KC 3, SF 2: Royals grab 2-1 series lead as bullpen shines in Game 3 victory
Tim Hudson spent 16 seasons waiting for his chance to pitch in the World Series, and the 39-year-old performed admirably in his debut Friday at AT&T Park.
The Kansas City Royals, however, were just a little bit better.
Before a partisan crowd, the Royals cobbled together three runs off Hudson, providing just enough support for Jeremy Guthrie and their vaunted bullpen to eke out a 3-2 victory over the San Francisco Giants and surge to a 2-1 lead in the best-of-seven showdown.
Hudson's outing began inauspiciously, as Alcides Escobar stroked his first pitch of the evening off the wall in left field before scoring on a groundout from Lorenzo Cain two batters later. The three-time All-Star quickly settled in, though, holding the Royals scoreless over the next four innings and retiring 12 hitters in a row before Escobar poked a one-out single to center in the sixth.
The Royals surged to a 2-0 lead moments later when Alex Gordon plated Escobar with a double to center field, his first hit since Game 1 of the American League Championship Series. Hudson then induced a groundout off the bat of Cain before yielding to left-hander Javier Lopez, leaving the field to a thunderous ovation.
Lopez, however, floundered upon entering the game. The 37-year-old was unable to retire Eric Hosmer, who stroked a line drive into center field on the 11th pitch of the at-bat to score Gordon, affording the Royals a 3-0 cushion.
Despite wielding a three-run lead, Guthrie started to falter in the sixth as he surrendered a leadoff single to Brandon Crawford before pinch-hitter Michael Morse pulled a double down the left-field line, cutting the Giants' deficit to 3-1. Kelvin Herrera then replaced Guthrie, but the hard-throwing right-hander proceeded to walk Gregor Blanco, before Joe Panik advanced both runners with a groundout. Buster Posey brought his team within one run with an RBI groundout moments later, but Herrera managed to induce an inning-ending groundout off the bat of Pablo Sandoval, exiting the frame with a tenuous 3-2 lead.
Royals manager Ned Yost opted to leave Herrera in the game to start the seventh and the 24-year-old issued a leadoff walk to Hunter Pence to put the tying run aboard. Herrera, however, managed to strike out Brandon Belt in the following at-bat before giving way to rookie left-hander Brandon Finnegan, who six months ago was pitching in the College World Series.
The major-league neophyte delivered with aplomb, getting pinch-hitter Juan Perez to line out to left field before fanning Brandon Crawford to preserve his club's 3-2 lead and pass the baton to Wade Davis and Greg Holland.
Kansas City's premier relievers proceeded to dominate the eighth and ninth innings, respectively, as Davis retired all three hitters he faced before Holland did the same to secure a narrow victory in Game 3.
X-factor
Brandon Finnegan made his World Series debut Friday, six months after taking the mound for Texas Christian University in the College World Series. Entrusted with a one-run lead in the seventh inning, the young left-hander retired both batters he faced, inducing a lineout from Juan Perez before striking out Brandon Crawford.
He wasn't particularly sharp with his location, leaving a handful of pitches elevated and over the plate, but the 21-year-old did enough to preserve his club's 3-2 lead for setup man Wade Davis.
(Courtesy: Brooks Baseball)
Starting pitchers' lines
| Pitcher | IP | H | R | ER | BB | K |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jeremy Guthrie | 5+ | 4 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| Tim Hudson | 5.2 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 1 | 2 |
Highlights
Lorenzo Cain started in right field for the first time this postseason in Game 3 and promptly vindicated manager Ned Yost's decision with a stupendous sliding grab in the second inning.
Pablo Sandoval's defensive prowess was also on display Friday evening, as the 28-year-old made a slick barehanded play to steal a base hit from Eric Hosmer.
Quote of the Night
More Yost: "I'm getting really good at protecting one-run leads… It's not me doing it. It's the guys that we put out there doing it."
— Tom (@Haudricourt) October 25, 2014
Up Next
Giants manager Bruce Bochy confirmed moments after Friday's loss that Ryan Vogelsong will start Game 4 on Saturday, dispelling the notion that Madison Bumgarner might take the mound on short rest. Eager to grab a commanding 3-1 series lead, the Royals will counter with Jason Vargas, who owns a 2.38 ERA through two starts this postseason.