After a 29 year absence, it took the Royals 5 hours to take down the Athletics in 12 innings in the AL Wild Card Game. Salvador Perez knocked in the winning run in the 12th inning with a single for the 9-8 victory. This was after the A's took the 8-7 lead in the top half with an Alberto Callaspo RBI single. Following a Hosmer triple, Christian Colon's infield RBI single to tie it.
The Royals used 7 stolen bases, and 4 sacrifice bunts to manufacture runs and get back in to the game after falling behind. Brandon Moss went deep twice to put the Royals in a deficit twice. A 2-run shot in the 1st to get the scoring started, and then a go-ahead 3-run shot in the 6th to put the A's up 5-3. They would add 2 more in the inning to make it a 7-3 lead.
The Royals scored 3 in the 8th inning, and Nori Aoki's sac fly in the 9th tied the game at 7 and sent the game in to extras. Coco Crisp, one of the key components for the A's, left in extras due to a hamstring cramp on a swing. That hurt the A's on Hosmer's triple when Johnny Gomes and Sam Fuld collided in left-center field while leaping at the wall. Fuld moved from left to center with Gomes coming in to left in Crisp's absence.
It was scheduled to be a pitching duel between Jon Lester and James Shields, but a combined 17 runs on 28 hits changed all of that. Lester did have a good outing, going 7.1, giving up 6 runs on 8 hits while striking out 5. He pitched deep in to the game, but the usually steady bullpen would give it up late. Shields struggled, and was taken out in the 6th inning. He officially went 5, giving up 4 runs on 5 hits with 6 strikeouts.
One bright spot on the mound was reliever Brandon Finnegan for the Royals. He pitched 2.1 innings in extras, giving up just 1 run but struck out 3. He was pitching in the College World Series this past June, and manger Ned Yost wanted him to earn his first big-league victory. Jason Frasor earned the win as the Royals move on to face the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim in the ALDS beginning Friday.
The Royals used 7 stolen bases, and 4 sacrifice bunts to manufacture runs and get back in to the game after falling behind. Brandon Moss went deep twice to put the Royals in a deficit twice. A 2-run shot in the 1st to get the scoring started, and then a go-ahead 3-run shot in the 6th to put the A's up 5-3. They would add 2 more in the inning to make it a 7-3 lead.
The Royals scored 3 in the 8th inning, and Nori Aoki's sac fly in the 9th tied the game at 7 and sent the game in to extras. Coco Crisp, one of the key components for the A's, left in extras due to a hamstring cramp on a swing. That hurt the A's on Hosmer's triple when Johnny Gomes and Sam Fuld collided in left-center field while leaping at the wall. Fuld moved from left to center with Gomes coming in to left in Crisp's absence.
It was scheduled to be a pitching duel between Jon Lester and James Shields, but a combined 17 runs on 28 hits changed all of that. Lester did have a good outing, going 7.1, giving up 6 runs on 8 hits while striking out 5. He pitched deep in to the game, but the usually steady bullpen would give it up late. Shields struggled, and was taken out in the 6th inning. He officially went 5, giving up 4 runs on 5 hits with 6 strikeouts.
One bright spot on the mound was reliever Brandon Finnegan for the Royals. He pitched 2.1 innings in extras, giving up just 1 run but struck out 3. He was pitching in the College World Series this past June, and manger Ned Yost wanted him to earn his first big-league victory. Jason Frasor earned the win as the Royals move on to face the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim in the ALDS beginning Friday.
