MLB Playoffs 2014: TV Schedule, Live Stream and World Series Game 1 Preview

It has been exactly two years since the San Francisco Giants won the World Series, so it makes perfect sense that they are in the Fall Classic. After all, San Francisco won the title in 2010 and 2012 and has made a habit of every-other-year success. 

However, the Kansas City Royals have taken the country by storm as baseball’s version of a Cinderella story. They are a perfect 8-0 in the postseason, and four of those games went into extra innings. Basically, the Giants better keep Tuesday’s Game 1 to nine innings or they are in serious trouble.

Here is a look at the broadcast information and entire schedule for the World Series before we dig into an early Game 1 preview:

Game	Date	Matchup	Time (ET)	Channel
1	Tue., Oct. 21	Giants at Royals	8 p.m.	Fox
2	Wed., Oct. 22	Giants at Royals	8 p.m.	Fox
3	Fri., Oct. 24	Royals at Giants	8 p.m.	Fox
4	Sat., Oct. 25	Royals at Giants	8 p.m.	Fox
5*	Sun., Oct. 26	Royals at Giants	8 p.m.	Fox
6*	Tue., Oct. 28	Giants at Royals	8 p.m.	Fox
7*	Wed., Oct. 29	Giants at Royals	8 p.m.	Fox

Live Stream: MLB.tv (requires subscription)

Game 1 Preview

Matt Slocum/Associated Press

Per USA Today, this is the first time in history that two teams with fewer than 90 wins have met in the World Series, but both squads enter the Fall Classic on quite the hot streak. ESPN Stats & Info noted the momentum on each side:

The obvious storyline entering Game 1 is the starting pitching matchup between Madison Bumgarner and James Shields.

Bumgarner won the National League Championship Series MVP and has allowed a measly five earned runs in four postseason starts. Was it not for his brilliance in the Wild Card Round, the Giants may not have even cracked the final four for the National League.

Bumgarner has a 1.42 ERA, 0.76 WHIP, 28 strikeouts and a 2-1 record in the playoffs, and he has yet to be taken out before the seventh inning. That consistency has helped keep the San Francisco bullpen fresh.

Michael Baumann of Grantland sang Bumgarner’s praises leading up to the World Series:

"

So I’ll say this: Bumgarner is a no. 1 starter by any reasonable standard — reliability, performance, or whether you’d feel good about having him start Game 1 of the World Series. And he’s been truly magnificent so far this postseason — good enough that he’s finally getting the credit he deserves.

"

Bumgarner may finally be getting that recognition, but he seemed more than ready to deflect praise to his teammates after the NLCS win over the St. Louis Cardinals, via Janie McCauley of the San Francisco Chronicle, "I'm thankful and blessed to have the opportunity for this. I don't know that I'm 100 percent deserving of it. There's plenty of guys that deserve it, also. We're just excited to be moving on."

Christian Petersen/Associated Press

If Bumgarner gives the Giants another solid performance, the bullpen will be there to finish the job. In fact, San Francisco’s bullpen has only allowed seven runs in the playoffs, and Santiago Casilla has been lights out. Casilla has four saves, a 0.75 WHIP and a 0.00 ERA in the playoffs thus far.

Kansas City will counter with Shields, although he has been far from dominant in the postseason.

Shields has allowed 10 earned runs in three starts for a 5.63 ERA to go along with a 1.63 WHIP and 15 strikeouts. The Royals have won every one of his starts because of the offense and bullpen, but they will likely need a better effort from their ace in the World Series.

If he does run into trouble, however, the Kansas City bullpen will pick up the slack. Greg Holland has six saves in the Royals’ eight postseason wins and has only given up a single run, while Wade Davis and Kelvin Herrera have each struck out 10 guys in their playoff dominance.

With the pitching and the fact that the Royals were last in the majors in home runs, we could very well be in for a low-scoring affair throughout the series. San Francisco actually went 242 playoff at-bats without a long ball itself and benefited from timely wild pitches and Cardinals mistakes in the NLCS.

Matt Slocum/Associated Press

While the combination of Kansas City’s athleticism, overall speed, defense and bullpen may be enough to win four of the seven games, it is impossible to pick against Bumgarner in Game 1. He has been an absolute machine in the playoffs and has much more momentum on his side than Shields entering the showdown. 

Prediction: Giants 4, Royals 2

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