The Kansas City Royals and San Francisco Giants are set to face off in a matchup of epic proportions. Both of these teams have been playoff juggernauts and are riding huge waves of momentum heading into the final series of 2014.
We've already seen some fantastic performances on the mound—from starters and relievers alike—along with some clutch hitting and tremendous resilience from the last two teams standing. This series has all the makings of a back-and-forth battle sure to provide plenty of fireworks.
Before the championship series commences, let's first take a look at the full TV schedule and streaming information and predict which team will come out on top.
Live Stream: MLB.tv (requires subscription)
*Denotes "if necessary" games
Preview and Prediction
It's safe to say not many people predicted the World Series would feature two wild-card teams. However, regular-season standings and statistics aside, both the Giants and Royals have been excellent in October.
Both of these teams carry plenty of confidence into Game 1 of the big dance. The Royals are riding an improbable eight-game postseason winning streak in 2014, and the Giants sent the St. Louis Cardinals packing after winning three consecutive games.
The Royals have home-field advantage in Game 1, but they won't have an advantage on the mound. Likely starters will be James Shields for Kansas City and Madison Bumgarner for San Francisco. These pitchers have had polar-opposite playoffs to this point, as Shields holds a team-worst 5.63 ERA and Bumgarner boasts a solid 1.42 ERA.
The NLCS MVP isn't the only one to thank for the Giants' recent success. This is a very experienced team, and MLB captured the pitcher's take on San Francisco's postseason prowess:
On the mound, Bumgarner has multi-inning reliever Yusmeiro Petit, as well as Santiago Casilla, Jeremy Affeldt and Javier Lopez—all of whom have yet to give up a single run in the postseason. This is a bullpen capable of coming in and dominating games.
Kansas City has plenty of good relievers as well. Wade Davis has been pitching out of his mind lately. He's appeared in all eight playoff games, pitching 9.1 innings while allowing just five hits and one earned run for a 0.96 ERA. This tweet from MLB sums up how well he's been dealing:
Offensively, these teams are very similar. Neither relies heavily on the long ball, as each has found success due to efficiency at the plate, tough at-bats and the ability to use savvy baserunning to manufacture runs. Both lineups have shown the ability to hit in the clutch and remain resilient throughout an entire game.
The World Series will come down to which bullpen can remain rested enough to prevent late-inning rallies from the opposition. Right now, the upper hand goes to the Giants and their phenomenal group of relievers in a very close series.
Prediction: Giants in seven
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