The Kansas City Royals are one game away from the World Series.
Let that marinate in your brain for a second. The Royals, who have won all seven of their playoff games so far this postseason, are one win away from sweeping the favored Baltimore Orioles in the American League Championship Series, after winning Game 3 last night 2-1.
They are doing it with both small ball and homers. They are doing it with decent, if not spectacular starting pitching. They are doing it with terrific defense. And they are doing it with the best bullpen in Major League Baseball.
Last night, Kansas City was extremely happy to get five innings of one-run ball from their starter #Royals pic.twitter.com/ItV4kLmALd
— FOX Sports KC (@FSKansasCity) October 15, 2014The @Royals bullpen is redefining #LightsOut. Batters simply do not reach base: http://t.co/xtprRDcJon http://t.co/vRkaeNU4yB
And if you exclude the wild card game against Oakland, the Royals bullpen has a 1.11 ERA in 24.1 innings in the ALDS and ALCS.
Wow.
This season, Kansas City relievers got 5.9 Wins Above Replacement (fWAR) from their bullpen, tied with the Yankees for most in the Majors. Overall, their numbers were ridiculously good.
| Team | SV | IP | K/9 | BB/9 | HR/9 | ERA | FIP | WAR |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Royals | 53 | 464 | 8.65 | 3.30 | 0.62 | 3.30 | 3.29 | 5.9 |
Last night, Kansas City's bullpen success was led by the arms that have been so outstanding for the team all season long.
| Name | SV | IP | K/9 | BB/9 | HR/9 | HR/FB | ERA | FIP | WAR |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wade Davis | 3 | 72 | 13.63 | 2.88 | 0 | 0.00% | 1.00 | 1.19 | 3.1 |
| Greg Holland | 46 | 62.1 | 12.99 | 2.89 | 0.43 | 6.70% | 1.44 | 1.83 | 2.3 |
| Kelvin Herrera | 0 | 70 | 7.59 | 3.34 | 0 | 0.00% | 1.41 | 2.69 | 1.4 |
| Brandon Finnegan | 0 | 7 | 12.86 | 1.29 | 0 | 0.00% | 1.29 | 0.70 | 0.3 |
| Jason Frasor | 0 | 17.2 | 8.15 | 2.04 | 0.51 | 7.10% | 1.53 | 2.91 | 0.2 |
The Royals have so many flamethrowers coming out of the bullpen that it's impossible for opposing offenses to feel good about making a late-game comeback against them. According to FanGraphs, Herrera averaged 98.1 mph on his fastball this season, Holland averaged 95.8, and Davis averaged 95.7. And #Moose happened. #ALCS http://t.co/G6WhvYjMjb
— MLB GIFS (@MLBGIFs) October 15, 2014Tip of the cap to you, Moose. #ALCS http://t.co/RZzJRIq8Dd
Kansas City has found a formula that is working for them. Get decent starting pitching. Hit the occasional home run. Manufacture runs (the winning run scored on a sacrifice fly last night). Play incredible defense. And shorten games with a bullpen that is almost untouchable right now.
It has the Royals one win away from a World Series that has been 29 years in the making.