World Series Schedule 2014: TV Info and Live Stream for Royals vs. Giants Game 5: Neutral fans who are simply cheering for as close of a World Series as possible got exactly what they were looking for on Saturday during Game 4. The San Francisco Giants overcame an early 4-1 deficit against the Kansas City Royals to win in dominating fashion, 11-4. It tied the series at two games apiece and set the stage for a thrilling Game 5 on Sunday night. Here is a look at all the essential information and the broadcast schedule for Game 5 before digging into a brief preview. Date: Sunday, Oct. 26 Time: 8:07 p.m. ET TV: Fox Live Stream: MLB.tv (requires subscription) Preview The Giants set up this all-important Game 5 tussle doing what they always do—winning in the postseason. ESPN Stats & Info noted just how efficient they have been in recent Octobers: The key storyline in Sunday’s game will clearly be the starting-pitching showdown between James Shields and Madison Bumgarner. It is a rematch from the first game of the World Series, where the Giants won 7-1 behind seven innings of one-run and three-hit baseball from their star southpaw. Bumgarner is 3-1 in five postseason starts with a 1.40 ERA and 0.72 WHIP and has been the best player in the postseason for any team. He commented on his physical standing, via David Lennon of Newsday: I feel as good as Ive felt all year right now, which is fortunate for me. It usually doesnt work out that way. But for whatever reason, everything started clicking in the last probably two months, and Ive been feeling really good. Bumgarner will have to deal with a rejuvenated Hunter Pence, who tallied three hits, three RBI, two runs scored and an incredible catch in the ninth inning on Saturday. MLB Fan Cave sang Pence’s praises: Then there is Shields, who has been anything but ace-like in the postseason for the Royals. He allowed five runs on seven hits in a mere three innings of work in Game 1, which was actually the shortest outing from a World Series Game 1 starter since Roger Clemens in 2005. It also moved his postseason ERA this year to 7.11, which is only slightly higher than his career playoffs ERA of 5.74. What’s more, the Royals’ bullpen didn’t look so invincible during the Game 4 loss, as ESPN Stats & Info noted: Kansas City’s relievers have pitched so many innings in October that they appeared a bit taxed on Saturday and didn’t even have star Kelvin Herrera available unless it was an absolute emergency. There will be additional pressure on Shields to pitch deeper into the game than he did the first time and turn in a better performance than we have seen all playoffs if the bullpen is fatigued. The Giants’ bullpen has some momentum thanks to the performance from Yusmeiro Petit in Game 4. He basically saved the contest for San Francisco with three scoreless innings after Ryan Vogelsong did not even make it into the fourth. Bullpens aside, the thought here is that the Bumgarner and Shields matchup follows the same narrative as the first game. Bumgarner has been on an absolute tear in the postseason, and there is no reason to expect anything different on Sunday. Even with a defeat, the Royals will have the chance to win the World Series at home in front of what should be a raucous crowd, so all will certainly not be lost. In fact, Sunday’s game is probably more important for the Giants than Kansas City because it is difficult to see San Francisco winning twice on the road without Bumgarner starting either game. The ace will come through on Sunday, as this World Series takes another step toward a potential Game 7. Prediction: Giants 6, Royals 2 Follow me on Twitter: Follow @ScottPolacek Read more MLB news on BleacherReport #Baseball #MLB #PreviewPrediction #2014WorldSeries
Posted on: Sun, 26 Oct 2014 15:01:46 +0000
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