The World Series is here, and the advantage goes to

Justin Kasser | Staff Reporter

The Giants, once again, continue to amaze the professional baseball community. They have mesmerized the doubting fans who couldn’t even imagine San Francisco advancing past the wild card. That being said, the Giants not only crushed the Pittsburgh Pirates in the Wild Card Game, but they proceeded to defeat the Washington Nationals in the National League Divisional Series and the St. Louis Cardinals in the National League Championship Series. However, they are up against their toughest challenge yet in the Kansas City Royals in the World Series.

The last game the Giants played was historic, exciting, and was all done in front of their home crowd. Down 3-2 in the bottom of the 8th inning, pinch-hitter Michael Morse sat on a 1-1 fastball and hit it over the left field fence. Then in the bottom of the ninth inning, with the score 3-3 and runners on first and second, left fielder Travis Ishikawa had only one goal: win the game. He proceeded to do that with a home run over Levi’s Landing in right field, causing the stadium to shake in happiness, his teammates to swarm the field in madness, and the Giants to go to their third World Series in 5 years.

The Royals, also a comeback team, followed a somewhat similar playoff path as the Giants; winning the wild card game, and sweeping both the Division Series against the Los Angeles Angels and the Championship Series against the Baltimore Orioles. In other words, winning eight playoff games in a row causes serious concern as the Giants prep to play the first game away from home.
So, who has the edge in this series? Does being clutch beat consistency? How much of a factor does the manager play in this series? Let’s identify some of the factors that benefit each team.

Royals

The Royals have a powerful offense led by hitters Eric Hosmer, Mike Moustakas, ALDS MVP Lorenzo Cain, and Alex Gordon. Their offense certainly isn’t lacking, and they have a well-rounded mix of righties and lefties scattered throughout their lineup. Defensively, while their infield is average, their outfield dazzles with great plays every game. Led by Cain in center field, their outfield consists of accurate, powerful arms and flexible gloves.

While all of these points are important when discussing their chances of winning, the bullpen will be the X-factor in deciding who wins. With a combined ERA of under 1.50, the 7-8-9 inning relievers are renown in the baseball community. The closing trio includes 7th inning man Kelvin Herrera, 8th inning setup man Wade Davis, and fireballer Greg Holland shutting it down in the 9th. Each uses speed and quick offspeed to limit baserunners, causing little hope for late comebacks.

Key to the Big Win: Score early, relieve late. The Royals have a sturdy advantage against the Giants frequent comebacks with their nasty bullpen, but that will not play a factor if they can’t score early against SF’s starting pitchers. Waiting on that perfect pitch and driving it for a homer will define their offense. The Royals have trouble relying on those RBI hits, so it will come down to small ball situations and sacrifice bunts to manufacture runs.

Giants

The Giants… well, the Giants find a way to win. It certainly isn’t always pretty, but it eventually happens. And when it does, it is plenty exciting. Look forward to enticing games in this Fall Classic. Due to injury mid season, the Giants have Gregor Blanco leading off and playing center field. Rookie sensation Joe Panik bats second, followed by heroes Buster Posey and Pablo Sandoval. Their lineup is full of players who can get on base, but a key for the organization is to put on those baserunners in a consecutive order, rather than scattered throughout the nine innings. Defensively, the middle infield is beyond solid, as well as Panda being great at third. While Ishikawa is weak in left, Hunter Pence and Blanco help balance out the rest of the outfield.

The Giants X factor is not a player, and is nothing like the Royal’s X factor bullpen. It’s a manager perched in the corner of the dugout, with a mind beyond the game itself. Manager Bruce Bochy has found a way to change the Giants from a lineup of scrappy players to winners with exciting endings. Whether it be making the call to use Yusmeiro Petit or Jeremy Affedlt in long relief or using Michael Morse for pinch hitting duties, he stays a step ahead of the game. Expect to see some surprising but positive resulting moves made by the coach.

Keys to the Big Win: The Giants should know that winning won’t come easy, especially with the Royals 7-8-9 bullpen ready to defeat clutch victories and walk off wins. However, relying on their sturdy pitchers, especially ace Madison Bumgarner, the Royals offense will face some tough situations. As for the Giants, playing small ball in the later innings and putting up some extra base hits early will make the difference throughout the series.

Conclusion

This World Series will be extremely competitive, behind two teams who play extremely similarly. I personally predict that the Giants will win in 6 games due to the fact that they find can always find a way to win, no matter the opponent or circumstances. What do you think? Write in the comments below your prediction and any reasoning why.