Kansas City Royals pitcher Greg Holland and catcher Salvador Perez celebrate after punching their ticket to the World Series on Wednesday. (AP-Yonhap)
KANSAS CITY, Missouri (AP) ― Crown these Royals the American League champions.
After nearly three decades spent trying to return to the playoffs, Kansas City is taking its perfect postseason ride all the way to the World Series.
With more dominant defense, an opportunistic offense that plated two runs in the first inning, and a bullpen that shut down the Baltimore Orioles once again, Greg Holland and the wild-card Royals wrapped up a sweep of the AL Championship Series with a 2-1 victory on Wednesday.
Next stop: The Royals’ first Fall Classic since 1985. They’ll face the winner of the NLCS between the Giants and Cardinals.
“It’s been an amazing run. This is great,” said left fielder Alex Gordon, who made another jarring catch. “We’ve been playing pretty good baseball. It’s nothing better than when you win. Today, same old story: good pitching, good defense and scratch out a win.”
Outfielder Lorenzo Cain was selected MVP of the ALCS, batting .533 and leading an outstanding defense.
After holding the Orioles to three hits in Game 3 on Tuesday night, Jason Vargas and the Royals bullpen nearly turned the trick again. Kelvin Herrera and Wade Davis ushered the game to Holland, who matched Dennis Eckersley’s record by saving his fourth game of the best-of-seven series.
Kansas City Royals outfielder Jarrod Dyson celebrates with the AL championship trophy. (AP-Yonhap)
After Holland got J.J. Hardy to ground out to third base for the final out, the Royals spilled onto the infield in a wild celebration. Fireworks shot over the crown-shaped scoreboard in center field, and a blue-clad sellout crowd that included Royals great George Brett let out a roar.
Kansas City will host the first two World Series games beginning Tuesday. Coincidentally, it was the Cardinals who the Royals beat for their only World Series title in a dramatic seven-game series.
Regardless of the opponent, the Royals will carry an 11-game playoff win streak into the World Series, one shy of the major league record. That includes winning their first eight games this season, something that had never been done in postseason history. Kansas City beat Oakland in the wild card and swept the Los Angeles Angels in the Division Series.
Giants one win from World Series
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) ― A team known for doing all the little things right is suddenly throwing away some big postseason games.
First baseman Matt Adams made back-to-back errant throws to key a three-run sixth inning for San Francisco, and the sloppy St. Louis Cardinals lost 6-4 to the Giants on Wednesday night to fall into a 3-1 hole in the NL Championship Series.
“We came out ready to play and things happen,” Adams said. “Just got to make the throws.”
St. Louis will try to avoid elimination in Game 5 on Thursday night, facing the same deficit the Giants came back from against the Cardinals in the 2012 NLCS. Adam Wainwright will start for the Cardinals, and left-hander Madison Bumgarner will go for the Giants.
Games 6 and 7, if necessary, would be in St. Louis.
Those plans are on hold now. A day after reliever Randy Choate’s wild throw to first on Gregor Blanco’s bunt allowed the Giants to score the winning run in the 10th inning, the Cardinals crumbled under pressure again.
