Game 5 of World Series begins, series tied

Last night’s game four was an exciting event for the fans gathered in AT&T Park. They saw their Giants fall behind in the game, their starting pitcher leave in the third inning, after the Royals went ahead in the game 4-1. Would this be a replay of games two and tree?

Pablo “Panda” Sandoval after his single that scored two runs in the 6th Inning. (YouTube)
Pablo “Panda” Sandoval after his single that scored two runs in the 6th Inning.
(YouTube)

In the bottom of the 3rd inning the Giants started their comeback, when Buster Posey singled to left, bringing Matt Duffy home. The score was 4-2. Hunter Pence singled and Pablo “Panda” Sandoval was up next, but the Royals dugout breathed a sigh of relief when Jason Vargas struck him out.

The scored stayed the same for two more innings and then the Giants tied the game in the 5th and then went ahead by three runs (7-4) in the sixth. The Giants had six batters reach base and three of them scored.

The Giants took rookie reliever Brandon Finnegan to town. His first appearance in a World Series was a success. He struck out the two batters he faced. In his second World Series game Finnegan had the opportunity to get exactly the opposite experience. Three runs scored in the 6th and Finnegan was responsible for the first to runners to score in the 7th, Brandon Crawford and Michael Morse. Finnegan’s ERA for the inning he pitched was a painful 27.00.

The final score was 11-4 and as Royals manager Ned Yost said, the Royals got their tails whipped.

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Kansas City Royals manager Ned Yost at post-game press conference. (YouTube)
Kansas City Royals manager Ned Yost at post-game press conference.
(YouTube)

There will be a Game Six in Kansas City and today Game Five will decide who has the edge on Tuesday. The Royals and Giants are tied in the series, 2-2, and both teams have now won a home game and an away game. We couldn’t ask for a more evenly matched World Series.

In his press conference Ned Yost was upbeat about his team’s beating from the Giants, saying the series was exciting and he was happy to be a part of it. “We got our tails whipped today, but it’s Game 4 of the World Series. We’re tied 2-2, how much more fun can that be? There is nothing better in the world.

I’ve never felt so good about getting my tail whooped in my life, because I’m sitting here thinking it’s Game Four. It’s tied 2-2.

This is a phenomenal series. It’s exciting. It’s fun, and we’ve got another great game tomorrow that we get to play. So really looking forward to it.”

And you know Yost was sincere, he’s loving every minute he and the Royals are in this World Series, wins and losses.

Giants manager Bruce Bochy was no less buoyant, his team won, but he knows there will be at least two more tough games to play.

“… you have to enjoy it. You work hard to get to this point, and you should take it in, and love the fact that you’re playing baseball now. These are exciting games. This was a great ballgame, I thought, especially the way we came back. So I enjoyed it.

San Francisco Giants manager Bruce Bochy at post-game press conference. (YouTube)
San Francisco Giants manager Bruce Bochy at post-game press conference.
(YouTube)

“Do I wish it would go seven? If I had my choice, but the way these two teams go at it, it wouldn’t surprise me.”

Today’s Game Five will be the last in San Francisco and it will feature a rematch between the Game One starters, James Shields for the Royals and Madison Bumgarner for the Giants. Bumgarner dominated Game One, holding the Royals to just one run. But the Royals have a lot of confidence in Shields and they believe they will head to KC with three wins.

Game Five will be dry; there was a light mist before yesterday’s game and we could see the players were having trouble with the wet grass. It will be sunny all day and temperature at game time should be in the mid 60’s — perfect weather for the Fall Classic.