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KANSAS CITY ( VARGAS ) SAN FRANCISCO ( VOGELSONG ) |
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| 7un | 4 Final 11 |
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World Series - Best of 7 - Game 4 - KC leads 2-1 | | | |
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907 | KANSAS CITY | +115 | Ov 7,-120 | +100 | Ov 7,+110 | 908 | SAN FRANCISCO | -125 | Un 7,+100 | -110 | Un 7,-130 |
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All Games | 99-74 | +13.7 | 79-86 | 4.1 | 0.262 | 0.310 | 3.8 | 0.248 | 0.304 | Road Games | 52-34 | +20.2 | 38-42 | 4.4 | 0.268 | 0.315 | 3.5 | 0.235 | 0.295 | vs Right-handed Starters | 72-52 | +10.5 | 57-61 | 4.1 | 0.259 | 0.306 | 3.6 | 0.246 | 0.303 | Past 7 Games | 6-1 | +5.3 | 4-3 | 4.1 | 0.252 | 0.310 | 3.3 | 0.222 | 0.290 | Grass Games | 95-71 | +12.2 | 76-83 | 4.1 | 0.260 | 0.309 | 3.8 | 0.248 | 0.303 | Night Games | 72-49 | +15.1 | 54-60 | 4.1 | 0.262 | 0.309 | 3.7 | 0.244 | 0.301 | Interleague | 17-6 | +10.6 | 10-12 | 4.8 | 0.262 | 0.312 | 2.9 | 0.227 | 0.273 | Playoff games | 10-1 | +10.6 | 6-5 | 4.8 | 0.247 | 0.310 | 3.4 | 0.214 | 0.284 |
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All Games | 4.1 | 0.262 | 0.310 | 173 | 5921 | 1549 | 437 | 105 | 0.02 | 656 | 414 | 1065 | 166 | 1144 | 163 | 108 | | | Road Games | 4.4 | 0.268 | 0.315 | 86 | 3069 | 822 | 229 | 58 | 0.02 | 350 | 211 | 563 | 70 | 602 | 92 | 55 | | | Righty Starters | 4.1 | 0.259 | 0.306 | 124 | 4247 | 1100 | 313 | 71 | 0.02 | 468 | 290 | 761 | 119 | 815 | 105 | 70 | | |
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All Games | 3.14 | 1.217 | 512.6 | 197 | 179 | 432 | 33 | 192 | 498 | 35-18 | 60 | 12 | 83.3% | Road Games | 2.32 | 1.111 | 244 | 75 | 63 | 182 | 13 | 89 | 225 | 14-10 | 30 | 6 | 83.3% |
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All Games | 97-78 | +14.8 | 83-82 | 4.1 | 0.253 | 0.308 | 3.7 | 0.237 | 0.288 | Home Games | 49-38 | +1.7 | 41-42 | 4.0 | 0.255 | 0.311 | 3.5 | 0.230 | 0.281 | vs Left-handed Starters | 31-30 | +0.1 | 21-36 | 3.7 | 0.248 | 0.304 | 3.5 | 0.240 | 0.287 | Past 7 Games | 4-3 | +0.8 | 6-1 | 4.6 | 0.246 | 0.319 | 3.9 | 0.238 | 0.288 | Grass Games | 97-78 | +14.8 | 83-82 | 4.1 | 0.253 | 0.308 | 3.7 | 0.237 | 0.288 | Night Games | 57-51 | +2.3 | 48-58 | 3.8 | 0.251 | 0.303 | 3.7 | 0.233 | 0.282 | Interleague | 11-12 | -0.7 | 12-9 | 3.7 | 0.243 | 0.291 | 3.7 | 0.235 | 0.281 | Playoff games | 9-4 | +6.5 | 7-6 | 3.9 | 0.240 | 0.308 | 2.8 | 0.196 | 0.247 |
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All Games | 4.1 | 0.253 | 0.308 | 175 | 5985 | 1517 | 457 | 139 | 0.02 | 683 | 473 | 1322 | 58 | 1195 | 135 | 106 | | | Home Games | 4.0 | 0.255 | 0.311 | 87 | 2865 | 732 | 209 | 56 | 0.02 | 327 | 229 | 637 | 30 | 576 | 69 | 53 | | | Lefty Starters | 3.7 | 0.248 | 0.304 | 61 | 2054 | 510 | 146 | 42 | 0.02 | 213 | 163 | 473 | 14 | 416 | 54 | 36 | | |
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All Games | 2.93 | 1.049 | 515.7 | 178 | 168 | 399 | 43 | 142 | 427 | 37-15 | 51 | 19 | 72.9% | Home Games | 2.80 | 1.047 | 257 | 84 | 80 | 200 | 19 | 69 | 217 | 19-8 | 21 | 11 | 65.6% |
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10/11/2014 | VENTURA(R) | @ BALTIMORE | NORRIS(R) | 6-4 | W | 105 | 7 un | O | 13 | 8 | 1 | 9 | 10 | 1 | 10/14/2014 | GUTHRIE(R) | BALTIMORE | CHEN(L) | 2-1 | W | +100 | 7 ev | U | 7 | 4 | 0 | 3 | 4 | 0 | 10/15/2014 | VARGAS(L) | BALTIMORE | GONZALEZ(R) | 2-1 | W | -120 | 7.5 un | U | 5 | 10 | 0 | 4 | 5 | 1 | 10/21/2014 | SHIELDS(R) | SAN FRANCISCO | BUMGARNER(L) | 1-7 | L | +100 | 6.5 un | O | 4 | 4 | 1 | 10 | 9 | 1 | 10/22/2014 | VENTURA(R) | SAN FRANCISCO | PEAVY(R) | 7-2 | W | -135 | 7 un | O | 10 | 3 | 0 | 9 | 8 | 0 | 10/24/2014 | GUTHRIE(R) | @ SAN FRANCISCO | HUDSON(R) | 3-2 | W | 115 | 7 un | U | 6 | 3 | 0 | 4 | 3 | 0 | 10/25/2014 | VARGAS(L) | @ SAN FRANCISCO | VOGELSONG(R) | | 10/26/2014 | | @ SAN FRANCISCO | | |
