10
KANSAN.COM
SPORTS
+
Brew: Anatomy of a late-scoring Royals team
CHRIS SITEK
@Creative_Canon2
The Kansas City Royals are clutch. Just look at their post-season run. The Royals have been notorious for late-inning comebacks.
kansas City Royals' Moustakas celebrates after hitting an RBI single against the Toronto Blue Jays during the eighth inning in Game 2 of baseball's American League Championship Series on Oct. 17 in Kansas City, Mo.
Rewind to Game 4 of the American League Division Series: The Royals trailed the Houston Astros 6-2 in the top of the eighth. By the time the innings ended, it would be a completely different series. The Royals' offense ignited.
According to ESPN, the Royals had just a 3.2 percent chance to win the game at that point; however, Kansas City scored five runs in the eighth and two more in the ninth to beat the Astros 9-6. That win tied the series at 2-2; the Royals won Game 5 behind a strong performance from Johnny Cueto and were off to the ALCS.
NATHAN DENETTE/AP
Now fast forward to Game 2 of the American League Championship Series: The Royals trailed the Toronto Blue Jays 3-0 in the top of the seventh.
er David Price had silenced the Royals batters behind his three primary pitches: a four-seam fastball, cutter and knuckle curveball.
Once again, the odds weren't great. According to ESPN, the Royals had a 12.4 percent chance of winning as ace pitch-
But someone must have forgotten to tell the Royals.
Once again, the bats came alive; Kansas City scored five runs in the seventh to take a 5-3 lead. The Royals' winning percentage went from 12.4 percent to 80.6 percent.
Third baseman Mike Moustakas finished off any hope the Blue jays had left, hitting an RBI single in the eighth as the Royals took Game 2 by a score of 6-3.
At this point, neither of these comebacks is too shocking. After all, the Royals are now batting .342 in the seventh inning or later this postseason, which has led to them racking up 20 late-inning runs.
So how do the Royals come back in these situations? There are four major ways.
First, the team strikes out fewer times than any other team in MLB. This keeps the ball in play and keeps pressure on defenses. Second, the Royals' bullpen is one of the best in baseball, ranking first in the postseason
among active teams. This allows them to keep offenses at bay and to chip away at the lead.
Third, the Royals are one of the best on base. They're aggressive and know how to get runs in crucial moments. According to sportcharts.com, Kansas City has the third best stolen base
percentage in MLB. Additionally, the Royals are the best in baseball with runners-in-scoring position, posting a .308 batting average this postseason
Finally, the Royals have the most balanced lineup in the postseason. Kansas City is first in teams batting and leads all
teams with 34 total RBIs.
Maybe the biggest piece of the Royals rallies is players stepping up. Moustakas was just 2-for-22 entering Game 2 of the ALCS. In Game 2, he went 2-for-4 with two RBIs. His first score tied the game at three. His second put the game away.
These are the plays and aspects that have brought the Royals success and have made the comebacks possible. And at this point, the extraordinary has become the exact opposite.
- Edited by Emma LeGault
Kansas rowing starts off the season at Jayhawk Jamboree
GRIFFIN HUGHES
@GriffinJHughes
FILE PHOTO/KANSAN
FILE PHOTO/KANSAN
The rowing team in Lawrence on Oct. 18, 2014
Kansas rowing took center stage on Sunday as its 2015-16 campaign began at the annual Jayhawk Jamboree.
The Jamboree was more than just a regatta — it was an event for the fans that included free food, live music and games throughout the day. According to head coach Rob Catloth, who is the only coach Kansas Rowing has ever had, this was the biggest field the Jayhawk Jamboree had ever seen, with 126 teams from nine Midwestern schools com-
THE DOLE INSTITUTE OF POLITICS
UPCOMING EVENTS
DISCUSSION GROUP
boat from Tulsa. The varsity "A" and "B" boats both won their heats, setting up an all-Kansas semifinal for the right to face Tulsa.
FIRST INTHEIR CLASS
"Beating the other boat was definitely the top of the list as far as things to accomplish today," said senior Mary Slattery.
[ on unique women in leadership ]
with KU Law Distinguished Alumna Lydia Beebe,
the Chevron Corporation's first woman officer
Tuesday, Oct. 20 - Noon-1:30 p.m.
