Silence no longer suits Kauffman Stadium, not after the Kansas City exorcism of the 2014 playoffs and the season-long euphoria of 2015. This ballpark saw the Royals raise a pennant last year and raise a division title last month. Yet silence, the collective stifling of more than 40,000 voices ready to roar during Game 1 of the American League Division Series, radiated through the park in the final moments of a 5-2 loss to the Astros.
The fans frothed with anticipation when the Royals, at last, placed two runners aboard in the bottom of the eighth against lefty reliever Oliver Perez.