Cal Sports Report

Former Cal pitcher Lucas Erceg Gets Saves in Both Royals Wins

Erceg did not give up a hit or a run in his 2 1/3 innings of postseason work against the Orioles

Jake Curtis

Royals pitcher Lucas Erceg is congratulated by catcher Salvador Perez after getting the last out in Kansas City's series-clinching win
Royals pitcher Lucas Erceg is congratulated by catcher Salvador Perez after getting the last out in Kansas City's series-clinching win / Tommy Gilligan-Imagn Images
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Former Cal pitcher Lucas Erceg was stumbling around with the Oakland A’s until late July this season, but now he is one of the heroes of the Kansas City’s two-game sweep of the Baltimore Orioles in an American League Wild Card Series.

Erceg played his first two seasons of college ball at Cal as a third baseman and pitcher, then played his final college season at Menlo College before being taken in the second round of the 2016 major-league draft.

He was traded to Kansas City in late July this year, and had never pitched in a postseason game until Tuesday.

He responded by recording saves in both of the Royals’ victories over Baltimore, protecting a one-run lead each time without giving up a hit.  He pitched 1 1/3 innings on Tuesday, getting out of a two-on, two-out situation in the bottom of the eighth, before issuing a leadoff walk in the bottom of the ninth and retiring the next three batters to complete the 1-0 victory.

On Wednesday, Erceg entered in the bottom of the ninth with Kansas City holding a 2-1 lead.  He got the first two batters on groundouts, then struck out Baltimore’s MVP candidate, Gunnar Henderson, to end the game and the series.

His statistical for the series: 2 1/3 innings, 0 runs, 0 hits, 1 walk, 3 strikeouts.

And he and the rest of the Royals are on to the next round against the top-seeded New York Yankees. Game 1 of that best-of-five Division Series is Saturday.

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Jake Curtis
JAKE CURTIS

Jake Curtis worked in the San Francisco Chronicle sports department for 27 years, covering virtually every sport, including numerous Final Fours, several college football national championship games, an NBA Finals, world championship boxing matches and a World Cup. He was a Cal beat writer for many of those years, and won awards for his feature stories.

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