After 29 years without a postseason appearance, the Royals, a 40-1 shot to win it all when the season began, have steamrolled through eight games this postseason. Here's how they've done it:
BULLPEN
If the Royals are leading after six innings, it's almost always lights out for their opponents. Righthanders Kelvin Herrera (seventh inning), Wade Davis (eighth) and Greg Holland (ninth) all sport blazing fastballs and ERAs below 1.50. Don't forget Brandon Finnegan, the first-round pick in June who has become their primary lefthanded reliever.
DEFENSE
According to Fangraphs.com, the Royals were baseball's best defensive team, based on their MLB-best ultimate zone rating (UZR), a number that estimates a fielder's defensive ability as compared to an average fielder at the same position. If that's too mumbo-jumbo for you, watch them play: Every Royals outfielder has made at least one highlight-reel catch this postseason, with outfielder Lorenzo Cain leading the way. The Royals won three Gold Gloves last year, and they have showed why this postseason.
SPEED
This postseason could have been a short one for Kansas City after Oakland led 7-3 in the AL wild-card game. But from the eighth inning on, the Royals went 6-for-6 in stolen bases, forcing extra innings and then scoring twice in the 12th for an 8-7 victory. The Royals haven't run quite as wild since then, but they were first in stolen bases with 153 and figure to have two reserves, Jarrod Dyson and Terrance Gore, that will be brought in to pinch run late.
