Up 2-0 on the No.1 seed in the American League, everything seems to be coming up Royals, including their ace -- "Big Game" James Shields -- being available for what could be a series-clinching Game 3 against the Angels and C.J. Wilson at Kauffman Stadium.
Angels vs. Royals 2014 live stream: Start time, TV schedule and starting pitchers for ALDS Game 3
Big Game James Shields will try to close out the Royals’ ALDS at home against the Angels, who are hoping C.J. Wilson can help them stave off elimination.
Ed Zurga
Shields, who took the mound for the Royals in the single-game Wild Card playoff against the A’s, will look to improve on his performance in that game and give his teammates a few days off before the ALCS starts on Friday, October 10. Which is something that manager Ned Yost seems, for obvious reasons, excited about, telling reporters “We’ve got James Shields on the mound for us on Sunday. Our mindset is to go and win.”
Helping to boost Yost’s confidence is the play of his bullpen, which has been lights out since the postseason began. He was particularly proud of the way his relievers pitched after Friday night’s dramatic 11-inning 4-1 victory in Anaheim.
“It’s been phenomenal what they’ve done,” Yost said. “Our bullpen has been fantastic all year, and they’ve really done a great job here in these playoffs.”
The Angels will have to hope their offense can finally break through against that unit if they are likely to have any chance of prolonging the series from even one more game, something their manager Mike Scioscia is acutely aware of.
“On the offensive side, we haven’t done a lot of the things we’ve done during the season, and we put a lot of pressure on our pitching staff,” Scioscia said on Sunday.
That pressure isn't just on the pitching staff, however: Mike Trout has yet to produce a hit in his first postseason appearance. But Scioscia was quick to deflect blame from the likely AL MVP, saying, "I think it's unfair to focus on one guy in looking at us. He's definitely, obviously, being pitched very tough, and he got a couple walks, but he'll work his way out of it."
Given his prodigious talent, it seems likely that Trout will eventually “work his way out of it”, but with just one road game against their opponent’s top pitcher standing between them and being sweep out of the playoffs, he may not have enough time to do so this year.
Game time: 7:30 p.m. ET
TV: TBS
Radio: ESPN Radio (affiliate locator)
Streaming: MLB.TV
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