Kansas City Royals Use Sixth-Inning Outburst to Trounce San Francisco Giants in Game 2 of World Series
By Adam Hughes
Oct 22, 2014; Kansas City, MO, USA; Kansas City Royals second baseman Omar Infante hits a two-run home run against the San Francisco Giants in the 6th inning during game two of the 2014 World Series at Kauffman Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Christopher Hanewinckel-USA TODAY Sports
All season long, Cincinnati Reds fans waited for the team’s anemic lineup to break out and gives some oomph to a struggling team. That never happened, but on Wednesday night, the Kansas City Royals laid out a blueprint for such a turnaround when they rode a five-run sixth inning to an easy victory over the San Francisco Giants in Game 2 of the World Series.
Known for their small-ball propensities and focus on fundamentals, the Royals never recovered from a Giants onslaught early in Game 1, and KC struggled to get much going through the first five innings last night. In the sixth, though, the Royals strung together a series of singles and doubles, and then capped the affair with a two-run home run by second baseman Omar Infante to go up by five at 7-2.
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From that point on, the Royals rolled out their normal game plan, handing the ball over to their three-headed bullpen monster — Kelvin Herrera, Wade Davis, Greg Holland — and shut down the Giants.
Ho, hum, par for the course, right?
Pretty much, except who would have expected Infante to supply a power surge? Or that the Royals would turn into an offensive juggernaut, even if for an inning?
That ability to scratch and claw and execute most of the time, but then to just let it all hang out when opportunity knocks is what has carried the Royals this far, and it’s the type of versatility and fire that the 2014 Reds lacked.
I hope Walt Jocketty and Bryan Price are taking notes!