Free and open to the public - Held at the Dole Institute
The Jayhawks' varsity "A" boat took the semifinal and finished less than a second behind the leading time set by the Tulsa Golden Hurricanes' varsity "A" boat.
peting.
Coaches and athletes agreed that the first regatta of the season was a success for the Jayhawks. They'll get their chance at avenging the sprint loss to the Golden Hurricanes in three weeks when they travel to the Tulsa Fall Invitational on Nov. 6.
"The sprints were meant to be exciting," Catloth said. "No one's really working on starts this time of year."
TRUMAN'S UNUSED A-BOMBS
The Varsity Eights moved on to compete in 300-meter sprints, one of the day's most popular events.
The Kansas Novice Eights finished second, 10 seconds behind Iowa, in the first afternoon race of the day.
BEYOND FAT MAN & LITTLE BOY with former Truman Library Director Dr. Mike Devine Wednesday, Oct. 21 - 7:30 p.m.* * May be postponed; contingent on ALCS game time* Free and open to the public - Held at the Dole Institute
The final endurance event of the regatta was the Varsity Eight Final. Kansas had three boats competing in the event. Each finished in the top eight, with the "A" boat pacing the team at 15 minutes and 4 seconds — three seconds behind the leading time.
"We've been training really, really hard for this," Irean said. "We performed really well ... I'm happy with our results."
"This has become a really good event." Catloth said.
The Jayhawks started off hot in the second race of the day, winning the open women's two-by-two final by two seconds over Tulsa.
- Edited by Derek Johnson
"Good training, hard training ... the great attitude the team has"
PIZZA AND POLITICS
UNITED NATIONS:
PEACE, PROGRESS & PIZZA
with United Nations Chief of Office Sharon Riggle
Friday, Oct. 23 - Noon
FREE PIZZA!
Held in the Centennial Room of the Kansas Union
The varsity "C" boat finished two seconds behind the lead in its heat — the eventual winning
The two early top-two finishes set the stage for the first varsity event, the Varsity Fours. Junior Maddie Irelan said the Jayhawks hadn't practiced much in the fours, but Kansas had five varsity boats competing, all of which finished in the top 15. The "C" boat finished in 17 minutes and 44 seconds, while the "B" boat took the top time for Kansas with 16 minutes and 50 seconds, good for third in the event.
DoleInstitute.org
"We're showing some of the results [of training]," Catloth said.
KELCIE MATOUSEK/KANSAN
Freshman Sharon Lokedi leads the women's 6K pack at Rim Rock Farm on Oct.3.
Women's team outperforms men at Pre-National Invite
NICK COUZIN
@Ncouz
Looking to pickup where they left off two weeks ago, the men's and women's cross country teams were in action over the weekend.
Among the highlights from this weekend's meet, the Pre-National Invite, was the performance of freshmen Sharon Lokedi. Facing the top runners in the NCAA, she finished fourth individually and was the only women's track athlete from Kansas to finish in the top 100.
Lokedi's performance bolted the women's team up to 19th with a time of 20:08.3 — eight seconds slower than event champion, Erin Clark of Colorado.
Two Kansas runners finished
Sophomore Lydia Saggau, who won the 6K race in the first cross country event of the season, finished right behind the sisters with a time of 21:25.3, which earned her 143rd place overall.
Seniors Evan Landes and Jacob Morgan led their team and provided the senior leadership that
While the women's cross country team continued its success, the men's team wasn't as fortunate. Unlike the women, who finished near the top of their races, the men struggled to get any leads down the home stretch.
within 70 seconds of Lokedi: Nashia and Malika Baker, who are sisters, finished in 2nd and 3rd place among the Kansas runners with times of 21:21.9 and 21:22.6, respectively. Overall, Nashia finished in 138th and Malika finished in 141st.
bolsters many top programs. Morgan and Landes kept pace with each other through the entire race and ended up only finishing one second apart. Morgan crossed the 8K finish line first, posting a time of 24:13.4, while Landes crossed at 24:14.5.
However, those times were not good enough to finish anywhere near the top 50. Morgan and Landes came in at 82nd and 85th, respectively.
As a team, the women finished 19th, while the men were a bit further back.
Both the men's and women's teams have a lot to improve on, but time is on their side, as they both have two weeks left until their next race, the Big 12 Championship in Stillwater, Okla.
品
— Edited by Rebeka Luttinger