Giants - Royals 2014: San Francisco Jumps To Early Lead In 7-1 Win In Game 1 Of World Series

It didn’t take long for the San Francisco Giants to jump out to a lead on the Kansas City Royals in Game 1, and it would be all ace Madison Bumgarner would need as the left hander allowed just one run over seven innings in a 7-1 victory of the 2014 World Series at Kauffman Stadium in Kansas City on Tuesday.

Pablo Sandoval doubled home Gregor Blanco, and Hunter Pence followed with a two-run homer off James Shields to give the Giants a 3-0 lead in the first inning. The Giants would add two more runs in the fourth inning to establish a comfortable lead they would not surrender to snap the Royals’ eight-game postseason winning streak.

The Giants would add two more runs in the seventh inning behind a Joe Panik triple that scored Blanco, and Sandoval would single home Panik.

Bumgarner provided another masterful performance, allowing just three hits, while striking out five. Salvador Perez would homer to left field to deny Bumgarner the shutout. Manager Bruce Bochy would turn to his bullpen, as Javier Lopez and Hunter Strickland closed it out to give the Giants a 1-0 series lead in the best-of-seven series.

While Bumgarner continued his dominance in the postseason, it was another forgettable effort for Shields. The disparity between the two pitchers was clear in Game 1, but the postseason statistics present an even starker contrast, with Bumgarner allowing just six earned runs over 38 and 2/3 innings, compared to 20 earned runs over 22 innings for Shields.

The only truly threatening moment for the Royals to get to Bumgarner was in the bottom of the third inning, when Omar Infante and Mike Moustakas were on third and second base with nobody out. But Bumgarner coolly struck out Alcides Escobar and Norichika Aoki, and then got Eric Hosmer to ground out to get out of the jam.

“He’s special. He’s got a flare for the spectacular,” said Pence about Bumgarner.

Game 2 is on Wednesday from Kauffman Stadium. Yordano Ventura will start for the Royals, while Jake Peavy takes the mound for the Giants.