San Francisco Giants 0-10 Kansas City Royals: 2014 World Series - as it happened!

It needs no sell.

Giants 0-10 Royals, Final

Collins fires a fastball, Blanco swings and misses, the hurler pumps his fists and the Royals are out on the field to congratulate each other. The ballgame is over!

Overheard in the line:

Come on baby, one more...

Giants 0-10 Royals, top 9th

Tim Collins in to mop this baby up and take us to Game 7 tomorrow night.

He gets Morse to pop out on the right side, Hosmer puts it away for the first out.

Then Juan Perez is pinch-hitting for Ishikawa, and he lines a single under the glove of Infante.

Now it’s Duffy’s turn to pinch hit and he falls victim to a Collins change up.

The Giants are down to their final out...it’s Blanco at the plate.

FOX is busy hard selling a Game 7, as if it needs it. Come on...

Giants 0-10 Royals, bottom 8th

Here’s Ryan Vogelsong, usually a starter, to give his team a half inning so that Bruce Bochy doesn’t have to burn anyone who will pitch tomorrow night.

He walks Cain to lead off bringing up Hosmer, who strikes out.

Then Butler grounds out in to a good old fashioned 6-4-3. To the ninth!

Hey, if FOX can devote several minutes to Steve Balboni and the 2015 US Women’s National Soccer team during a World Series game, well, a wave at KC seems inevitable.

Giants 0-10 Royals, top 8th

Belt waves at a slider, Frasor recovers, inning over.

Giants 0-10 Royals, top 8th

Panik leads off with a base hit to center before backup catcher Andrew Susac pops out to the same place.

One out, one on for Sandoval, who has himself a knock to right, and right away, the Giants are having some success against Jason Frasor.

Pence now, and he settles everyting down by popping out in front of the plate. Perez has it for the second out.

Now it’s Belt.

Yordano Ventura

What can you say, he’s the anti-Jake Peavy.

7IP 3H 0R 0ER 5BB SO4

Stand up and cheer for Yordano Ventura.

Giants 0-10 Royals, bottom 7th

You know it’s garbage-time when FOX continues to talk and talk and talk about Steve Balboni.

Escobar pops to center for the second out, Jarrod Dyson grounds to first to retire the side.

To the eighth!

Theory

Bochy puts in Strickland because he knows the Royals will swing for the fences - it messes up their timing, their approach and their swing! And just in time for Game 7!

The guy is a genius.

Giants 0-10 Royals, bottom 7th

So baseball fans looking for the longball thank Hunter Strickland for his 6th homer allowed this postseason.

Honestly Hunter, that is not going to get you any closer to the Hunter club. Shame on you.

Infante is next and he pops out to first.

Giants 0-9, top 7th

Crawford hammers a single right up the box and that means there’s two on and two out for Blanco.

Can the Giants get on the board?

Nothing doing - Ventura gets him to pop out to third and the Dominican leaves to a standing ovation at The K.

That’s what you get when you pitch the game of your life.

I assure you, you’ll be the first tweet I make.

Giants 0-9 Royals, top 7th

A two-out walk. Ishikawa is on, Crawford steps in.

Giants 0-9 Royals, top 7th

Escobar - a man at the top of his game, and in the biggest of spots to boot.

Belt flies out to left, Morse grounds out to short. Escobar is an out away from seven shutout innings! Ishikawa stands in...

Home runs

We’ve had four, two in Game 1 and two in Game 2. I don’t miss them, do you?

There were six in the six game 2013 World Series last year, seven homers in the four games in 2012, and, get this, 17 in the seven games of 2011 - wow!

I know chicks dig the long-ball but...

Giants 0-9 Royals, bottom 6th

Hunter Strickland is on in relief of Machi and promptly walks Billy Butler.

Then Gordon grounds into a 4-6-3 DP - that’s second base to shortstop to first - two outs, one time.

With Strickland in, our chances of seeing that rare homer skyrocket...but it won’t be this inning. Perez grounds out to end the inning.

The man has moxie...

Nope, can’t say I blame him...

Giants 0-9 Royals, top 6th

Some defensive changes - Aoki leaves the scent and Cain moves over to fill the right field spot while Jarrod Dyson is in to play center field. That’s the outfield we saw during the three games in San Francisco and it’s together now to limit any Giant opportunities.

