Kansas City Royals vs. San Francisco Giants: In-Depth World Series Breakdown

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Oct 19, 2014; Kansas City, MO, USA; General view of Kauffman Stadium before the start of the 2014 World Series between the San Francisco Giants and Kansas City Royals. Mandatory Credit: Christopher Hanewinckel-USA TODAY Sports

The Kansas City Royals have swept their way past the Oakland A’s, Los Angeles Angels, and Baltimore Orioles on their way to an unprecedented 8-0 run to open a post-season. Meanwhile, the San Francisco Giants have won 8 consecutive playoff series, plus this year’s wild card game, in a fabulous run that goes back to 2010.

The Kansas City Royals have swept their way past the Oakland A’s, Los Angeles Angels, and Baltimore Orioles on their way to an unprecedented 8-0 run to open a post-season. Meanwhile, the San Francisco Giants have won 8 consecutive playoff series, plus this year’s wild card game, in a fabulous run that goes back to 2010.

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Something has to give. One team’s streak—or both *—will be busted in the 2014 World Series.

*[Note: both streaks could be busted. The Royals could fail to sweep the Giants, but still win the series]

Which team will go home unhappy? I will look at each team’s offense, defense, starting pitching, bullpen, and bench to make that determination. I will also review the x-factors for both teams.

Right now, I will say that the Giants and Royals are a close comparison, as their similar regular-season records would indicate. Kansas City won 89 games this season, while the Giants won 88.

In the post-season, Kansas City is 8-0, while San Francisco is 8-2. I would discount the Royals 3-0 August sweep of the Giants at Kauffman Stadium, as the Royals were in the midst of a 24-6 run, while the Giants were stone cold.

Kansas City and San Francisco both come into the World Series playing at peak form, so their August series was not a good measuring stick for how these clubs compare.