Quick Recap
Well, it all comes down to Game 7. The Kansas City Royals shutout the San Francisco Giants 10-0 yesterday in a crucial Game 6 behind a dominating start by the rookie Yordano Ventura. Ventura pitched seven shutout innings, while the Royals bats came alive against Jake Peavy early, and didn’t stop. The pressure was on, and the Royals were able to step up. Now, they are riding some momentum going into Game 7 in front of their home crowd, and the Giants are the ones feeling the pressure. It all comes down to the final game of the season for these two Wild Card teams, and what a game it will be.
Starting Pitchers
Jeremy Guthrie (Royals): 13-11, 4.13 ERA, 124 Strikeouts
Guthrie got the win in Game 3 only allowing two earned runs in five innings. He has pitched extremely well all postseason, with an ERA of 2.70. It’s crunch time and it’s do or die for both teams. Guthrie is a veteran in the league, and handled his emotions just fine in a tough San Francisco environment during Game 3. This time around, he’ll pitch in the comfort of Kauffman Stadium in the biggest game of his career. The Royals need a great start from Guthrie in this pivotal Game 7.
Tim Hudson (Giants): 9-13, 3.57 ERA, 120 Strikeouts
Hudson didn’t have too much success in his first World Series start of his career. He kept the Giants in the game early, but finished pitching 5.2 innings and allowing three earned runs. Huddy has a 3.72 postseason ERA, and struggled this season during interleague play. The Giants veteran pitcher can handle the pressure and leave his emotions off the mound, but it won’t be easy in the tough KC environment. This is the biggest game Hudson will pitch in his career, and the Giants need him to be dominant in order to take the title.
Impact Hitters
Billy Butler (Royals): .271 Average, 9 Homeruns, 66 RBI, .323 OBP
Butler continues to rake this postseason with another impressive performance in Game 6. The designated hitter position is a great advantage for both teams, and Butler continues to shine. He’s hitting .364 in the World Series alone, and is a hitter the Royals are counting on in Game 7.
Eric Hosmer (Royals): .270 Average, 9 Homeruns, 58 RBI, .318 OBP
The Royals first baseman has had a remarkable postseason, and Game 6 was just another big game for him. He went 2-5 with two RBI in Tuesday’s matchup improving his World Series batting average to .292, and his overall postseason average to .377. It’s all on the line now, and the Royals need their big hitters to show up and come through at crucial times.
Salvador Perez (Royals): .260 Average, 17 Homeruns, 70 RBI, .289 OBP
Perez may be one of the most undervalued players this postseason. The Royals catcher has not only delivered at the plate, but behind the dish as well. He’s done a great job with his pitching staff, and has made some great plays at the catcher position. He’s hitting .381 in the Series, with an overall postseason average of .218.
Buster Posey (Giants): .311 Average, 22 Homeruns, 89 RBI, .364 OBP
The Giants catcher has been quiet this World Series, with some pretty bad at bats. The All-Star is hitting .182 over the first six games, and the Giants need him to rise to the occasion. As one of the superstars of this club, Posey needs to have a big game at the plate to help secure the Giants their third World Series title in five years.
Hunter Pence (Giants): .277 Average, 20 Homeruns, 74 RBI, .332 OBP
Pence is hitting .435 in the World Series, as he is their best hitter right now. He’s a guy who makes an immediate impact and is always a threat to drive in some runs. The Giants need him to keep performing at that level in Game 7.
Pablo Sandoval (Giants): .279 Average, 16 Homeruns, 73 RBI, .324 OBP
Sandoval is an impact hitter on the Giants. He is a big part of their recent postseason success, and will need to deliver when given the opportunity in Game 7. Through the first six games of this year’s World Series, Sandoval is hitting .360. SF needs their big name hitters to contribute, especially in this American League park in a win or go home Game 7.
Pitching Advantage: This is an interesting situation. While the starting pitchers battled it out in Game 3, Game 7 brings more intensity to every managerial decision. If Hudson struggles early, Bruce Bochy will no doubt turn to Madison Bumgarner on short rest; in fact he’ll probably pitch in this game at some point anyway. As for the Royals, Guthrie is a solid pitcher, and their bullpen is dominating, but the Giants were able to get to them in Game 4. That being said, KC seems to have a slight pitching advantage because they have a ton of momentum heading into this game, and have the better bullpen.
Hitting Advantage: The designated hitter is a huge advantage for both teams, but more so for the Giants because they are used to having the pitcher hit every game. The Royals bats are hot after a very cold Game 5, and they swung the bat well against Hudson the last time they saw him, whereas the Giants struggled a bit against Guthrie. At this point, have to give the hitting advantage to KC.
The Royals will win because they brought the series back to KC and have a true homefield advantage. In order for the Royals to take Game 7 and be the 2014 World Series Champs, they need a solid effort from Guthrie, and timely hits against Hudson. Bochy will not hesitate to pull Hudson, so the Royals need to get to him early and establish a lead.
The Giants will win because Hudson will be dominant on the mound and the Giants hitters will get to Guthrie. Posey will have a big game and come up clutch when needed. This experience is nothing new to Bochy and the Giants, they are capable of rising to the occasion by creating an early lead and keeping it throughout the game behind solid pitching by an ace.
Final Prediction
It’s a close call, and the game can honestly go either way, but with the Royals taking Game 6 in such a dominating fashion, they have a lot of momentum and the pressure is on the Giants as the visitor. No matter who wins, this Game 7 will be a close, hard fought battle baseball fans will love. Nothing better than a winner take all situation.
Royals-4, Giants-3