Panik flies out to right, Posey grounds to short during an at-bat in which he lost his bat and looked frustrated and then Ventura snares a Sandoval comebacker, tossing to first to retire the side.

The streaky nature of this series makes you think that the losing team has bigger problems than they really do...but having said that, if you’re a Giants fan you worry about Posey right now.

Giants 0-9 Royals, bottom 5th

A swing and a miss by Hosmer ends the inning as FOX cuts away to Infante running in place in the dugout.

Yes, these Royals like to run, seemingly anywhere at anytime.

Giants 0-9 Royals, bottom 5th

Crawford makes a fine play at shortstop - he moves to his right - looks down at Aoki at third and then fires going away to finish off a stellar sequence.

Two down - Hosmer steps in.

Giants 0-9 Royals, bottom 5th

Aoki grounds out to second - that moves Escobar to third. Cain is at the plate with one down.

Tim Hudson will start tomorrow - if (when) it’s necessary, Bumgarner will come out. How effective will he be on just two days rest is going to be fun to watch unfold.

Jeremy Guthrie starts for the Royals but he will also have non-traditional reinforcements such as James Shields.

Giants 0-8 Royals, top 5th

Yordano Ventura is making the most of his final start of the year, one in which he is saluting his fallen friend Oscar Taveras with a tribute on his cap.

He gets Ishikawa looking at strike three, Crawford bounces out to first as does Blanco.

The kid completes five shutout innings.

The versatility of the tweet means it works both ways. I wonder if Joaquin Arias has a curveball...

Giants 0-8 Royals, bottom 4th

Butler pops out to right field and Pence. Gordon is caught looking for strike three and then Sweet Salvador grounds to third - Sandoval throws it in the dirst and it pops in and out of Belt’s glove.

They call it a hit...

Moustakas flies out to center and we go to the fifth!

FOX TV...

...is doing an interview with a mom, her newborn and a family and the whole thing is so bizarre and out of place that I am having trouble even describing it.

So I’ll move on.

Do you believe in miracles?

Giants 0-8 Royals, top 4th

Morse grounds out to short and Escobar is under control and dealing. Side retired.

Giants 0-8 Royals, top 4th

Sandoval a chopper up the middle - Ventura, A GLOVE SAVE! He tosses to first for the out, and with a little bit of tude as well.

Then Pence, a lot less threatening down eight runs, grounds out to second.

Ventura is throwing strikes now, which is what he’s supposed to be doing, which is what he wasn’t doing last inning.

Belt, a grounder, Moustakas diving onto his knees and making the stop! A strong play but the throw is high and Belt has himself the second Giants hit of the night...

...that’s second. As in two.

Here’s Morse.

Giants 0-8 Royals, bottom 3rd

Homser bounces back to Machi who tosses to Belt at first, and another painful Giants inning is in the books.

Like the Royals themselves, the crowd at The K should also be thinking about saving something for tomorrow, right?

Giants 0-7 Royals, bottom 3rd

Aoki walks - runners at first and second with two down.

Cain is at the plate, what can he raise?

Posey is not himself, this we know.

Giants 0-7 Royals, bottom 3rd

A comebacker to Machi - he handles it, loks the runner back to second and throws to first for the out. Two down now and here is Aoki, who had that big chop base hit an inning ago that made it 2-0.

Giants 0-7 Royals, bottom 3rd

FOX TV are disappointed to learn from their in-game interview with Ned Yost that when the Royals manager scooted inside during the back-to-back walks by Ventura last inning, that he was actually just checking a television monitor for his location...not throwing up or kicking garbage cans.

Meanwhile, Moustakas is retired on a grounder to short before Infante lifts a ball into the left field corner - that’s a double for the KC second baseman!

No we’re at the top of the lineup and Escobar is at the plate.

Jake Peavy

OK, we can’t ignore it any longer. If you’re the queesy type just over your eyes.

1.1IP 6H 6R 5ER 1BB 2SO 0HR

I suppose the good news is that he didn’t allow a home run.

Meanwhile, Petit is done for the night and his line is ugly as well.

0.2IP 3H 2R 2ER 0SO 0BB 0HR

Petit throws just 17 pitches so you may see him tomorrow night, if there is a tomorrow night.

