How long until the even-year theory becomes a scientific law?
San Francisco Giants first baseman/outfielder Travis Ishikawa booked his team a trip to the 2014 World Series against the Kansas City Royals with a ninth-inning, walk-off homer in Game 5 of the National League Championship Series against the St. Louis Cardinals.
It will be the Giants' third World Series jaunt in the last five years. Manager Bruce Bochy's squad won it all in 2010 and 2012 and, should they win it all again this year, the theory that the Giants only need the final digit of the calendar year to be divisible by two in order to achieve success should get a rigorous scientific review and possibly be considered as reliable as those three laws regarding thermodynamics.
Of course, none of this will happen if the Giants are unable to best the Royals, the AL Wild Card team whose last trip to the World Series—not to mention the postseason—came in 1985, when a George Brett-lead group beat the St. Louis Cardinals in seven games.
The 2014 Royals have won all eight of their postseason games, dispatching the Oakland Athletics, Los Angeles Angels and Baltimore Orioles in short order.
Take a look at the following table for a full rundown on the 2014 World Series dates, times and broadcasting information.
Preview and Prediction
No doubt about it, this matchup should deliver more than its fair share of late-game, ischemia-inducing drama, which indeed makes it appointment television for anyone with even a passing interest in the national pastime. That's the first prediction.
As for who will come out on top in the majority of these contests, well, that's a much tougher call considering how well both these teams are playing right now.
Eric Hosmer and Lorenzo Cain are hitting the ball extremely well for the Royals, posting batting averages of .448 and .353, respectively. Third baseman Mike Moustakas has been incredible, with four home runs in eight games.
The Giants are lead by catcher Buster Posey (five RBI), first baseman Brandon Belt (six RBI) and third baseman Pablo Sandoval (.326 average, four doubles).
If there is a knock against the Giants, it's the lack of home runs. They've hit just five in 10 games this postseason. The Royals, meanwhile, have managed an uncharacteristic eight dingers in eight games. Expect that number to shrink, especially against the Giants' airtight bullpen, led by Jeremy Affeldt and Santiago Casilla, neither of whom has allowed an earned run in the playoffs.
The fact that the Giants' fly balls aren't reaching the stands could hurt them, considering anything shorter is likely to end up in a Royals outfielder's glove. Alex Gordon, Jarrod Dyson, and Cain combine to hermetically seal off the outfield and back up their starting pitching. Grantland's Ben Lindbergh explains their dominance:
With three-time Gold Glover Alex Gordon in left field and Lorenzo Cain in center, the Royals always have the foundations of an excellent defensive outfield. When they’re tied or leading in the late innings, though, they insert Dyson, tightening up their defense like a constrictor coiling around its prey. In every game of the 6-0 Royals’ postseason run, Dyson, a self-proclaimed master of anticipation, has taken over center no later than the seventh, helping the Royals solidify their lead or prevent their eventual victim from taking one. His presence pushes Cain to right, displacing regular right fielder Nori Aoki and giving Kansas City a surplus of speed. Call it the ultimate outfield.
The Giants have gotten some excellent play out of their defense in the 2014 postseason, but it's not quite as solid of a foundation as the Royals. Indeed, Ishikawa's walk-off home run was redemption of sorts for a defensive miscue earlier in the night while in left field, a misplayed fly ball that allowed the Cards to score their first run of the game.
Ishikawa played out in left just eight times this season, per Baseball-Reference.com.
Royals manager Ned Yost doesn't have to worry about these kinds of defensive lapses, or stopgap decisions for that matter.
Steals have been devalued in the advanced-stats era, but any ability to swipe extra bases is magnified when it comes down to a single series. The Royals have racked up 13 steals this postseason, including three from pinch-runner extraordinaire Terrance Gore. Then again, steals have become almost a moot point for this team with the onslaught of home runs they've totaled.
ESPN's Mike Greenberg noted they got away from the death-by-small ball approach in the ALCS:
They surely can't continue to rely on home runs, but the team speed will ensure runs get scored if there is a power outage in this series.
The Giants can take comfort in knowing they have gotten outstanding performances out of the supporting cast in clutch moments. Ishikawa of course comes to mind, but the Giants got some great long-relief work out of Yusmeiro Petit in Game 4 of the NLCS and a big eighth-inning home run in Game 5 from Michael Morse to set up Ishikawa's instantly iconic blast.
As far as starting pitching goes, it's mostly a wash. The Giants will rely on Madison Bumgarner to deliver a win or two, but the NLCS MVP showed signs of weakness in Game 5 of the NLCS, giving up three runs over eight innings. ESPN's Jayson Stark noted the Cardinals were getting plenty of loft on his pitches:
Still, Bumgarner is an excellent pressure performer and is outperforming his ace counterpart: The Royals' James Shields has a 5.63 postseason ERA, per ESPN.com. Thankfully, he has an airtight bullpen consisting of Kelvin Herrera, Wade Davis and Greg Holland to back him up.
Jake Peavy and Tim Hudson have been great for the Giants this postseason, but not quite as strong as Jason Vargas and Jeremy Guthrie.
It's truly tough to separate these two teams out, as they've both relied on standout bullpens, immaculate defense and late-inning heroics. Expect these teams to punch and counterpunch in the late innings, which should be an advantage for a superior manager like Bochy.
That managerial advantage aside, the Royals are playing outside of themselves this postseason, building upon their pillars of success from the regular season and reinforcing them with some heavy lumber. And it's the trusted keys to victory that Yost will rely on to get through one more series.
"It goes back to playing the game the way the game was built to be played," he said during the ALCS, via Steve Gardner of USA Today. "Speed, defense, the ability to manufacture runs -- not reliant on home runs -- and really good pitching."
The Royals' defense, speed and bullpen will overcome the obstacles and bring the World Series trophy back to a success-starved fanbase in seven games.
Prediction: Royals win in seven games
All stats courtesy of MLB.com unless otherwise noted.
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