The Kansas City Royals even the World Series with a 7-2 win

The Kansas City Royals defeated the San Francisco Giants on Wednesday night.  The game took place at Kaufmann Stadium in Kansas City, Missouri and the final score was 7-2.  Jake Peavy started for the Giants and was ok and Yordano Ventura started for the Royals and was also ok, he was better than Peavy though.  The Royals offense had one big inning which carried them.  The Giants offense had nine hits but no player had more than one hit. 

Peavy pitched five innings giving up six hits and four runs.  He walked two and struck out one.  Jean Machi pitched and didn't record an out.  He gave up a hit and a run, Javier Lopez pitched to one batter and retired him, Hunter Strickland didn't record an out and gave up two hits and two runs.  Jeremy Affeldt pitched 2/3 of an inning giving up a hit, Tim Lincecum pitched 1 2/3 innings and struck out two and Santiago Casilla pitched to one batter and struck him out. 

Ventura pitched 5 1/3 innings giving up eight hits and two runs with two strikeouts.  Kelvin Herrera pitched 1 2/3 innings and picked up the win.  He walked two and struck out one, Wade Davis pitched a perfect inning with a couple of strikeouts and Greg Holland pitched an inning giving up a hit and striking out the sides. 

Gregor Blanco had a hit and an RBI and drew a walk, Joe Panik had a hit and Buster Posey had a hit.  Pablo Sandoval had a hit, Hunter Pence had a hit and Brandon Belt had a hit and an RBI.  Michael Morse had a hit, Travis Ishikawa had a hit, Brandon Crawford had a hit and drew a walk and Sandoval and Belt each hit a double.  Blanco hit a homerun and the Giants were 1-8 with runners in scoring position and left eight men on base. 

Alcides Escobar had two hits and an RBI, Lorenzo Cain had two hits and Eric Hosmer drew two walks.  Billy Butler had two hits and two RBI, Salvador Perez had a hit and two RBI and Omar Infante had two hits and two RBI.  Mike Moustakas had a hit, Cain, Infante, Escobar and Perez each hit a double and Infante hit a homerun.  The Royals were 5-9 with runners in scoring position and left three men on base.  Escobar was caught stealing. 

In the first Blanco led off the game with a solo homerun to give the Giants a 1-0 lead.  The Royals tied the game in the bottom of the first.  Butler hit an RBI single and Escobar hit an RBI double in the second to give the Royals a 2-1 lead.  Belt hit an RBI double in the fourth to tie the game at two.  In the sixth the Royals opened up the game with five runs to take a 7-2 lead and that would be the final score.  Butler hit an RBI single, Perez hit a two run double and Infante hit a two run homerun.  The series is now even at one game each as the series shifts to San Francisco for the next three games.   

World Series Game One goes to the San Francisco Giants

The San Francisco Giants defeated the Kansas City Royals in game one of the World Series on Tuesday night.  The game took place at Kaufmann Stadium in Kansas City, Missouri and the final score was 7-1.  Madison Bumgarner started for the Giants and was great as usual and James Shields was not very good for the Royals.  Pablo Sandoval and Hunter Pence led the Giants offense. 

Bumgarner pitched seven innings giving up three hits and one run.  He walked one and struck out five.  Javier Lopez pitched an inning giving up a hit and Strickland pitched an inning with two strikeouts. 

James Shields pitched three innings giving up seven hits and five runs.  He walked one and struck out one.  Danny Duffy pitched three innings giving up a hit and two runs with three walks and three strikeouts, Tim Collins pitched two innings giving up two hits and a walk and he struck out two and Jason Frasor pitched an inning with a walk and a strikeout. 

Gregor Blanco had a hit, an RBI and drew two walks, Joe Panik had a hit and an RBI and Buster Posey had a hit.  Sandoval had two hits and two RBI, Pence had two hits, two RBI and drew two walks and Brandon Belt had a hit and drew a walk.  Michael Morse had a hit and an RBI and Brandon Crawford had a hit and drew a walk.  Sandoval and Pence each hit a double, Panik hit a triple and Pence hit a homerun.  The Giants were 5-12 with runners in scoring position and left nine men on base.  Crawford committed an error. 

