Entering the postseason, the Kansas City Royals were blazoned as a solid baseball team that didn’t exactly have a good enough rotation or enough power at the plate to go deep into October. Well, after an 8-6 victory over the Baltimore Orioles in Game 1 of the American League Championship Series, that all changed.
The Royals were already known for savvy baserunning, as the team’s overall speed was great, and that translated to an impressive 153 stolen bases over the regular season. The team’s prowess on the bags got it through a wild-card game against the Oakland Athletics and had plenty to do with the sweep of the Los Angeles Angles in the American League Division Series.
Heading into the ALCS, the Royals were the feel-good story of the MLB postseason, but without a reliable long ball or a deep pitching staff, defeating the Orioles would be a tall order.
Well, just when we thought we knew exactly what Kansas City brought to the table, it threw us a big curveball on Friday, tallying three home runs en route to a big road to start the series. Don’t look now, but prior to Saturday’s game, Kansas City’s seven total playoff jacks top all 2014 postseason teams.
The power is coming at the right time, via ESPN Stats & Info:
So, that means the Royals have speed on the bases and power at the plate? Yes.
With the base-running abilities of Alcides Escobar, Lorenzo Cain, Jarrod Dyson, Alex Gordon and Terrance Gore, and the resurgent slugging of Mike Moustakas and Eric Hosmer, this is suddenly a very dynamic offensive squad and is simply a shadow of a shadow of its regular-season form that ranked just 14th in the league in runs scored.
All right, so the Royals suddenly have some offense, but they still had a pitching staff that ranked 12th in the regular season with a 3.51 ERA. Well, that’s apparently changed as well.
Following Friday’s contest, Kansas City’s pitching staff has a combined 3.40 ERA in the postseason. That doesn’t seem like much of a difference from the team’s regular-season numbers, but the stats don’t tell the whole story.
While starter James Shields started strong, he faltered in the fifth and the bullpen was called into action. Rookie Brandon Finnegan entered the game in the sixth. He was charged with an earned run, but it came off a strange occurrence, as Jonathan Schoop reached third after being hit in the back when attempting to steal. He ended up scoring on a blooper over the mound.
Here’s a look at the odd situation:
Still, Kansas City’s bullpen continued to be brilliant thereafter. Both Kelvin Herrera and Wade Davis—who are both used to one-inning outings—each pitched two innings without allowing a single earned run to help close out the game.
The team’s rotation is also backed up by some very solid defending. This remarkable diving catch by Gordon in the third inning is just one small example:
All of a sudden, the Royals are a team that can hit the long ball, manufacture runs with a bevy of quick base-runners, maintain solid pitching throughout a game and play some solid defense. That’s the definition of a well-rounded club.
Chase Goodbread of NFL.com summed the team’s recent play up nicely:
While all of those attributes are impressive, the team’s resilience is its most dangerous quality. Kansas City has seen adversity several times in the 2014 postseason, and it has emerged victorious each and every time. That trait equates to playoff wins, and the Royals’ recent play has been a testament to that.
Here’s a great statistic regarding the team’s ability to overcome adversity, via ESPN Stats & Info:
Moustakas summed the team’s resilience up in a statement during a press conference, via Dick Kaegel of MLB.com, “That’s what this team does. We overcome obstacles that are put in front of us every time. That just goes back to us believing in each other.”
Baltimore is a very talented team. However, a loss at home in Game 1 to a surging Kansas City team that remains full of confidence and momentum doesn’t bode well for the remainder of the series.
The Royals are certainly this year’s Cinderella team, and given how an impressive Game 1 victory in Baltimore has already put the ALCS in their favor, this story will continue through to the World Series.
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