Last night was one of the best baseball games I've ever seen. And when the dust had settled and the Royals had defeated the A's, 9-8, in 12 innings, to advance to the ALDS, a few things were apparent.

1. The Royals like to run. A lot.

2. Salvador Perez, although coming up clutch, has a really hard time hitting curveballs.

3. Brandon Finnegan can really pitch.

Finnegan, the lefty who pitched 2.1 innings in relief for the Royals, struck out three. He did allow a run and a hit, but he was very impressive. He hit 96 on the radar gun. He seized momentum for K.C. and the Royals should have won the game in the bottom of the 10th and the bottom of the 11th for him.

Brandon Finnegan is 21. Brandon Finnegan was drafted THIS June out of TCU. Pretty impressive that a kid could pitch in the College World Series and the MLB playoffs in the same year.

Finnegan pitched for TCU earlier this year, facing Siena College and pitching against Virginia and Shen grad Branden Cogswell (Getty Images).
Finnegan pitched for TCU earlier this year, facing Siena College and pitching against Virginia and Shen grad Branden Cogswell (Getty Images).
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Furthermore, Finnegan has some ties locally. He pitched against Siena College in the first game of the NCAA tournament this season, shutting down the Saints for 7.1 innings with 12 strikeouts. He also pitched against Branden Cogswell and the University of Virginia in Omaha. The 'Hoos took the game he started in 15 innings, despite him going eight strong innings.

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