KANSAS CITY, Mo. — This is how Ned Yost wanted it all along. And how he said it would be.
After the Kansas City Royals fell in Game 4 of the World Series on Saturday night, their manager shared a hope — a gut feeling — that his team and its opponent, the San Francisco Giants, would be playing a seven-game Series.
Well, after the Royals clobbered the Giants 10-0 on Tuesday night, here we are — for the 37th time in major league history under the best-of-seven format, for the second time in four years and for just the sixth time in 26 years. What a fitting end to the Yostseason.
Yost reiterated, after Yordano Ventura tossed three-hit ball over seven innings, and the Royals offense scored seven times in the second inning, that he was certain of victory in Game 6.
“I’ve never been so convicted about a game in my life, seriously,” Yost said. “I’ve never felt more strongly about us winning a ballgame in my life than I did yesterday on this game. I don’t know why. It’s just the confidence I have in these guys, because when you go in that locker room, you see the confidence they have in themselves. I just felt that we were going to win this game and get to Game 7 and see where that takes us.
“It’s a good feeling. I didn’t expect to win the game 10‑0. I thought we’d squeak it out, but we’re going to Game 7. That’s all that matters.”
That, and winning Game 7. The Giants would seem to have a pitching advantage, with Tim Hudson starting, and Madison Bumgarner waiting in the wings. And the Royals being at home, historically, isn’t any kind of advantage. Over the 36 Game sevens, the home club is 18-18. Yost still likes the comforts of Kauffman Stadium.
And he’s just as “convicted” about winning Game 7 as he was Game 6.
“You know, when we battled in Game 4 and ended up losing, I knew we’d have a heck of a time in Game 5, with Bumgarner as special as he was,” Yost said. “But in my mind, I knew — at least I had a very, very strong feeling — that whoever won Game 6 was going to win Game 7. And if the Giants would have won tonight, they would have proven me right.
“But we have to wait until tomorrow to see if my theory’s correct.”
Will the Yostseason end how Yost said it would. The man hasn’t made a mistake in two months*. There’s no reason to doubt him now.
*denotes likely exaggeration
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David Brown is an editor for Big League Stew on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at [email protected] and follow him on Twitter!
