The Giants are World Series Champs after defeating Kansas City
William Bleicher | Staff Reporter
The San Francisco Giants entered the post-season with hopes of winning their third World Series in five years. Their regular season was full of ups and downs. The Giants got off to an extremely hot start, reaching a pinnacle with a 43-21 record. During the middle of the season they hit a rough stretch and sustained many injuries to key players such as Matt Cain, Angel Pagan, and Brandon Belt. The Giants persevered and entered the playoffs as the second wildcard and played the Pittsburgh Pirates in a one game playoff. In a common theme throughout the postseason, Madison Bumgarner pitched a complete game shutout, and Brandon Crawford sparked the Giants with a grand slam. After an 8-0 win, the Giants had to face the team tied with the best regular season record in the Washington Nationals. In the NLDS, the Giants really never let the Nationals get a grip on the series. They got off to a hot start in the series with a 2-0 lead heading back to San Francisco. Following a 4-1 loss in game three, the Giants bounced back to close out the series with a 3-2 win in game four.
The NLCS featured two teams that have dominated the National League postseason since 2010. The Giants and Cardinals have traded off World Series titles for the past four years. In game one, Bumgarner pitched another gem and led the Giants to a 3-0 win. In game two, the Giants suffered a tough 5-4 loss, evening the series at one apiece. From then on out, the Giants put a strangle on the series winning the following three games in San Francisco.
The World Series featured two teams who have had polar opposite recent success in the playoffs. The Kansas City Royals were in their first World Series since 1985, while the San Francisco Giants were in their third in five years. The Giants sent Madison Bumgarner to the mound again and he pitched a seven inning, one run game masterpiece. Another dominant performance by Bumgarner led the Giants to 7-1 win. Besides Bumgarner, the Giants starting pitching lineup struggled in the World Series.
However, the combination of Pablo Sandoval and Hunter Pence offensively powered the Giants through the playoffs. Sandoval hit .467, while Pence hit an incredible .500 over the course of the postseason, as opposed Sandoval’s 279 and Pence’s .277 batting averages during the regular season. The World Series went through ups and downs and five of the seven games had a run differential of five runs or more.
The series came down to a Game Seven where neither Tim Hudson nor Jeremy Guthrie, the Giant’s and Royal’s starting pictures respectively, lasted very long. It ultimately came down to Bumgarner who carried the team. He pitched five scoreless innings in game seven and got the save. In the World Series alone he pitched 21 innings and allowed just one run. He had a collective ERA of 0.43 throughout the postseason and earned the World Series MVP along with his third World Series ring. With their third Championship in five years, Brian Sabean, Bruce Bochy, and the core of the team have earned themselves to be called a dynasty.