Giants 0-7 Royals, top 3rd

A ground ball to short - Escobar has it! He steps on the second base bag for one out, fires over to first for the second to get Posey! That’s a 6-3 double play and this inning is over!

Ventura, out of trouble and completely unscathed! My oh my...

Giants 0-7 Royals, top 3rd

Ball four! Bases loaded!

Here is Buster Posey! The man is due, is he not?

Giants 0-7 Royals, top 3rd

Panik is in a war with Ventura. A mix of curveballs and fastballs.

His pitch count rises towards 50...

The count is full for the 11th pitch of this at-bat.

Well, you and others in orange and black would sign up for that in a jiffy. Not so sure KC would agree so easily.

Giants 0-7 Royals, top 3rd

Back-to-back one out walks and that will get Royals pitching coach Dave Eiland out for a chat with his 23-year old hurler.

Joe Panik is up, and we all know by now what this kid can do.

Giants 0-7 Royals, top 3rd

Travis Ishikawa strikes out, then Brandon Crawford walks.

Now Blanco is up, and Ventura is down 3-0...

What’s this about?

Most likely it would be in relief - Randy Johnson style.

Yeah, you don’t say.

I’m down...if I can have the day off tomorrow.

Probably, but not definitely. Stranger things have certainly happened...like seven run innings.

Giants 0-7 Royals, bottom 2nd

Mercy. Perez pops out to Sandoval at third. Inning over, and I don’t believe what I just saw.

Am I drunk?

Giants 0-7 Royals, bottom 2nd

Attention please, attention please...

We have a second out. I repeat - we have a second out.

Gordon, who led off this inning with a hit, grounds over to Belt at first who takes it himself.

Butler moves over to third base and hre comes Sweet Salvador...

Giants 0-4 Royals, bottom 2nd

Wow! Time is called but Petit delivers and Hosmer hits the ball to center field - don’t think I’ve actually seen that before. Usually the pitcher throws but the batter backs out.

So the crow is a bit upset but there’s a consolation prize - Cain moves to second on a wild pitch that gets away from Posey...

So now it’s second and third with one out, and it’s 1-2...

Well, you’re up!

Giants 0-2 Royals, bottom 2nd

So here is Yusmeiro Petit, who has done this over the course of the postseason:

12IP 4H 0R 0ER

FOX point out that Peit hasn’t come in to a ballgame with runners on since August...

Cain battling, and in the hole 1-2...

Too much yelling, not enough of everything else for Peavy.

A tough play, he was charging in and Escobar is fast - I’ll let him off the hook. I need to see it again but one thought was, where is Peavy covering the bag? Need to see it again though.

Giants 0-1 Royals, bottom 2nd

A soft grounder to the right side - Belt is charging the ball...will he throw home? No, because Belt would have nailed him, even if he went on contact...

Escobar is flying up the line, and he beats Belt to the bag! So when the dust clears, the bases are chock full of Kansas City Royals with Nori Aoki at the plate!

Giants 0-1 Royals, bottom 2nd

Peavy continues to nibble away and Infante chases! That’s a huge strikeout, and it’s the first out of this inning.

Escobar is up to bat now for KC, runners still on second and third...

Can Peavy continue to rally? He’s ahead 0-2...

Getting Petit in early is a problem KC fans would like to have.

Giants 0-0 Royals, bottom 2nd

Alex Gordon lifts a ball to center field and it hits the turf at The K - it’s a leadoff base hit for the Royals with Sweet smelling Salvador Perez next.

He hits a line drive right over the glove of Panik at second base! That ball was scorched to the opposite field and now KC have runners at the corners and nobody out!

The Giants super-long man Yusmeiro Petit is warming up and here is Mike Moustakas, entering to Mooooose calls from the home crowd.

Giants 0-0 Royals, top 2nd

Belt is crossed up and he swings through high heat! He was looking for something else and now he’s seeking a seat in the dugout.

Now, big, dangerous Michael Morse, the DH.

Morse, a LONG DRIVE...it’s moving to the right field foul pole, and it’s carrying, carrying, carrying - Aoki is moving to his left and is under it, squeezing the ball into his glove. That was a wild route to a ball that had ideas of its own...

40,000+ fans exhale because this inning over.

Giants 0-0 Royals, top 2nd

Pablo Sandoval is leading off for the Giants, and Ventura gets him to pop to center where Cain is waiting to put it away.