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10/11/2014 | BUMGARNER(L) | @ ST LOUIS | WAINWRIGHT(R) | 3-0 | W | 110 | 6 un | U | 8 | 10 | 0 | 4 | 6 | 1 | 10/12/2014 | PEAVY(R) | @ ST LOUIS | LYNN(R) | 4-5 | L | 120 | 6.5 ov | O | 10 | 9 | 0 | 8 | 5 | 0 | 10/14/2014 | HUDSON(R) | ST LOUIS | LACKEY(R) | 5-4 | W | -115 | 7 un | O | 6 | 5 | 0 | 9 | 5 | 1 | 10/15/2014 | VOGELSONG(R) | ST LOUIS | MILLER(R) | 6-4 | W | -115 | 7 un | O | 11 | 10 | 0 | 11 | 8 | 0 | 10/16/2014 | BUMGARNER(L) | ST LOUIS | WAINWRIGHT(R) | 6-3 | W | -150 | 6 un | O | 7 | 3 | 0 | 6 | 6 | 0 | 10/21/2014 | BUMGARNER(L) | @ KANSAS CITY | SHIELDS(R) | 7-1 | W | -110 | 6.5 un | O | 10 | 9 | 1 | 4 | 4 | 1 | 10/22/2014 | PEAVY(R) | @ KANSAS CITY | VENTURA(R) | 2-7 | L | 125 | 7 un | O | 9 | 8 | 0 | 10 | 3 | 0 | 10/24/2014 | HUDSON(R) | KANSAS CITY | GUTHRIE(R) | 2-3 | L | -125 | 7 un | U | 4 | 3 | 0 | 6 | 3 | 0 | 10/25/2014 | VOGELSONG(R) | KANSAS CITY | VARGAS(L) | | 10/26/2014 | | KANSAS CITY | | |
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| | | KANSAS CITY: KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) - James Shields thinks back to last year, thoughtfully piecing together what was missing from the Kansas City Royals as they made a late push for the postseason.
The pitching was strong. The offense was coming around. The defense was sublime.
He finally settled on experience.
''These guys that didn't realize or have never been to September, when you're fighting for a playoff spot, now you have that experience,'' Shields said. ''And I think that was one of the things we were lacking last season, the experience. You tend to put too much on your shoulders. And I think the second half we definitely relaxed and put all that aside and had fun and played the game the way we know how to play, and it showed.
''I think with the experience factor now,'' Shields concluded, ''we're ready to go.''
After finishing 86-76 a year ago, and contending into September for the first time in a decade, the Royals have their sets sight squarely on their first playoff appearance since 1985 this year.
Anything less would be a disappointment. Anything less would be a failure.
''Last year was a blast. When the end of the season came in Chicago, nobody wanted to leave,'' first baseman Eric Hosmer said. ''They knew how close we were. We were right there. And it left a good taste in everyone's mouth going into the offseason, knowing how good everyone can be.''
Indeed, the Royals return most of their key players from a year ago, signing left-hander Jason Vargas to replace their only significant loss, starting pitcher Ervin Santana. They also upgraded at their weakest spots, trading for Norichika Aoki to play right field and bat leadoff and signing Omar Infante to settle a second base position that has been a black hole for years.
All of which left the notoriously frugal franchise with a record-setting payroll.
Royals manager Ned Yost hopes all those moves will pay off for a rotation that was among the league's best last year, and an offense that was among the league's worst.
''It's going to be a lineup that has offensive sequence from one to nine. You're not going to have any dead spots,'' Yost said. ''You're not going to get something going and then bam, run into a wall and have to get going again. At least, I hope not. I don't think so.''
So with more experience and an upgraded lineup, Kansas City enters its season opener Sunday at Detroit with boundless enthusiasm. | | SAN FRANCISCO: SAN FRANCISCO (AP) - From every slot in a talented, experienced rotation to the back end of the bullpen and in between, to the starting fielders and the role players on the bench, it's hard to find a member of the San Francisco Giants pleased with his 2013 season.
