Thursday 30 October 2014 07:46, UK
The Kansas City Royals held on to beat the San Francisco Giants 3-2 and grab control of the World Series on Friday.
Unbeaten through the post-season until they lost the first game of the World Series at home on Tuesday, the Royals have produced back-to-back victories to take a 2-1 lead in the best-of-seven series.
The Giants, chasing a third World Series title since 2010, fell behind 1-0 in the first inning and never recovered.
Alex Gordon, Lorenzo Cain and Eric Hosmer all drove in a run for the Royals while closer Greg Holland came on in the ninth to collect his seventh save of the post-season.
"This is the way our games have gone all year," said Royals manager Ned Yost, who made several line-up changes that paid off. "I'm getting really good at protecting a one-run lead because a lot of times that's exactly what we have to deal with.
"But I have the necessary tools to be able to do that. It's not me doing it. It's the guys that we put out there that are doing it. We have the type of pitchers in our bullpen that can accomplish that."
The Royals Jeremy Guthrie retired 10 straight during one stretch and combined with Tim Hudson to retire 20 in a row.
"What a gutsy performance, and that's one of the performances we needed right now, to be able to take this first one here," Royals teammate James Shields said. "He went out there and pitched his heart out. He did a phenomenal job."
Game Four is on Saturday night, where the focus will be on whether right-hander Ryan Vogelsongcan master Kansas City lefty Jason Vargas.