That’s one down, here’s Hunter Pence, having a great series, always in the mix - and here too!

Pence with a little opposite field knubber down the first base line, he is into second and the Giants are in business in the second.

Brandon Belt steps in now, bidding to bring home the runner in scoring position.

An odd decision there by Mike Jirschele. It seems to go against what the Royals are all about - come on, force San Francisco to make the play!

Giants 0-0 Royals, bottom 1st

Butler grounds to short - Crawford is there, gathers it, and tosses over to Panik at second to get Hosmer on the force play.

Threat over, Peavy survives, side retired.

Giants 0-0 Royals, bottom 1st

Peavy throws over to first base check on Cain and keep him as close to the bag as possible.

Posey throws out 22% of baserunners says FOX TV.

Hosmer dumps one into left field - Travis Ishikawa slips! Still, Cain holds up at third! Why?

Oh boy...well, here’s Billy Butler with runners on first and third and Peavy in a touch of trouble here early.

Giants 0-0 Royals, bottom 1st

Peavy issues a two-out walk to Cain. What’s the innings over/under on when he’ll start talking to himself. I’m taking two.

Hosmer batting with a man on now - can he extend the inning?

Oh, and will Cain run? KC haven’t in a while....

Giants 0-0 Royals, bottom 1st

Let’s see how far Jake Peavy can take his team. The first batter is Escobar, who has had a strong World Series. Here he pokes a drive out to right field where Hunter Pence is waiting to put it away from the first out.

Nori Aoki is in the batters box, fresh off a few days off in San Francisco. Perhaps that will have done him so good...

Nope - he looks like a rusty nail, swinging through a nasty fastball that had some English on it.

Lorenzo Cain is next...

You, a crowd of over 40,000 in KC, and a bunch of others on the prairies will surely agree. Oh, and so will FOX - they’ll get a big television ratings payoff if we go the distance.

Giants 0-0 Royals, top 1st

Posey grounds over to Alcides Escobar who is at shortstop, he fires over to first for the out, and that’s a routine play to end the inning, much to the satisfaction to folks at The K.

Giants 0-0 Royals, top 1st

The count is full before Ventura reaches back and fires heat past Gregor Blanco! That’s the start they were looking for in KC. Now here’s Joe Panik, who is hot...

He looks like hitting the gap to right center, but it hangs up and Cain is just a speeding bullet, tracking it down for the second out.

Now Posey steps in, poised to breakout...at some point.

National Anthem

It was performed, flawlessly by the the Kansas City Symphony Orchestra. This is exactly what you want in a national anthem - and I highly recommend to everyone in sports that we get this more often.

Actually, it reminded me of back when I was a kid and TV stations signed off with the national anthem...back when TV stations actually stopped transmitting late at night.

Damn I’m old.

And here they are, your Kansas City Royals!

1. Alcides Escobar, SS
2. Nori Aoki, RF
3. Lorenzo Cain, CF
4. Eric Hosmer, 1B
5. Billy Butler, DH
6. Alex Gordon, LF
7. Salvador Perez, C
8. Mike Moustakas, 3B
9. Omar Infante, 2B

This is a similar lineup to what we saw in games one and two - one difference is Moustakas swapping with Infante. Billy Butler is back in the lineup - surely that’s a sight for sore eyes in KC.

San Francisco Giants

1. Gregor Blanco, CF
2. Joe Panik, 2B
3. Buster Posey, C
4. Pablo Sandoval, 3B
5. Hunter Pence, RF
6. Brandon Belt, 1B
7. Michael Morse, DH
8. Travis Ishikawa, LF
9. Brandon Crawford, SS

We’ve seen this show before, but what we haven’t seen in this World Series is Posey at his best. That can’t be far away...

Umpires are people too....

A good story out of KC tonight. I’m sure there’s more to follow.

Oscar Taveras and Juan Perez

What we didn’t know while Juan Perez was making contributions in Game 5 was that the Giants part-time left fielder was playing with a heavy heart. Perez, who was friends with Taveras and his family, had heard the grim news of surrounding the death of the Cards outfielder and his girlfriend Edilia Arvelo before the game and had to keep himself together under extreme circumstances.

Since then we’ve all learned the awful news and tributes have come in from the Cardinals, around the league and in the Dominican.

Oscar Taveras was just 22 years old.