Giants battle back, break open Game 4
SAN FRANCISCO -- Facing a potential three games to one deficit in the World Series, the San Francisco Giants rallied to take a 7-4 lead in the sixth inning against the Kansas City Royals at AT&T Park.
Talk about working without a net, Royals rookie Brandon Finnegan had to face the heart of the Giants lineup in the bottom of the sixth inning with the score tied 4-4 … and no one warming in the Royals bullpen.
The echoes of manager Ned Yost's fateful quote from earlier in the season had to be reverberating throughout Royals nation as Kansas City was "one out away from getting to Kelvin Herrera," who was unavailable tonight.
San Francisco rallied for three runs – all coming on two-out hits – to take a 7-4 advantage.
The Giants extended the lead in the seventh with four more runs to break open the game, 11-4.
Finnegan gave up consecutive singles to Joaquin Arias and Gregor Blanco to lead off the inning. After a sacrifice bunt and an intentional walk to Buster Posey, Finnegan got Hunter Pence to ground into a forceout at the plate to preserve the tie.
But the 21-year-old, who earlier this year pitched in the College World Series, couldn't close out the inning as Pablo Sandoval singled in two runs and Brandon Belt tacked on another with a single to score Pence to put the Giants up 7-4.
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Earlier, with the Giants trailing by two runs entering the bottom of the fifth, Royals starter Jason Vargas was just about at his limit as he began his third trip through the San Francisco order.
He was allowed to pitch to the first batter, second baseman Joe Panik, to get the left-on-left advantage, but Panik foiled that with a double to right-center.
Still too early to go to his trusty trio at the back end of the bullpen, Royals manager Ned Yost summoned right-hander Jason Frasor to pitch to the two dangerous right-handed hitters in the Giants lineup. Frasor retired Buster Posey on a ground out that moved Panik to third, but Hunter Pence singled him in to cut the lead to 4-3.
Yost again went to the bullpen for lefty Danny Duffy to force Pablo Sandoval to hit from his weaker (right) side. Sandoval foiled that strategy too with a single to center that sent Pence speeding into third.
A four-pitch walk to Brandon Belt loaded the bases for left fielder Juan Perez, who lined out to center on an all-out diving catch from Jarrod Dyson. Though he saved at least two runs with the grab, the out allowed Pence to trot home easily with the tying run.
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The Royals knocked Giants starter Ryan Vogelsong out of the game with a series of walks, infield hits and plays the home team just barely failed to make.
Alcides Escobar had a one-out single but was erased on a force out. However, it could easily have been a double play if not for a slightly high throw to second by Giants first baseman Brandon Belt that disrupted the timing.
Alex Gordon then stole second base and Lorenzo Cain legged out an infield hit to put runners on the corners with two outs. Eric Hosmer hit another slow grounder to Belt, but Vogelsong was slow to cover first. When he was unable to take the throw and step on the bag in time to beat Hosmer, Gordon came across the plate with the tying run.
Although neither play at first was ruled an error, they could – and probably should – have been made.
From there, a rattled Vogelsong failed to record another out. He gave up a walk to Mike Moustakas, a two-run single to Omar Infante and an RBI single to Salvador Perez before being lifted in favor of reliever Jean Machi.
After another walk to load the bases, Machi struck Vargas out to end the inning, but the damage had been done.
GALLERY: WORLD SERIES -- ROYALS vs. GIANTS