Giants Blow By Royals 11-4, Tie Series

The World Series was slipping away from the San Francisco Giants. A botched grounder led to a three-run deficit, and they were in danger of falling behind the Kansas City Royals three games to one. Instead of panic, it was time for some Panda-monium, complete with four fans in the first row near the Giants dugout wearing giant white panda heads as they cheered on Pablo Sandoval, nicknamed Kung Fu Panda. Sandoval's single set up Hunter Pence to score the tying run in the fifth inning and the 2012 Series MVP followed with a go-ahead, two-run single in the sixth that sent the Giants surging past the Kansas City Royals 11-4 last night at pulsating AT&T Park. The Series is tied at two games apiece, ensuring the title will be decided in Kansas City next week. "We never give up, that's the thing," said Sandoval, who shook off a stomach bug after starting to feel ill Friday. "We've been doing it all year in these situations. We know how that feels."

Pence, eyes ablaze, had three hits, three RBIs, and a nifty sliding catch in the ninth inning, and Joe Panik hit a two-run double in a four-run seventh. "We had to win this game tonight no matter what," said Giants starter Ryan Vogelsong, knocked out after 2 2-3 innings. San Francisco scored 10 unanswered runs and piled on 16 hits in a marathon of exactly 4 hours. Showcasing baseball at its exciting best, the game included a sprawling catch by Royals center fielder Jarrod Dyson that left a pair of divots, and the first use of expanded video review in Series history—which became a turning point that helped the Giants build the pivotal rally. "Somewhere inside of me secretly I had hoped that it would go seven games for the excitement and the thrill of it," Royals manager Ned Yost said. "Sure looks that way." (More San Francisco Giants stories.)