SAN FRANCISCO -- Welcome to AT&T Park and MLB.com's live hub for Game 4 of the World Series, which will be updated throughout the night with news and in-game highlights. Be sure to refresh often as the Giants look to even the Series at two games apiece, while the Royals attempt to take a commanding 3-1 lead. For real-time updates, follow in Gameday. In the At Bat App, go to Postseason in the main menu.
Royals keep on keepin' on: A stolen base and two infield singles was all it took for the Royals to tie Game 4 in the top of the third, and a couple of clutch hits gotRyan Vogelsong yanked from his start before he could record his ninth out.
Alex Gordon stole second, giving the Royals their first stolen base 30 innings into the World Series, and Lorenzo Cain beat out an off-balance throw from Giants shortstop Brandon Crawford, noticeably hobbling after he lunged at first base. Eric Hosmer followed with a grounder to the right side and reached safely after Vogelsong took a bad route to cover first base, Hosmer ending up with an RBI single.
Then came the big hits.
Two batters later, with the bases loaded and Giants reliever Jean Machiwarming up, Omar Infante smacked a two-run single up the middle. One batter later, with Giants manager Bruce Bochy hoping to squeeze one final out from his starting pitcher (whose spot was due to bat first in the Giants' half of the inning),Salvador Perez followed with a run-scoring single up the middle, extending the Royals' lead to 4-1.
Vogelsong was then taken out of the game, having recorded eight outs and allowed four runs on seven hits.
Jason Vargas thought he had plated the Royals' fifth run, when he took a 2-2 pitch off the plate and began to jog toward first base before stopping in his tracks midway down the line, drawing a laugh from his teammates in the dugout and then taking a called third strike on the next pitch.
Giants draw first blood: They say the only way to beat the Royals is to score early, and that's why Hunter Pence beating out a potential inning-ending double-play ball in the first inning may have been so significant.
Gregor Blanco drew a leadoff walk against an uncommonly erratic Jason Vargas in the bottom of the first, then advanced to second on a wild pitch, stole third and stayed there as Buster Posey drew a one-out walk. The next batter, Pence, hit a sharp grounder to third with the infield drawn in, but the Royals' infield couldn't get it around the horn quickly enough to double up Pence and the Giants took a 1-0 lead into the second inning.
Each of the four World Series games has now included at least one first-inning run. The Giants scored three in the top of the first of an eventual 7-1 win in Game 1, each team scored a run in the first inning of the Royals' 7-2 victory in Game 2, and the Royals scored in the top of the first in their 3-2 win in Game 3.
No go for Morse: Despite Michael Morse's pinch-hit exploits in recent days, including a key RBI double in Game 3, Giants manager Bruce Bochy refrained from starting him against left-handed Royals pitcher Jason Vargas. Morse has been battling flu-like symptoms since Thursday's travel day, and he has not started a game in the field since August.
| Date | Air time | First pitch | Matchup | Network | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Gm 1 | Oct. 21 | SF 7, KC 1 |  | ||
| Gm 2 | Oct. 22 | KC 7, SF 2 | | ||
| Gm 3 | Oct. 24 | KC 3, SF 2 | | ||
| Gm 4 | Oct. 25 | KC vs. SF | | ||
| Gm 5 | Oct. 26 | 7 ET | 8:07 ET | KC vs. SF | FOX |
| Gm 6* | Oct. 28 | 7:30 ET | 8:07 ET | SF vs. KC | FOX |
| Gm 7* | Oct. 29 | 7:30 ET | 8:07 ET | SF vs. KC | FOX |
Instead, Juan Perez manned left field over Travis Ishikawa, whileBrandon Belt remained at first base.
The Royals made no changes to their Game 3 lineup:
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