Jason Vargas, Defense, Lead the Royals to the World Series

It has been 29 years. An entire generation has gone by without knowing what it felt like to see the Royals in the postseason. And now, those years have finally been put to rest, as Jason Vargas and the Royals defense led the way as the Royals defeated the Baltimore Orioles 2-1 to advance to the World Series.

The Royals scored first in truly Royals fashion. Alcides Escobar singled and Nori Aoki was hit by a pitch to put runners on first and second with no outs. After a sacrifice bunt moved the runners over, Eric Hosmer hit a chopper to the first baseman. The throw home beat Escobar, but Caleb Joseph was unable to get a handle on it, as Escobar’s slid ein sent the ball to the backstop, allowing Aoki to score, giving the Royals a 2-0 lead.

That would prove to be all that Vargas would need. Aside from a third inning home run by Ryan Flaherty, Vargas was able to shut down the Orioles offense, rendering the team that had led the American League in home runs in the regular season impotent with the lumber.

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As is par for the course in a Royals game, Jason Vargas benefited from an excellent play behind him. J.J. Hardy led off the top of the fifth with a line drive to deep left, but Alex Gordon was there to haul in the blast before crashing into the fence in left. From that point, the Orioles never really threatened again.

Vargas lasted 5.1 innings, allowing one run on two hits and three walks, striking out six before being removed after a strikeout of Nick Markakis. From there, Kelvin Herrera, Wade Davis and Greg Holland set down the Orioles, preserving the one run lead as the Royals added yet another sweep to their postseason ledger, extending their playoff winning streak to eleven games with the 2-1 victory.

Now, it is on to the World Series, and a date with either the St. Louis Cardinals or the San Francisco Giants. No matter what, on October 21, the Royals will be playing in the World Series.

Lorenzo Cain was named the MVP of the American League Championship Series, as he impacted the playoffs both with his bat and glove.