2014 World Series Game 2 Preview: Jake Peavy vs. Yordano Ventura

San Francisco Giants at Kansas City Royals, Wednesday, Oct. 22, 8:00pm ET on Fox

Thanks to a stellar effort from Madison Bumgarner and a not-so-stellar effort from James Shields, the Giants took Game 1 of the World Series on Tuesday night (SF 7, KC 1). San Francisco leads the best-of-7 series one game to none.

The loss snapped the Royals' postseason winning streak at 11 games (dating back to 1985), one shy of the all-time record held by the 1927-32 and 1998-99 Yankees. The Giants, meanwhile, have won seven straight World Series games dating back to 2010. That is the sixth longest streak in MLB history. They'll look to push that streak to eight on Wednesday night. Let's preview Game 2.

Pitching Matchup: RHP Jake Peavy (7-13, 3.73 ERA, 2.51 K/BB in 202 2/3 innings with Giants and Red Sox) vs. RHP Yordano Ventura (14-10, 3.20 ERA, 2.30 K/BB in 183 innings)

Royals vs. Peavy

Thanks to his time with the AL Central rival White Sox, Peavy is no stranger to the Royals and vice versa. He is certainly aware of how dangerous Kansas City is even though they were a non-contender during his years on Chicago's south side. Here's what Peavy told reporters on Tuesday:

It's the same players. They're certainly on a great run. They're playing good baseball and playing with a lot of confidence. We all know when a team's playing with confidence, they're a dangerous team ... This is a very confident bunch, a balance bunch; right-handed, left-handed, got some power, got some speed, they can do a lot of different things.

At the same time, they're the same personnel-wise, and you have to go through their last few months, their last month and really hone in on what they're trying to do at the plate in their approach. But they're still the same guys, just a little more refined and obviously a lot more confident than they were at any point in time that I faced them in Chicago.

Players on the Royals' World Series roster have hit .287/.337/.460 in 190 total plate appearances against Peavy. Billy Butler has had unreal success against the right-hander, going 14-for-33 (.424) with three home runs. Alex Gordon has 10 hits in 28 at-bats (.357) against Peavy with a homer. Even Alcides Escobar has taken him deep -- he's 9-for-22 (.409) with a dinger against Peavy.

On the other side of the coin, Josh Willingham (2-for-21, .095), Mike Moustakas (5-for-22, .227) and Eric Hosmer (4-for-21, .190) have had no luck against Peavy in their careers. Willingham is unlikely to start Game 2. His role this offseason has been pinch-hitter off the bench, particularly against lefties. Peavy did not face the Royals at all during the regular season.

In seven career postseason starts, Peavy has an ugly 7.03 ERA and 1.72 WHIP in 32 innings. He threw 5 2/3 scoreless inning against the Nationals in the NLDS and allowed two runs with more walks (three) than strikeouts (two) in four innings against the Cardinals in the NLCS.

Giants vs Ventura

The Giants are going into Game 2 completely blind. No player on their World Series roster has ever faced Ventura, who just completed his first full MLB season. Literally zero at-bats against him by everyone on the roster, including pitchers.

Traditionally, it is advantage pitcher whenever two sides meet for the first time. Hitters can watch all the video they want, but getting in the batter's box and seeing a guy's delivery and how the ball comes out of his hand is another matter entirely. It's not something that can be replicated.

Ventura, meanwhile, views Game 2 as just another start. He isn't letting himself get too caught up in all the hoopla.

For me, my big focus is always to make sure I treat is it as the same game. Go out and execute every pitch as I have throughout the season. Remain calm and treat it like any other game. Where I came from and where I grew up, I didn't get many opportunities to watch (the World Series). But certainly the one I remember is 2004 the Red Sox with Pedro Martinez and Manny Ramirez helping them win the World Series.

I think the first time through the order will be telling for Ventura and the Giants. If he is able to use his high-octane fastball to get those first nine batters before giving the San Francisco hitters a look at his secondary stuff, Ventura should be in very good shape. If the Giants are on his pitches and making loud contact in the first time through the lineup, even for outs -- the Giants made several loud outs against Shields in the second and third innings of Game 1, so his fourth inning meltdown was not surprising -- it will mean trouble for the Royals.

Ventura has made two starts (and one relief appearance) this postseason. He held the Angels to one run in seven innings during the ALDS, then got roughed up for four runs in 5 2/3 innings by the Orioles in the ALCS.

What to Watch

• Ventura left his ALCS start with shoulder discomfort, remember. It was a minor issue and the team was being cautious, but it is definitely something to keep in mind. His average velocity was down noticeably in that start (via Brooks Baseball):

Ventura's fastball averaged 96.59 mph in the ALCS after averaging 99.38 mph in the ALDS and 98.43 mph in September. Now, 96.59 mph is still excellent, but it's down nearly 3 mph from his previous start and 2 mph from the final month of the regular season. Ventura has throw 196 innings this year after throwing 150 innings last year. Could fatigue be setting in?

• The Giants haven't faced Ventura before, but it's worth noting they hit .254/.307/.387 against right-handed pitching during the regular season. That is almost exactly league average according to weighted runs created (wRC+), which adjusts for their cavernous home ballpark, among other things. Also, the Giants are a tremendous offensive team on the road.

• Peavy is joining an exclusive club in Game 2 by starting World Series games for different teams in consecutive years. He was with the Red Sox last October. Here's the list:

Pretty neat.

• Despite being built on speed, the Royals have stolen just one base and attempted only three steals in their last five postseason games. Base-stealers went 8-for-14 (57 percent) against Peavy during the regular season, including 1-for-4 after the trade to the Giants. He's quite good at controlling the running game.