Remembering the two World Series Game 7s featuring the Royals

On Wednesday night at Progressive Field, the Chicago Cubs and Cleveland Indians will play the 37th decisive Game 7 in World Series history — and the 10th since 1985.

In that span, only the Kansas City Royals and Minnesota Twins have played host to more than one Game 7 — the Royals in 1985 and 2014, the Twins in 1987 and 1991.

Now Game 7 comes to Cleveland, and the Chicago Cubs will try to become the first team since the ’85 Royals to win the World Series after being down 3-1 in the series. So as we prepare for another Game 7, here’s an opportunity the nights the final game of the Fall Classic came to Kansas City.

Game 7 of the 1985 World Series

The date: Oct. 27, 1985

The setup: After trailing 3-1, the Royals pushed the series back to Kansas City with a Game 5 victory in St. Louis. In Game 6, they erased a 1-0 deficit with a two-run burst in the bottom of the ninth, a rally fueled by a missed called from umpire Don Denkinger and a meltdown by the Cardinals’ defense and bullpen.

The result: Royals starter Brett Saberhagen pitched a five-hitter and Darryl Motley clubbed a homer in the second inning, sparking an 11-0 blowout, an iconic hug between Saberhagen and George Brett and the first World Series title in Kansas City history.

The controversy: Once the Royals took a 10-0 lead, the Cardinals unraveled in epic fashion. Manager Whitey Herzog and reliever Joaquin Andujar were ejected after arguing with Denkinger, the home-plate umpire. Cardinals starter John Tudor injured his hand while punching an electrical fan after being pulled from the game.

The forgotten moment: The Royals took a 3-0 lead in the bottom of the third, but later that inning, Steve Balboni really extended the cushion, hitting a two-run single to left field off reliever Bill Campbell.

The quote: “I went to him with two outs in the ninth inning,” George Brett said of Brett Saberhagen, “and I said, ‘Look, you’ve only been in the big leagues one year. You’ve got a chance to be on a World Series-winning team. I’ve lost six playoffs and a World Series. This is going to be my first one. So let me be the first one on the mound to celebrate.’ ”

Game 7 of the 2014 World Series

The date: Oct. 29, 2014

The setup: After falling behind 3-2 after a Game 5 loss to Madison Bumgarner in San Francisco, the Royals crushed the Giants 10-0 in Game 6, setting up a decisive Game 7. The pitching matchup featured two veterans — Jeremy Guthrie and Tim Hudson.

The result: Led by five innings of scoreless relief from Bumgarner, the Giants finished off their third championship in five years with a 3-2 victory. San Francisco struck first, scoring twice in the second. But the Royals tied the score with an RBI double from Alex Gordon and a sacrifice fly from Omar Infante in the bottom of the second.

The Giants took the lead in the fourth on a broken-bat single from Michael Morse off reliever Kelvin Herrera. The Royals didn’t score again.

The controversy: With two outs in the ninth inning, Alex Gordon lined an 87 mph slider into the left-center gap. Center fielder Gregor Blanco misplayed the ball, and it rolled all the way to the wall. But the baseball returned to cutoff man Brandon Crawford just as Gordon was arriving at third, and third-base coach Mike Jirschele elected to hold him. Could he have scored? No, probably not. But what if he had gotten a better jump out of the box?

The forgotten moment: In the bottom of the third, with the score 2-2, Lorenzo Cain singled off reliever Jeremy Affeldt, and Eric Hosmer followed by ripping a ball up the middle. For a moment, it looked like the Royals would have two men on with nobody out. But second baseman Joe Panik made a terrific diving stop, starting a key double play. The Royals nearly had a lead and could have handed the ball to the bullpen. The ultimate What if?

The quote: “It hurts really bad right now,” Billy Butler said. “But I’m proud to have been a part of it, especially being here from square one. We’ll get ‘em next time.”

This story was originally published November 2, 2016 at 12:33 PM with the headline "Remembering the two World Series Game 7s featuring the Royals."