Hosmer's gutsy baserunning in ninth pays off for Royals
One of the gutsiest moments of the World Series happened in the top of the ninth inning of the Royals' 7-2 clinching victory in Game 5 at New York on Sunday night.
The inning started with some controversy as New York Mets starter Matt Harvey had already thrown more than 100 pitches and closer Jeurys Familia was up and ready in the bullpen. Despite the high pitch count and his closer waiting in the wings, Mets manager Terry Collins sent his starter back out to finish the game. Harvey had pitched brilliantly so far, shutting out the Royals as the Mets held a 2-0 lead and were three outs away from forcing a Game 6.
After a leadoff walk and RBI-double to Eric Hosmer, Familia replaced Harvey and induced a groundout that moved Hosmer to third base.
Now down 2-1 with one out, Hosmer stood 90 feet away from tying the game with Salvador Perez up at the plate. Perez hit a grounder to David Wright, who checked Hosmer back to the bag, but the second Wright looked away, Hosmer broke home.
The move shocked everybody, especially first baseman Lucas Duda. Duda received the ball from Wright for the out at first and unleashed a wild throw home that wasn't anywhere near the plate as Hosmer slid in safely to tie the game.
Seemingly everybody with a Twitter account could not believe what happened.
The @Royals. #WorldSeries pic.twitter.com/qK9r0eTkOV
— FOX Sports: MLB (@MLBONFOX) November 2, 2015
Eric Hosmer or...? pic.twitter.com/amFlSFcUzP
— Steve Granado (@SteveGranado) November 2, 2015
My profile pic is my current face. #WorldSeries
— Justin Verlander (@JustinVerlander) November 2, 2015
And just half an inning ago, you thought the #Royals were going to be scoreless.
— Emily Cabrera (@Emm_Cabrera) November 2, 2015
For the Royals, who would score five times in the top of the 12th, it was just another day at the office — and the third game this World Series where they overcame a deficit after the eighth inning or later.
Wow: If #Royals win tonight, they will be 1st team EVER with 3 or more wins in World Series after trailing in 8th or later. (h/t STATS LLC)
— Jon Morosi (@jonmorosi) November 2, 2015
