Kansas City Royals Countdown: Top 10 Moments of 2015 Postseason Run

No. 5 Wade Davis Closes Out ALCS After Rain Delay

One of the most memorable single-game performances from the 2015 run involved Davis and ALCS Game 6. The contest itself will go down as a top-five game in club history. Davis’ showing is a big reason why.

The Kansas City Royals summoned their closer to pitch in the eighth inning after Ryan Madson allowed a tying home run to Bautista. Davis escaped the frame with the score knotted at 3-3.

Then came the rain delay. It’s a bit of inconvenience that turned an already great game into a legendary one. The Royals took no time in reclaiming the lead—other than the 45 minutes of the delay. Cain led off the bottom of the eighth with a walk. Hosmer followed with … you know, I think we’ll hold off on that one.

With a 4-3 lead, Davis came back out for the ninth inning. That alone lifted him into rarefied air among Kansas City Royals fans. Then came the understandable struggles. Russell Martin singled, pinch-runner Dalton Pompey stole second and third, and then Kevin Pillar walked to put runners at the corners.

Pillar moved into scoring position, swiping second as Dioner Navarro struck out. Davis then fanned Ben Revere, who took out his frustrations on a dugout trashcan. Up stepped the 2015 American League MVP—although he hadn’t been awarded it at the time—looking to put the thoughts of what happened on that field in 2014 out of his mind.

Josh Donaldson had felt the pain of losing a massive game at Kauffman Stadium before. He couldn’t field Perez’s shot down the third-base line in the 2014 Wild Card Game as the Royals walked off. He couldn’t redeem himself this time. Donaldson grounded a 2-1 pitch to Moustakas, who fired across the diamond to send the Kansas City Royals to another World Series.

The escape by Davis will never be forgotten, but there are still four moments we placed above it.