LAS VEGAS — The day after the Kansas City Royals lost Game 7 of the 2014 World Series to the San Francisco Giants 3-2, J.J. Picollo remembers returning to Kauffman Stadium with other front-office members and wondering if they’d ever be back in the same situation.

There were the obvious what-ifs, especially with Alex Gordon left standing at third base after being wisely stopped by third-base coach Mike Jirschele on the play before Salvador Perez popped out to end it. And after a wild run that began with a remarkable 9-8, 13-inning comeback win over Oakland Athletics in the wild-card game, it was reasonable to wonder whether they could replicate that same magic.

“We’d worked so hard to get to that point and of course you don’t know what your destiny is going to be,” said Picollo, an assist

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