Slumping Stars Who Have to Turn It Around to Carry Team to World Series
The 2014 MLB postseason has officially reached the Championship Series Round, as there are now four teams vying for their respective league pennants and a chance to play in the World Series.
The upstart Kansas City Royals have yet to lose this October. They rallied from behind in the Wild Card Game and have continued to find late-game magic all postseason, on their way to a 2-0 lead over the Baltimore Orioles in the American League Championship Series.
That series now shifts back to Kansas City, where the AL East-winning Orioles will have their hands full with what promises to be a raucous Royals fanbase.
On the NL side of things, the St. Louis Cardinals authored some late-inning magic of their own to reach the NLCS, while the San Francisco Giants rode some terrific starting pitching and a little luck to a National League Division Series victory over the heavily favored Washington Nationals.
The Giants jumped out to an early lead in the NLCS behind another brilliant start from ace Madison Bumgarner, and the Cardinals will be looking to even things up on Sunday.
So with the ALCS and NLCS now in full swing, what follows is a look at a handful of slumping stars (two from each team) who will need to turn things around if their teams hope to be playing in the World Series later this month.
CF Adam Jones, Baltimore Orioles
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Postseason Stats: 5 G, 5-for-21, 1 HR, 3 RBI, 6 R, 1 BB, 6 K
Adam Jones finally showed some signs of life at the plate in Game 2 of the ALCS, turning on a Yordano Ventura fastball and driving it into the left field stands for a game-tying two-run home run in the third inning.
"I think I need to cut back a little bit more in the postseason, the aggression in the regular season,” Jones told reporters before Game 2. "I think it intensifies when the postseason comes on, the strike zone is smaller. Every pitch is that more of importance. And you've got to lock in better. It's the same game; it's just the focus has to be stronger."
However, the Orioles still need an awful lot more than they have received from this point out of their star center fielder. He is just 2-for-9 with runners in scoring position and 0-for-3 with two strikeouts in late/close situations.
Jones went through some similar struggles last time the Orioles were in the playoffs back in 2012, going 2-for-26 with one RBI, so maybe the home run can finally spark him back to star-caliber production.
RP Zach Britton, Baltimore Orioles
2 of 8
Postseason Stats: 5 G, 2-of-2 SV, 3.2 IP, 4 H, 2 ER, 4 BB, 4 K
In his first full season as a reliever, Zach Britton was a revelation, converting 37 of 41 save chances with a 1.65 ERA and 0.904 WHIP for the Orioles.
The left-hander made three appearances in the ALDS, where he converted both of his save chances, but he did allow two hits and an earned run in Game 3 while pitching with a 2-0 lead.
Now he has legitimately struggled in his two ALCS appearances, walking three hitters and recording just one out in Game 1 and allowing two hits and a run in Game 2.
Britton did not walk more than one hitter in any of his 71 appearances during the regular season, and he walked just 23 guys in 76.1 innings (2.7 BB/9), so it would appear command would be his biggest issue right now, as the nerves of his first postseason may be getting to him.
C Salvador Perez, Kansas City Royals
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Postseason Stats: 6 G, 4-for-27, 0 HR, 2 RBI, 1 R, 1 BB, 8 K
Salvador Perez was again one of the best all-around catchers in baseball during the regular season. He's in good position to add another Gold Glove to his collection, and he hit .260 with 17 home runs and 70 RBI along the way.
He came up big in the team's Wild Card Round win over the Oakland A's, delivering the game-winning RBI single in the bottom of the 12th inning.
Since then, however, he has gone just 1-for-7 with runners in scoring position and managed just three singles in 21 at-bats.
He should continue to see plenty of RBI chances hitting in the No. 7 spot in the order, as the guys ahead of him have been hot. While his struggles at the plate have not adversely affected the Royals to this point, it wouldn't hurt to have him get in on the fun.
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SP James Shields, Kansas City Royals
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Postseason Stats: 3 GS, W, 16.0 IP, 21 H, 10 ER, 5 BB, 15 K
James Shields made his third start of the postseason in Game 1 of the ALCS, and while he is 1-0 with a pair of no-decisions, he has not exactly been in ace form.
- WC Game 1: 5.0 IP, 5 H, 4 ER, 2 BB, 6 K, ND
- ALDS Game 3: 6.0 IP, 6 H, 2 ER, 2 BB, 6 K, W
- ALCS Game 1: 5.0 IP, 10 H, 4 ER, 1 BB, 3 K, ND
Shields pitched at least seven innings in 18 of his 34 regular-season starts, and while the bullpen and offense have been able to bail him out twice when he made it just five innings, it would be nice if he could pitch deep into his next start.
