KC Royals: Five Memorable Ben Zobrist Plays With Royals

3) October 9, 2015: First Playoff Lead Vs. Astros

In the post-championship parade glow, many KC Royals fans forgot just how close the Houston Astros came to ruining the party.

Though the Astros won a mere 86 game in 2015, they were no easy opponents. The Astros sported a roster of young, up-and-coming top prospects who were just showing the baseball world how good they could become.

The Astros threatened to ruin the KC Royals return trip to the World Series when they won Game 1 5-2, and led Game 2 4-2 in the sixth inning. The Kansas City Royals rallied to score two runs in the bottom of the sixth off Scott Kazmir, Oliver Perez, and Josh Fields to tie the game at 4-4.

Alcides Escobar led off the seventh with a triple that plugged the right-center gap, and Ben Zobrist followed with a solid single to left that gave the KC Royals their first lead in the ALDS.

The Kansas City Royals hung on to win 5-4, which likely saved the KC Royals from elimination when 2015 AL Cy Young award winner Dallas Kuechel dominated in a Game 3 Houston victory.

Of course, fans will remember that the KC Royals pulled off their second four-run, eighth inning miracle comeback to win Game 4, and Johnny Cueto pitched a one-hitter to win the series in Game 5.

Next: October 23, 2015: Getting Things Started The Right Way