San Francisco Giants catcher Buster Posey (28) and pitcher Madison Bumgarner (40) celebrate after Game 7 of baseball’s World Series Wednesday in Kansas City, Mo. The Giants won 3-2 to win the series. AP PHOTO: DAVID J. PHILLIP
The San Francisco Giants are the 2014 World Series Champions. The dominant Giants spoiled the ending to Kansas City’s storybook run in the 2014 postseason with a thrilling 3-2 in game 7 in Kansas City.
The game featured two veterans squaring off against one another on the mound. 35-year-old Jeremy Guthrie took the ball for the Royals while the Giants sent 39-year-old Tim Hudson to the hill. Both pitchers had short nights as neither one of them made it past the fourth inning, and Hudson was pulled in the second.
The scoring opened in the second inning by both sides. The Giants scored on two sac flies by Michael Morse and Brandon Crawford. The Royals answered with two runs of their own in the bottom half of the inning. Alex Gordon roped an RBI double to score Billy Butler. Three batters later, Omar Infante hit a sac fly that scored Gordon. The Giants pulled ahead 3-2 in the fourth with Michael Morse again coming up with another clutch RBI on a single that scored Pablo Sandoval.
That’s all the scoring San Francisco needed, as Madison Bumgarner came on in relief in the fifth inning to record a historic five-inning save to help the Giants capture their third World Series in five years.
The Royals came close to tying the game in a dramatic ninth inning.
Alex Gordon singled to center, and Giants center fielder Gregor Blanco misplayed the ball, letting it go all the way to the wall and allowing Gordon to get to third. Bumgarner ended all hopes of tying the game by retiring the next batter, clinching the game and the series.
The story of game seven and really the entire World Series was the historic performance of series MVP Madison Bumgarner.
Bumgarner compiled a win in each of his two World Series starts and recorded a 0.43 ERA. He earned a win in game one going seven strong innings and allowing just one run. In his second appearance, Bumgarner threw a complete game shutout in a 5-0 win in game five in San Francisco. Bumgarner also recorded an almost unheard of five-inning save in game seven coming off of just two days rest. He was deservingly named World Series MVP immediately after the game seven win.
Bumgarner delivered one of the most historic pitching performances in the history of the World Series. The dominant left-hander threw 21 innings in the World Series allowing only nine hits, one earned run and struck out 17 batters. Bumgarner’s performance will go down as one of the greatest in the history of the postseason.
The Giants now have three World Series titles in the last five years. The core group of players from this run has never lost a postseason series together.
The Giants have consistently dominated baseball over the course of the last five years. With Pablo Sandoval, Sergio Romo, Michael Morse, Ryan Vogelsong and Jake Peavy among core players with expiring contracts. Look for the Giants to spend the off-season re-signing these players and continuing the dynasty they have in place.
