Big sixth leads KC to series split

KANSAS CITY, Mo. - Three big sixth inning hits in a span of four batters and things are all evened up in the Fall Classic.

Kansas City broke open a 2-2 tie with a five-run sixth and defeated San Francisco 7-2 in game two of the World Series at Kauffman Stadium. The scene shifts to San Francisco for game three on Friday.

Lorenzo Cain opened the game-turning frame with a single and Eric Hosmer drew a walk. That chased starter Jake Peavy, and Billy Butler greeted reliever Jean Machi with a go-ahead single that chased home Cain for a 3-2 lead. Peavy, who was saddled with the loss, still hasn’t gotten out of the six innings in any of his eight career postseason starts.

Javier Lopez relieved Machi and got a fly out, but the host Royals got to the Giants’ fourth pitcher of the frame, Hunter Strickland. The right-hander, who had in the 2014 postseason already given up four home runs, unraveled in a span of seven pitches. First, his wild pitch moved Hosmer and pinch-runner Terrance Gore to third and second, respectively, then he allowed a two-run double to Salvador Perez that gave the Royals a three-run cushion.

Long ball No. 5 off Strickland came on a 1-0 pitch as Omar Infante belted his first career postseason home run, a two-run blast that put Kansas City up 7-2.

The game stayed tied thanks in large part to more shutout work from the Kansas City bullpen. After starter Yordano Ventura pitched 5 1/3 innings of two-run ball, but left with runners at first and second in the top of the sixth, Kelvin Herrera came in and retired Brandon Belt (fly out) and Michael Morse (ground out) to escape trouble. Herrera worked around two walks to pitch a scoreless seventh, while closer Greg Holland struck out the side in the ninth. In between, Wade Davis had another overpowering inning of postseason work, retiring the side in order with a pair of strikeouts in the eighth.

San Francisco, which scored three times in the first inning of a 7-1 win in Tuesday’s series opener, got on the board first again Wednesday. This time it took just one batter as Gregor Blanco launched a solo home run off Ventura. Unlike the game one defeat, in which the Royals didn’t score until Perez’s home run in the seventh, Kansas City got a two-out double from Cain and Butler’s single to pull even at 1-1.

Infante and Alcides Escobar had doubles three batters apart in the second for a 2-1 Kansas City lead, then the National League champion Giants equaled the feat in the fourth, tying the game on two-baggers by Pablo Sandoval and Belt.

Peavy settled down nicely after Escobar’s double, retiring nine consecutive batters before Cain hit a 1-1 pitch to center to open the pivotal sixth.

Jeremy Guthrie is expected to start for visiting Kansas City in game three, while San Francisco, winners of six consecutive home World Series games dating back to 2002, will counter with Tim Hudson.