The Royals place their season in the hands of Yordano Ventura Tuesday night hoping to force a Game 7 (miamiherald).
The Kansas City Royals will return home on Tuesday facing a 2-3 deficit in the World Series against the San Francisco Giants after losing two out of three on the road. After failing to provide any run support for the strong start from James Shields, the Royals now face elimination and will start the young starter Yordano Ventura Tuesday evening in hopes of forcing a game seven that would take place on Wednesday.
The offense
The Royals offense struggled in the three games they played in San Francisco, especially in games four and five of the series. The Royals 4-1 lead in the third inning of Game 4 marked the last time the Royals have scored in the series. Since then, the Giants have outscored Kansas City 15-0, with seven of those runs coming in the seventh inning or later. With the Royals pitching struggling late the past two games, the offense did them no favors by putting up a goose egg in the run column.
Pitching and defense
The Royals have prided on their pitching and defense all season long and it failed them in games four and five. Although the defense has been steady throughout the series, there were numerous balls hit through the infield on Sunday night that typically would have been stopped by the Royals’ defenders. James Shields had his best start in the past couple of weeks Sunday, and with a few critical plays unmade by the defense, it was too much to overcome and eventually left San Francisco with the series lead.
It was only a matter of time that reality would set in and Wade Davis would stray away from near perfection for just a little while. Although no runs he gave up were earned and charged to him, Davis was unable to get out of an eighth inning jam and the Giants Juan Perez missed a home run by inches while driving in two runs. Leaving excuses behind, there is no real reason to have concerns about Davis as in his few outings this year he had struggled, he always brought his “A” game next time out.
Looking forward
Yordano Ventura will take the mound Tuesday night, and if we can expect a performance like his last outing, the Royals should have no worries. Ventura’s command and inability to feel the pressure of the situation plays an important role in his success and has been extremely beneficial for him this year.
With a possible Game 7 to be played on Wednesday night, I would like to see Danny Duffy get an opportunity to win the series for the Royals. Duffy finished the regular season with an outstanding 2.53 ERA and was the Royals most dependable starter all year long. With very little opportunities to prove himself in the postseason, Duffy would be my pick to bring home the World Series Crown on Wednesday night.
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This article Kansas City Royals: In the face of elimination appeared first on isportsweb by Anthony Pluff