Advertisement

Giants rally to rout Royals, even World Series

 
Pablo Sandoval celebrates after putting the Giants ahead with a two-run single in the sixth inning.
Pablo Sandoval celebrates after putting the Giants ahead with a two-run single in the sixth inning.
Published Oct. 26, 2014

SAN FRANCISCO — Hunter Pence, Pablo Sandoval and the Giants charged back at a pulsating AT&T Park, beating the Royals 11-4 Saturday night in Game 4 of the World Series.

In danger of dropping into a huge hole, the Giants and their fans rallied to even the Series at 2-2.

All the early frustration that prompted manager Bruce Bochy to throw his hat in the dugout turned into positive energy during a two-run comeback in the fifth that tied it at 4.

Then in the sixth, Sandoval hit a two-run single and Brandon Belt followed with an RBI single as the Giants roughed up postseason darling Brandon Finnegan to surge ahead.

Only a diving catch by speedy Jarrod Dyson that tore up a divot in the centerfield grass prevented the Giants from getting more. San Francisco also came out on the winning end of the first World Series replay challenge in the expanded era, when Royals manager Ned Yost asked for another look at a pickoff play at second base.

The Giants added four runs in the seventh, two on rookie Joe Panik's double.

The real star might have been Giants reliever Yusmeiro Petit. He pitched in with three scoreless innings and earned the victory after Ryan Vogelsong got chased in a four-run third that turned on a botched grounder. Petit also got a hit, not bad for a career .049 batter.

Game 5 is tonight, with postseason ace Madison Bumgarner starting for the Giants against struggling James Shields. It's a rematch from the opener, when San Francisco rolled 7-1.

Down 4-2, the Giants came back in the fifth. Yost let struggling starter Jason Vargas begin the inning, and Panik led off with a line-drive double.

Jason Frasor was summoned and retired Buster Posey on a grounder. Pence followed with an RBI single up the middle that caused Frasor to throw up his hands in frustration.

Danny Duffy relieved, and a single by Sandoval and a walk to Belt loaded the bases for Juan Perez, whose sacrifice fly tied it at 4.

Pence's RBI grounder gave the Giants a 1-0 lead in the first. Posey had a single in the third for his 21st career postseason RBI, tying Barry Bonds' team record.

The Royals trailed 1-0 when they put runners at the corners with two outs in the third.

Eric Hosmer hit a slow tapper to the right side. Belt ranged far off first base to field it and quickly looked to see if he could get a forceout at second.

With no play there, Belt whirled around and tried to toss to Vogelsong. But the pitcher didn't get to the bag cleanly, messed up his footwork and had no chance to prevent Hosmer from reaching with a tying single.

Bochy slammed his cap to the dugout floor, seeing an opportunity to end the inning get away.

Stay updated on Tampa Bay’s sports scene

Stay updated on Tampa Bay’s sports scene

Subscribe to our free Sports Today newsletter

We’ll send you news and analysis on the Bucs, Lightning, Rays and Florida’s college football teams every day.

You’re all signed up!

Want more of our free, weekly newsletters in your inbox? Let’s get started.

Explore all your options

Giants fans started to grow uneasy when Mike Moustakas walked to load the bases, and there was good reason for concern. Omar Infante followed with a hard two-run single up the middle and began clapping on his way to first. The hit made him 10-for-15 lifetime against Vargas and put the Royals ahead 3-1.

After Salvador Perez blooped an RBI single, Bochy had seen enough. He went to the mound to pull Vogelsong, and Belt dropped his head during the pitching change.

Jean Machi walked Dyson, bringing up Vargas.

With the bases loaded, Vargas ran the count to 2-and-2. He took another ball, tossed his bat aside and began to jog to first. After several steps, he realized that it was only ball three, froze in a playful stance and returned to the plate.

Leadoff man Alcides Escobar laughed as he handed the bat back to Vargas, who looked at strike three in making his second out of the inning.