer of the tournament.
Giants lead series 2-1
HF Finals - GAME 2 - "Alex the Great"
GAME 2
Heston vs Volquez
Royals 15, Giants 4
KC served up some offensive revenge, as they victimized Chris Heston in an onslaught that saw 8 runs put up on the board over the first 3 and 7 more over the final 2. Edinson Volquez pitched 6+ stressfree innings of 1 run ball to notch the win. Leadoff man Alex Gordon (3-4) knocked in 6 runs. Gordon was a beast hitting 3 homers and narrowly missing a 4th when he led off the 6th adn hit a bomb to right that Hunter Pence leaped at the wall to rob him. Overshadowed was Orlando who hit a 3 run shot and knocked in 4.
Series tied 1-1
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)