It's all hands on deck Wednesday night as the Kansas City Royals and visiting San Francisco Giants battle in Game 7 to decide the 2014 World Series at Kauffman Stadium.
A memorable Fall Classic between two wild-card teams will have baseball fans glued to their televisions [Fox at 8 ET] and the Giants and Royals fateful on the edge of their seats.
San Francisco looks to win its third World Series championship in the last five seasons and first since 2012 while Kansas City looks for its second title in franchise history and first since 1985 -- 29 years ago.
The Giants send Tim Hudson to the mound while the Royals counter with Jeremy Guthrie and both will be on tight leashes as a slow start for either one could result in the end of their team's season.
Hudson went 9-13 in the regular season with a 3.57 ERA and is 1-4 through nine playoff series in seven years with a 3.53 ERA. Hudson is 0-1 in this postseason -- with the prior loss coming in this series -- with a 3.72 ERA.
Guthrie, meanwhile, went 13-11 with a 4.13 ERA in the regular season and he is 1-0 in the 2014 playoffs -- his only postseason - with a 2.70 ERA in two starts.
San Francisco knows it has an ace in the hole because Madison Bumgarner is looming on short rest and has given Kansas City fits in this series. If Bumgarner is used, he will be pitching on two days rest which could be a cause of concern, but he also has been light's out in the World Series in his career.
Bumgarner is 4-0 in the Fall Classic with a 0.29 ERA in his career and he has been a part of the Giants 2010 and 2012 World Series title victories. In this series, Bumgarner has allowed just one earned run in 16 innings pitched over two games while striking out 13.
For Kansas City, it knows if it gets through six innings with a lead at home it has the dynamic trio waiting in the wings in the bullpen as Kelvin Herrera, Wade Davis and Greg Holland will all be looming against the Giants.
History is also in favor of the Royals as the last nine home teams have won Game 7s in the World Series and the Giants are 0-4 in do-or-die World Series games. San Francisco lost the last Fall Classic between two wild-card teams to go to Game 7 when they fell to the Los Angeles Angels in 2002.
These teams both won do-or-die games to get to this point as the Giants knocked off the Pittsburgh Pirates in the NL Wild-Card Game and the Royals had a thrilling come-from-behind win against the Oakland Athletics that was an omen for how magical their postseason run would be.
The Giants then knocked off the top-seeded Washington Nationals and St. Louis Cardinals in four and five games respectively while the Royals went unbeaten by going 7-0 against the Angels (three games) and Baltimore Orioles (four games).
This series has been back and forth with Kansas City winning the opening contest and then San Francisco roaring back with two straight victories. The Royals then won Game 4 to nod things up, but the Giants put them on the brink with a victory in Game 5. Kansas City responded with a 10-0 triumph when the series shifted back to Kauffman Stadium Tuesday to even things up and force this pivotal Game 7.
The first six games have mostly been blowouts aside from Game 3, which saw Kansas City top San Francisco, 3-2.
On offense, outfielder Hunter Pence leads the Giants in this series with a .435 batting average and five RBI while catcher Salvador Perez paces the Royals with a .381 batting average and has added a homer and four RBI.
The Giants have plenty of experienced players as catcher Buster Posey and third baseman Pablo Sandoval are no strangers to the Fall Classic while the Royals have plenty of clutch players in the likes of first baseman Eric Hosmer, designated hitter Billy Butler and magical center fielder Lorenzo Cain.
Last Call: Like all Game 7s, this one can go either way as the Giants pedigree for winning and experience goes up against the home-field advantage and speed and defensive skill of the Royals. San Francisco could use Bumgarner to continue to dominate Kansas City and put them on the brink, but the lack of rest could come back to haunt him. The Royals meanwhile, just need to get to the sixth inning with a lead and turn it over to their reliable bullpen. In the end, it'll be a close game, but the Royals will gut it out.
The Pick: Royals 3, Giants 2; Kansas City wins the World Series.
It's a do-or-die situation when the Giants and Royals take the field for World Series Game 7 tonight at Kauffman Stadium in Kansas City.
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