Alcides Escobar had a hit, Lorenzo Cain drew a walk and Billy Butler had a hit.  Salvador Perez had a hit and an RBI, Mike Moustakas had a hit which was a double and Perez hit a homerun.  The Royals were 0-3 with runners in scoring position and left four men on base.  Moustakas committed an error and Aoki had an outfield assist. 

In the first Sandoval hit an RBI double and Pence hit a two run homerun to give the Giants a 3-0 lead.  In the fourth they increased the lead to 5-0.  Morse hit an RBI single, Blanco had an RBI walk.  In the seventh the Giants scored two more runs to make it 7-0.  Panik hit an RBI triple, Sandoval hit an RBI single.  In the seventh the Royals scored their only run on a Perez solo homerun.  The final score was 7-1 and game two of the series will be on Wednesday night. 

New York Yankees very early offseason notes

The New York Yankees are looking for a new hitting coach while undergoing some changes in the administration.  Brian Cashman is back as the GM for three more years but there are changes in the staff.  They have a new VP of baseball operations in Gary Denbo.  He was most recently in a scouting role with the Yankees.  He has been a long time hitting coach and coordinator throughout the organization.  He worked with Derek Jeter back in 2011 when he snapped out of a big slump.  Pat Roessler will not be back as the director of player development according to Mark Feinsand of the NY Daily News. 

Chili Davis is the new Boston Red Sox hitting coach.  He interviewed with the Yankees and also today Dave Magaden was told by the Yankees that he did not get the job.  He is currently the Texas Rangers hitting coach and is now seen as a possible leading candidate to take over for Davis in Oakland.  James Rowson who has been a minor league hitting instructor and Marcus Thames who was the AA hitting coach have been mentioned as possible other candidates.  Last week the Yankees were basically saying there could be a decision by Tuesday but we will have to wait and see.  Another name that has been mentioned has been long time friend of Joe Girardi, Dante Bichette.  We will have to see if any of those names pan out or is it someone we didn't even hear about. 

Trey Hillman who was serving as a special assistant with the Yankees is now going to Houston to become the bench coach under new manager A.J. Hinch.  There are rumors out there that the Yankees have discussed Omar Minaya becoming part of the Yankees staff in some capacity but up to this point it is just a rumor.  The Yankees have a bunch of players in winter ball. 

Greg Bird is a minor league first baseman who had a really good  year in AA and is off to a great start in the Arizona Fall League.  He leads the league with four homeruns at this point.  Aaron Judge who many consider to be their best prospect is also playing well in Arizona. 

The World Series begins on Tuesday night

The World Series features two opposite teams although they were both wild cards.  It seems like two unlikely teams but I see it different.  It is kind of David vs. Goliath although not exactly.  The San Francisco Giants surprised a lot of people by winning the National League as a wild card team.  The thing about them is though they have had a lot of success in recent years.  The Giants are now in their third World Series in the last five years and they have won two of them.  The Giants won it all in 2010 and also in 2012 which bodes well for them since this is an even year as well.  The Kansas City Royals haven't even made the playoffs since 1985 when they won their last World Championship. 

The Royals are the hottest team, they played great baseball after the All Star Break and then came back from a 7-3 deficit in the wild card game and haven't lost a game.  They swept through the Anaheim Angels and the Baltimore Orioles and are 8-0 in the postseason.  They are a young, athletic team that is acting like they have been here before.  The Royals play great defense and have a great bullpen. 

The San Francisco Giants have very good pitching from top to bottom.  They have more experience and maybe a little better offense.  There isn't really too much difference on paper between the two teams.  The biggest thing in my estimation would be the experience of the Giants.  The Royals do have the home field advantage though.  I see this being a very good and evenly matched series.  I think it will be along one but I think the Giants will come out winning their third title in five years.  I am going to pick the Giants in six to win it.  If you are a baseball fan buckle up as this should be a good one.  If you aren't you may want to check this out as everyone has been drawn into the story of the Royals.  It all begins on Tuesday night.