Kansas City Royals Dominated By Madison Bumgarner; Lose Game One

By John Viril | Oct 21, 2014

Oct 21, 2014; Kansas City, MO, USA; Kansas City Royals right fielder Norichika Aoki (23) is unable to field a RBI triple hit by San Francisco Giants second baseman Joe Panik (not pictured) during game one of the 2014 World Series at Kauffman Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Christopher Hanewinckel-USA TODAY Sports

The San Francisco Giants made quick work of the Kansas City Royals 8-game playoff winning streak, hanging 3 runs on starter James Shields in the top of the first inning on their way to a 7-1 victory in Game 1 of the World Series in Kansas City.

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Gregor Blanco opened the game with a leadoff single, advanced to 3rd on Buster Posey‘s single to left, and scored on Pablo Sandoval‘s double to right—although Alcides Escobar cut down Posey at the plate for the inning’s 2nd out. Hunter Pence then followed with a 2-run home run to centerfield.

The Royals were never really able to get into the game after that against Giants ace Madison Bumbarner.

Now we will find out how the Royals react to a post-season loss—which is the first for Kansas City since 1985.

On the Mound

James Shields simply didn’t have it on Tuesday. Shields only lasted 3 innings, allowing 7 hits, 1 walk, and 5 earned runs with 1 strikeout. Shields left the game with runners on 1st and 2nd with no outs in the 4th inning, trailing 4-0.

Danny Duffy relieved Shields as Juan Perez bunted to move the runners to 2nd and 3rd. Duffy then walked Brandon Crawford and Gregor Blanco to plate a 5th run, then Duffy struck out Joe Panik and got Buster Posey to fly out to right.

Duffy went 3.0 innings, allowing 1 hit, 3 walks, and 2 earned runs. Duffy’s outing was important because he prevented the Giants from getting deep into the Royals pen early, which allowed Kansas City to keep their key relievers fresh for game 2.

Duffy left the game with the Royals trailing 6-0.

Tim Collins entered in the 7th with a runner on 3rd. Collins got the 1st out on a liner to Hosmer, but then gave up a single to Pablo Sandoval to drive in S.F.’s 7th run.

Collins did manage to get the final 2 outs of the inning to prevent further damage. Collins also pitched the 8th to finish 2.0 innings, allowing 2 hits and 0 earned runs.

Jason Frasor entered in the 9th and pitched a scoreless inning despite allowing a walk and an error by Mike Moustakas.

At the Plate

The Royals did not crack the scoreboard until Salvador Perez slammed a high home run over the left-center field wall in the 7th inning. Perez’s solo shot cut the Giants lead to 7-1.

Kansas City missed a golden opportunity to rough up Bumgarner in the 3rd when Omar Infante led off the inning by reaching on a error by Brandon Crawford, followed by Mike Moustakas’ double into the right field corner. Howevr, Burmgarner struck out Alcides Escobar and Nori Aoki before Lorenzo Cain walked and Eric Hosmer grounded out the 2nd.

This and That

The winner of game 1 has won 10 of the last 11 World Series, which does not bode well for the Royals. The winner of game 1 has also won all 6 series in the 2014 post-season.

The Giants opened the Series with 3 runs in the top of the first on Pablo Sandoval’s RBI double and Hunter Pence’s 2-run home run to center. The inning would have been worse except for Nori Aoki’s nice throw to relay man Alcides Escobar that allowed the Royals shortstop to nail Buster Posey at home plate.

Joe Panik did something no other player this post-season has managed: make a Royals outfield look bad. Nori Aoki fell down on Panik triple to the gap, and allowed the ball to roll to the wall. Panik’s knock drove in the Giant’s 6th run of the game. Mike Moustakas also committed an error in the 8th on a hard-hit grounder by Pablo Sandoval.

After that, C Salvador Perez allowed a passed ball to go back the the screen. Overall, Tuesday seemingly burst the myth of the impenetrable Kansas City defense.

Madison Bumgarner started his career with 21.1 consecutive scoreless innings until Salvador Perez’s home run in the 7th.

The loss broke Kansas City’s 8-game post-season winning streak.

The Giants

Madison Bumgarner lived up to his billing lasting 7.0 innings, allowing 3 hits, 1 walk, and 1 earned run with 5 strikeouts. Bumgarner dominated the Royals, not allowing a run in the first 6 innings. He also helped himself out by spearing a line drive hit right back to him in the 1st, starting a double play in the 2nd, and fielding another grounder in the 5th.

Up Next

The Royals and Giants play game 2 of the World Series in Kansas City on Wednesday. Yordano Ventura (14-10, 3.20 ERA) takes the mound for Kansas City in a must-win situation, against Jake Peavy (7-13, 3.73 ERA) for San Francisco. Game time is 7:00 PM CST at Kauffman Stadium in Kansas City.

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