The Royals even the World Series with a 7 – 2 win over the Giants in Game 2. The Royals break a 2 – 2 tie in the 6th by scoring 5 runs as the Giants use five pitchers in a vain attempt to stop the bleeding. Billy Butler puts the Royals ahead with a run-scoring single, but the big blows are a two-run double by Salvador Perez followed by a two-run homer by Omar Infante, both against rookie Hunter Strickland.

Major League Baseball hands out its newly-named reliever awards for the first time. In the National League, Craig Kimbrel of the Braves is the winner of the initial Trevor Hoffman Award, while in the American league, Greg Holland of the Royals wins the Mariano Rivera Award.

2014 – The Giants take Game 1 of the World Series, 7 – 1, over the Royals. A two-run homer by Hunter Pence off James Shields fuels a three-run 1st inning, while Madison Bumgarner gives up only one run on three hits in seven innings. The loss ends Kansas City’s streak of 11 consecutive wins in the postseason, dating back to the 1985 World Series.

The San Francisco Giants win their third National League pennant in five years by defeating the Cardinals, 6 – 3, in Game 5 of the NLCS. Michael Morse hits a pinch-hit homer off Pat Neshek to tie the game in the bottom of the 8th, and Travis Ishikawa sends the Giants to the World Series with a three-run walk-off shot off Michael Wacha in the bottom of the 9th.

The Rangers hire long-time Pirates coach Jeff Banister as their new manager.

The Giants take a 3-1 lead in the NLCS by defeating St. Louis, 6 – 4. The Giants rally for three runs in the 6th, once again barely getting the ball out of the infield and taking advantage of missed plays by the Cardinals’ defence.

The Royals win their first American League pennant in 29 years, completing a four-game sweep of the Orioles in the ALCS with a 2 – 1 win in Game 4. The Royals use small ball to score twice in the bottom of the 1st, then let their defence and dominant pitching do the rest. Lorenzo Cain is named the MVP of the series after hitting .533 and making a number of fine catches in centerfield, while Greg Holland saves all four wins. With 8 straight wins since the start of the postseason, the Royals set a new all-time record.

The Royals take a 3-0 lead in the ALCS with a 2 – 1 win over the Orioles, their seventh straight since the start of the postseason. 3B Mike Moustakas makes a couple of excellent defensive plays and the Royals’ bullpen ends the game with four perfect innings while Billy Butler’s sacrifice fly scores pinch-runner Jarrod Dyson with the winning run in the 6th.

The Giants win Game 3 of the NLCS, 5 – 4, over the Cardinals, on a 10th-inning error by pitcher Randy Choate, who fields Gregor Blanco’s bunt but throws the ball into right field, allowing Brandon Crawford to score the winning run from second base. A three-run double by Travis Ishikawa had put San Francisco ahead, 4 – 0, in the 1st inning, but they fail to generate any more offence, allowing St. Louis to come back and force extra innings.

2014 – The Diamondbacks hire Chip Hale to be their new manager; the D-Backs had fired Kirk Gibson with three games to go in the season, part of a wholesale series of changes dictated by new team President Tony LaRussa.