The Kansas City Royals swept the Baltimore Orioles in four games to win the American League Championship Series.
It's their first AL pennant since 1985 and they will play either the
St. Louis Cardinals or San Francisco Giants in the World Series. Kansas
City has won 11 straight postseason games dating back to 1985. Time to
review the ALCS.
Series MVP: Lorenzo Cain was named ALCS MVP
and deservingly so. He went 8-for-15 (.533) with two doubles and a
stolen base in the four games, but he did arguably his best work on
defense, making several highlight reel plays in both center and right
field. Cain dominated the series on both sides of the ball and was both a
clear and very deserving MVP.
Series LVP: The
Orioles rotation as a whole. Chris Tillman, Bud Norris, Wei-Yin Chen and
Miguel Gonzalez combined to allow 13 runs and 34 base-runners in 19 2/3
innings in the four games (5.95 ERA and 1.73 WHIP). The Royals scored
first in three of the four games -- each time in the first or second
inning -- so Baltimore was constantly playing from behind. In fact, they
held a lead for exactly two innings the entire series.
Unsung Hero:
Mike Moustakas, who only went 3-for-15 (.200) in the series. However,
two of those hits were home runs, including a big two-run shot in the
10th inning of Game 1. Moustakas also laid down a perfect sacrifice bunt
in the ninth inning of Game 2 to push the eventual winning run into
scoring position. And, of course, he did this in Game 3:
"Nail in the coffin" moment: Even though it was a
sweep, the ALCS was incredibly close. The Royals won the four games by a
total of six runs. To me, it felt like it was over when Nelson Cruz
lined out to second base to end the sixth inning of Game 4. The Orioles
were down 2-1 at the time, but they had runners at the corners and their
cleanup hitter at the plate. With the powerhouse Kansas City bullpen
looming, Cruz failed to drive home the run in Baltimore's "last best"
chance to tie the game.
By the numbers
•
The trio of Kelvin Herrera, Wade Davis and Greg Holland combined to
allow just one run in 14 innings in the series (0.64 ERA). They struck
out 15. The game was over after the sixth inning.
•
The Orioles scored eight runs in 10 2/3 innings against James Shields
and Yordano Ventura in Games 1 and 2. They then scored two runs in 10
1/3 innings against Jeremy Guthrie and Jason Vargas in Games 3 and 4.
• Cruz, Nick Markakis and Alejandro De Aza went a combined 13-for-48 (.271) while the rest of the Orioles went 17-for-90 (.189).
•
Baltimore's bullpen quietly had a 2.93 ERA in 15 2/3 innings in the
four-game series. Darren O'Day allowed three of the five runs they
allowed overall in the 10th inning of Game 1, when Alex Gordon and
Moustakas took him deep.
•
The Royals, who led the world with 153 steals during the regular
season, stole one base in three attempts during the ALCS. They also had a
runner picked off.
source:http://www.cbssports.com/mlb/eye-on-baseball/24753903/series-in-review-royals-sweep-orioles-in-alcs
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