The story of World Series game four

1st

inning

San Francisco starts fast

The Giants took the early lead this time. Gregor Blanco led off with a walk, took second on a wild pitch, and after an out, swiped third base. Buster Posey drew a walk and Hunter Pence grounded to Mike Moustakas at third base. Blanco hesitated initially as Moustakas threw to second and got the force, but the Royals couldn’t turn two and Blanco raced home with the game’s first run.

2nd

Vargy has a great inning

Jason Vargas needed just 10 pitches to set down three Giants, which was much better than in the first inning when he threw 27. The Royals made some noise with a two-out single by Salvador Perez that slithered between third baseman Pablo Sandoval and shortstop Brandon Crawford. However, the Royals were unable to build off that hit.

3rd

Royals do it their way

At one point, Giants manager Bruce Bochy removed his cap in disgust. What he’d witnessed was a Royalesque rally. Alex Gordon stole second with two outs, and then came infield singles by Lorenzo Cain and Eric Hosmer as Gordon scored. Moustakas walked, and Omar Infante delivered a two-run single. Perez added a RBI hit. The Giants got a run back when Matt Duffy singled and scored on Buster Posey’s hit.

4th

Pitcher gets a hit

Yusmeiro Petit entered the game to pitch for San Francisco and retired all three Royals hitters in the inning. The Giants’ Juan Perez singled with one out, and it appeared he would be stranded at first when Crawford flied to right. However, Petit followed with a single. That was odd, because Petit’s career average was an unsightly .049. Go figure. But Vargas got Blanco to pop out.

5th

Giants pull even

Joe Panik opened the inning with a double, and Vargas was yanked in favor of Jason Frasor. Posey’s groundout allowed Panik to take third. Pence then followed with a RBI single, and on came reliever Danny Duffy. Sandoval singled, Belt walked, and the bases were loaded. Perez hit a shallow fly to center, and Jarrod Dyson made a nifty diving catch, but that allowed Pence to score the tying run.

6th

Finnegan is human

Rookie left-hander Brandon Finnegan, who looked so good in game three, took over for the Royals, and the Giants immediately got two bloop singles. After a sacrifice bunt, Posey was walked intentionally. Pence grounded to Escobar, who threw home for a force-out. But Sandoval hit a two-run single, and Belt followed with an RBI hit as the Giants pushed ahead.

7th

The wheels fall off

Crawford led off with an infield single and Michael Morse walked. Tim Collins was summoned to replace Finnegan and things only got worse. Blanco reached on a bunt single, and Collins’ throwing error on the play allowed Crawford to score. Panik delivered a two-run double and, after an out, Pence doubled home Panik as the Giants delivered a knockout blow.

8th

At least the Giants don’t score

Not sure if this would qualify as a rally, but Perez reached on a single with one out against Sergio Romo. However, Dyson grounded out and Jayson Nix struck out in his first career World Series appearance. In the bottom of the inning, Collins allowed a hit, but San Francisco didn’t do any more damage. Then again, that really wouldn’t have made a difference.

9th

This Series is all tied up

The Royals didn’t go quietly. With one out, Gordon doubled. Cain followed with a sinking liner to right field, but Pence made a nice catch. Hosmer then grounded out, and the World Series was tied at two games apiece. The good news is that it is a best-of-three series going forward with two games in Kansas City.

This story was originally published October 25, 2014 at 11:56 PM with the headline "The story of World Series game four."