The Skillz Report

Here, in Part 2 of our 2014 MLB Postseason retrospective, we'll revisit the American League Wild Card Game.

Billy Butler's Baserunning Goof

With two outs in the bottom of the first, KC's Eric Hosmer stood on third with Butler on first. Butler mysteriously drifted too far off the bag and was easily hung up by A's P Jon Lester. Hosmer broke for home, where he was easily thrown out—depriving Alex Gordon of an RBI opportunity.

Brandon Moss' Big Game

The Oakland All-Star tailed off as the season went on, but found his stroke when the A's needed it most. Moss blasted a two-run shot to right in the 1st off James Shields, then struck again in the 6th vs. Yordano Ventura—this one to dead center. Two swings, five RBI.

Dyson's Legs, Aoki's Sac Tie It

Sean Doolittle, invincible at times in 2014, was called upon to nail down a 7-6 lead in the 9th. Late-season acquisition Josh Willingham led off with an oppo single; pinch-runner Jarrod Dyson was bunted to 2nd, stole 3rd, and scored on Aoki's fly to right. Vintage Royals small-ball knotted the game at 7 and kept their season alive.

Alberto Callaspo Puts A's Up

The veteran infielder disappointed for much of 2014 but did record one of the biggest hits of his career in the 12th. With a 7-7 tie, Josh Reddick led off with a walk, was sacrificed to 2B and took 3B on a wild pitch. Next, Callaspo—who hit .197 in the second half—took a 1-2 pitch from Jason Frasor to left field for the go-ahead RBI.

Colon Ties It, Perez Wins It

Down a run in the 12th, an unfazed Hosmer tripled off Oakland's Dan Otero and promptly scored on Christian Colon's chopper to tie the game. Two batters later, Jason Hammel relieved Otero; Colon stole second and was driven home by Salvador Perez's liner down the LF line—sending Oakland home and KC to the ALDS.

Adam Dunn Stays On The Bench

The "Big Donkey" waited over 2,000 MLB games to reach the postseason, but manager Bob Melvin never called on Dunn (whose penchant for K's and defensive shortcomings limited Melvin's options.) For his part, Dunn—expected to retire this off-season—handled the matter with class and did not blame Melvin, who said he did plan to use Dunn until game situations changed.