Goonies never say die, and apparently neither do the Kansas City Royals. Down 7-2 in the bottom of the eighth inning, with only six outs to go and Jon Lester on cruise control, the Royals scratched out five runs to take the game into extra innings. While Kansas City and Oakland traded their scoring in extras, the Royals struck last with on Salvador Perez walk-off single to left, giving them a 9-8 victory and sending Kansas City to the ALDS where they’ll face the Angels. My favorite stat of the game: the Royals ran wild on the Athletics, swiping a total of seven bags.
While “Big Game” James Shields faltered in his start last night, both he and Wade Davis live to see another day. In his game recap over at DRaysBay, Ian Malinowski wrote,
…Every Rays pitcher since has been made, to some degree, in the image of James Shields. That’s why Shields still captures the imagination, heart, and loyalty of Tampa Bay like no other former player.
Wherever he goes, he still represents The Rays Way, and it was easy for Rays fans to latch on to the Royals, and more specifically, the American League Wild Card game, started by Shields. The Royals, once a hapless franchise, now lead by our talisman, were the next best thing to watching the Rays in the playoffs.
You can read his reacp in its entirety at DRaysBay (linked above) Below are a few GIFs from the game. We’ll put together an ALDS preview later.
