The World Series will kick off from Kansas City tonight, where the Royals will host the San Francisco Giants at Kauffman Stadium on Fox. Live stream Game 1 free by clicking this link; Royals fans can hear the game on KCSP 610, while Giants fans can catch the radio broadcast on 680 KNBR. The Royals will hand the ball to "Big Game" James Shields to open up the Fall Classic against Giants ace Madison Bumgarner.
Both teams are dealing with a bit of rust heading into tonight's matchup; the Royals are 8-0 in the postseason, while the Giants wrapped up the NLCS in five games. "It's definitely different because we have played so many games over the last 7 1/2, eight months. But you just understand it's one of those things," Giants catcher Buster Posey said.
The Royals may feel the layoff as well. "It affects a bit with your timing, especially when trying to adjust to pitchers," Kansas City second baseman Omar Infante said. "It's hard to recover that groove you have."
Kansas City has rolled through the opposition so far these playoffs, but haven't yet run into a starter throwing as well as Bumgarner. He threw twice in the NLCS, striking out 12 batters and walking just three in 15.2 innings of work. He said he feels great heading into Game 1, telling reporters "Honestly, I feel the best I've felt all year for the last probably two months."
Shields sounded a similar tune, saying he appreciated the chance to rest a bit after a heavy workload this season. "I think this late in the year almost too much throwing is too much," he said. "So I've just kind of rested my body up for tomorrow."
Shields has had his issues in the postseason despite his nickname, posting a career 5.19 ERA in 50.2 innings, and a 5.63 ERA in these playoffs.
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