The Royals have some talented arms, but Shields is the ace of that staff. Regardless of how good Kansas City has been to this point, a team can't rely on pushing across runs in the late innings to win games. A big game from Big Game James next time out could help take some pressure off the bats.
CF Gregor Blanco, San Francisco Giants
5 of 8
Postseason Stats: 6 G, 2-for-27, 1 RBI, 1 R, 3 BB, 1 K
Yes, the title of this article includes the word "stars" in it. No, Gregor Blanco is not a star. Hear me out on this one, though.
While Blanco may not be a star player, he has been asked to fill the shoes of one this postseason, stepping into the leadoff/center field role vacated by the injured Angel Pagan.
Pagan's season officially came to an end on Aug. 19, when he re-aggravated a back injury and had to leave the game after just two at-bats.
Blanco replaced him the rest of the way and provided some reason for optimism that the Giants offense could get by without its catalyst. He hit .294/.366/.521 with 16 extra-base hits in 119 at-bats after stepping into the everyday role.
The postseason has been a different story, though, and without that on-base threat at the top of the lineup, the Giants are not nearly as dangerous offensively.
RF Hunter Pence, San Francisco Giants
6 of 8
Postseason Stats: 6 G, 6-for-25, 2 2B, 0 RBI, 4 R, 3 BB, 4 K
There are certainly hitters with worse numbers than the .240 average and .641 OPS that Hunter Pence has recorded so far this postseason, but relative to expectations, he's been a big disappointment.
With the starting pitching performing so well to this point, the key for the Giants will be offensive production, and Pence was among their most consistent performers all season. He had a .777 OPS with 29 doubles, 20 home runs, 74 RBI and 106 runs scored.
He has yet to record his first RBI of the postseason, though, going 0-for-5 with runners in scoring position. Hot hitting from the trio of Buster Posey, Pablo Sandoval and Brandon Belt has helped offset the lack of production from Pence, but the Giants need him to return to his regular-season form.
Heck of a catch against the wall in the NLDS, though.
SS Jhonny Peralta, St. Louis Cardinals
7 of 8
Postseason Stats: 5 G, 3-for-17, 1 2B, 2 R, 2 BB, 4 K
The Cardinals signed Jhonny Peralta to a four-year, $53 million deal looking to add some offensive punch at the shortstop position, and he gave them just that by hitting a franchise shortstop-record 21 home runs while finishing second on the team with 75 RBI.
He is still looking for his first RBI this postseason, though. While seemingly everyone else in the lineup has come up with a big hit so far, he is still searching for his highlight moment of the 2014 playoffs.
Peralta has plenty of postseason experience and success under his belt, with an .801 OPS, eight home runs and 24 RBI in 50 career playoff games. He just needs to find his groove this October.
The Cardinals have consistently batted him cleanup against left-handed starters, and he has gone 0-for-3 with a pair of strikeouts with runners in scoring position.
SP Adam Wainwright, St. Louis Cardinals
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Postseason Stats: 2 GS, L, 9.0 IP, 17 H, 9 R, 8 ER, 4 BB, 7 K
Aside from a rough patch in August when he was 2-4 with a 5.17 ERA and 1.487 WHIP, Adam Wainwright was brilliant atop the Cardinals rotation once again this year, going 20-9 with a 2.38 ERA in 227.0 innings.
He was 4-0 with a 0.55 ERA over his final four starts of the regular season. However, he has been dealing with "some tendinitis and discomfort around his right elbow" for several months now, according to an article from Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch.
Wainwright was far from on top of his game in the NLDS opener, allowing 11 hits and six earned runs in 4.1 innings of work, as the Dodgers went a combined 11-for-22 against him.
His start in Game 1 of the NLCS was not quite as bad, but it was still a long way from expectations, as he labored through 4.2 innings and allowed six hits and three runs (two earned) to take the loss.
"My arm, it doesn't feel great. But it should certainly be a lot better, results-wise, than that," Wainwright told reporters after the game, via MLB.com. "I should be able to complete my pitches and deliver a lot better than I am. Those things will continue to get better. I know some things I have to work on now, and that's why we play a seven-game series now."
Lance Lynn and John Lackey are a solid one-two punch behind Wainwright, and Shelby Miller threw the ball well in his postseason debut, but the Cardinals need their ace pitching like he is capable of if they are going to have a chance.
Unless otherwise noted, all starts courtesy of Baseball-Reference, and accurate through Saturday, Oct. 11.
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