A year after winning the World Series, the Giants finished 10 games under .500, third in the NL West and they missed the playoffs.
''We don't even have to have the conversation, a lot of the guys know it,'' right-hander Matt Cain said. ''We didn't pitch the way that we wanted to.''
As the Giants begin a new year, they will try to keep up with the big-spending Los Angeles Dodgers and regain the grip they had on the NL West when the club won World Series championships in 2010 and `12 - even if everybody expects the Dodgers to be the team to beat.
''You do try to reflect back and try to learn from what happened last year and how you can get better,'' manager Bruce Bochy said. ''You move forward, that's what we had to do. There are some things we'll talk about in the spring, mistakes that we made last year. Also, hopefully guys come in with an attitude, that they weren't happy with what happened the year before and want to get back on track.''
Buster Posey certainly doesn't want to spend too much time thinking about last season.
''That's probably how everybody feels. There's a bad taste in a lot of guys' mouths,'' Posey said. ''We want to come out and focus on winning ballgames.''
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| | ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ PA SPORTSTICKER NL PREVIEW (KANSAS CITY-SAN FRANCISCO) ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
(ADDS Infante's numbers vs. Vogelsong)
*Royals-Giants Preview* =======================
By TAYLOR BECHTOLD STATS Writer
Kansas City (89-73) at San Francisco (88-74), 8:07 p.m. EDT
When he last took the mound in the Fall Classic in 2012, Ryan Vogelsong pitched the San Francisco Giants to within one win of their second championship in three years.
Now the right-hander is tasked with trying to keep the visiting Kansas City Royals from moving one win shy of their first World Series title in 29 years when he opposes Jason Vargas in Game 4 on Saturday night.
The Royals continued their remarkable playoff run Friday, putting the Giants behind in a series for the first time since the 2012 NLCS with a 3-2 victory.
Lorenzo Cain drove in a first-inning run off Tim Hudson before Alex Gordon delivered an RBI double and scored on Eric Hosmer's single in the sixth inning as Kansas City improved to 10-1 in the postseason.
Gordon ended an 0-for-9 Series slump with his 10th RBI of the playoffs, while Hosmer - celebrating his 25th birthday - snapped his 0-for-8 slide against the Giants.
Kansas City relievers have limited opponents to a .161 average in the playoffs after working four hitless innings Friday, including Greg Holland's MLB record-tying seventh save of the postseason.
"I don't know if there's a better bullpen, because that seventh, eighth and ninth inning, and you get a tough go when you're facing those guys," Giants manager Bruce Bochy said.
Of the first 56 times the World Series was tied 1-all, the Game 3 winner went on to win in 37 of those instances.
"We've got to keep grinding," Kansas City center fielder Jarrod Dyson said. "It's going to be a tough series."
The surprising Royals, seeking their first crown since 1985, snapped San Francisco's six-game home winning streak in World Series games dating to Game 4 of the 2002 Fall Classic.
The Giants are hoping to even things up at AT&T Park behind Vogelsong, who had become the only pitcher to yield no more than one run in his first five postseason starts. He couldn't extend that run in Game 4 of the NLCS, however, giving up four runs in three innings before the Giants rallied for a 6-4 win.
Vogelsong is 3-0 with a 2.16 ERA in his six career playoff starts - all San Francisco victories. In his only World Series appearance in 2012, he pitched 5 2-3 innings of a 2-0 win in Game 3 against Detroit that helped send the Giants to a sweep.
"The biggest thing is the experience of curbing the emotions," he said. "It's definitely a situation where you have to be locked into the game and your thoughts need to be on the game, but you have to take a second to look around and take it all in."
Omar Infante is the only Royals regular with experience against Vogelsong, and he's 7 for 11 in their matchups - all since 2011.
Vargas has pitched well in his first two postseason starts, allowing two runs in six innings in the division series opener against Los Angeles before getting the win when he gave up one run of 5 1-3 innings of the ALCS clincher against Baltimore.
The left-hander had seven days off before his first playoff start, 12 before the second and will have had nine before Game 4. Including the postseason, he's 5-10 with a 4.59 ERA in 26 career starts with six or more days rest.
In between outings, he's worked extra bullpen and side sessions to move past some mechanical issues that plagued him while going 1-5 with a 5.89 ERA in his final seven starts of the regular season.
"He was a guy that was consistent for us all year," manager Ned Yost said. "Struggled a little bit his last three or four starts in September, but, again, a lot of that was mechanical, and he's made the adjustment."
Vargas faced the Giants during Kansas City's home sweep of San Francisco in August, allowing two runs and nine hits over five innings in a 4-2 win.
Buster Posey is 2 for 7 with a home run versus Vargas, while Michael Morse is 3 for 13 with a homer. Morse had a pinch-hit RBI double in the sixth inning Friday before scoring on Posey's groundout to account for the team's only runs.
Pablo Sandoval had reached base in a club-record 25 consecutive playoff games before going 0 for 4 in Game 3.
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| Last Updated: 3/19/2024 1:23:28 AM EST. |
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