Nightmare bullpen, dream start for Guthrie lift Royals
By Larry Fine SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - Kansas City manager Ned Yost could barely wait to unleash his scariest weapon, the remarkable set of relievers who preserved the lead to give the Royals the upper hand in the World Series on Friday. "Monstrous," Royals manager Ned Yost said about his bullpen after the 3-2 victory gave Kansas City a 2-1 lead in the best-of-seven Major League Baseball championship. "The key factor in all of this for us is timely hitting, great defense, really solid starting pitching, but dynamic back of the bullpen." All those elements were in play for the winners at AT&T Park for the American League champions. Veteran Jeremy Guthrie, getting his first chance in a World Series, shut down the Giants for five innings before wobbling at the start of the sixth. "My mindset was I'm not getting beaten in the sixth inning with the bullpen I've got," said Yost. Pitching with a 3-0 lead after having retired the last 10 Kansas City hitters he had faced, Guthrie gave up a lead-off single to Brandon Crawford and an RBI-double to pinch-hitter Mike Morse and was removed by Yost. Fireballing reliever Kelvin Herrera allowed Morse to score on a ground out by Buster Posey that made it 3-2 but stranded a runner at third in ending the inning. Herrera, breaking 100 miles per hour with his fastball, was followed to the mound by rookie Brandon Finnegan, Wade Davis and closer Greg Holland. The Royals relievers did not yield a hit in their four innings of work. While the Kansas City relief corp presented a nightmare for Giants hitters, the game went beyond the dreams of Guthrie. "Happiness, excitement, gratitude," Guthrie, 35, told reporters. "I think those describe it as best I can do it. Guthrie, an 11-year veteran 83-100 career record, took time to take it all in before facing his first batter. "I got behind the mound and looked around at the sea of orange that was throughout AT&T Stadium," he said about the crowd wearing the Giants' colors. "I took a moment to try to soak it in as best I could before focusing on the first hitter. "It felt like I was doing something that I didn't even dream of. I don't think I had that dream. But now to live it, it feels right and it feels like a moment that I'll never forget." (Editing by Sudipto Ganguly)
