OMG, the Giants win the Series
October 30, 2014
It looked over with two down in the ninth and Giants ace Madison Bumgarner, the eventual 2014 World Series MVP, throwing to Alex Gordon, hitting anemic in the Royals' high-scoring series. And then he hit, just a single, but he advanced to third on a fielding error, putting the tying run in dangerous range.
And why not? It was that kind of week for the teams.
The Giants held on, though, no need for their fans to stop believin'. Bumgarner, who threw a shutout in Game 5 and five innings of scoreless relief to record the save for Game 7, threw mile-highs to get final batter Salvador Perez to chase. The Royals' catcher did so willingly, mostly, ultimately making contact and hanging one in range, foul to the Kung Fu Panda, Pablo Sandoval, who collapsed on the third baseline after catching the hard-fought final out.
"These guys were relentless," Giants manager Bruce Bochy said after the game. "I mean, they wanted it so bad." He added: "They continue to amaze me. It's just been quite a ride."
Three decades of frustration for Kansas City fans had faded with their hometown heroes, underdogs since April who took the San Francisco Giants to a deciding Game Seven of the World Series - the Royals' first playoff appearance since winning the championship themselves, back in 1985. After the season long high, Kansas City now faces a bitter winter of second guesses.
mkg/av (Reuters, AFP, dpa, AP)