World Series 2014: Giants vs. Royals Predictions and Matchup Info

"Unexpected" is the buzz word swarming around the 2014 World Series matchup between the San Francisco Giants and Kansas City Royals.

Considering the craziness of postseason baseball, is either team's Fall Classic berth a tremendous shock? Sure, neither club made the playoffs last season, but it didn't come as much of a surprise to see either lock down a spot in this year's October slate.

If anything, some of Kansas City's young position players did not take the anticipated offensive leaps that would have prompted the long-suffering franchise to usurp the Detroit Tigers in the American League Central. 

The Giants played second fiddle to the Los Angeles Dodgers in the National League West, but we've read this screenplay before. Solid offense and spectacular pitching once again led them to October success.

Their playoff dominance is unexpected, but baseball observers should know by now to expect the unexpected in painfully small sample sizes. They're hardly baseball's two best teams, but nevertheless, they're the last two standing.

Let's take a look at three matchups that will sway the World Series. But first, here's the full Fall Classic schedule.

Game #	Date	Matchup	Time (ET)	TV
GM 1	Tuesday, Oct. 21	Giants at Royals	8 p.m.	FOX
GM 2	Wednesday, Oct. 22	Giants at Royals	8 p.m.	FOX
GM 3	Friday, Oct. 24	Royals at Giants	8 p.m.	FOX
GM 4	Saturday, Oct. 25	Royals at Giants	8 p.m.	FOX
GM 5 *	Sunday, Oct. 26	Royals at Giants	8 p.m.	FOX
GM 6 *	Tuesday, Oct. 28	Giants at Royals	8 p.m.	FOX
GM 7 *	Wednesday, Oct. 29	Giants at Royals	8 p.m.	FOX

Resurgent First Basemen

Everyone expected the world of Eric Hosmer and Brandon Belt this season, but both budding stars instead wilted backwards in letdown campaigns. The young first basemen also share a redemptive postseason in common, but only one can conclude the comeback tale with a ring.

Looking at their 2013 success, Hosmer and Belt both endured hallowing 2014 regular seasons that sank their rapid rises to the top.

Category	Hosmer - 2013	Hosmer - 2014	Belt - 2013	Belt - 2014
GP	159	131	150	61
AVG	.302	.270	.289	.243
OBP	.353	.318	.360	.306
SLG	.448	.398	.481	.449
HR	17	9	17	12
wRC+*	120	99	140	116
WAR	3.1	0.2	4.0	0.7

Both players can partially blame spacious ballparks for their struggles. Hosmer notched an .815 OPS on the road while Belt tallied a .475 slugging percentage away from AT&T Park. Unfortunately for them, neither opposing stadium presents a recluse for power hitters.

Hosmer, a trendy preseason MVP choice, has redeemed his regular-season regression with a .448/.556/.759 playoff slash line and two homers during Kansas City's American League Division Series sweep over the Los Angeles Angels. 

After teasing the Giants with seven homers in April, the #belted hashtag rarely surfaced, and a home run represents Belt's lone extra-base hit during the playoffs. His recent efforts are not nearly as resounding, but he's pulling his weight by churning out an astounding .410 on-base percentage.

Jamie Squire/Getty Images

Despite their recent offensive renaissance, the Royals especially need Hosmer to maintain his optimal offensive contribution for a team that hit an MLB-low 95 homers during the season. But if the Belt from April shows up, the Giants will gain a huge upper hand.

A Tale of Two Aces

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As Madison Bumgarner fulfills the archetype of the elite ace carrying his club at every turn, "Big Game James" Shields continues to show that it's not sublime to rhyme all the time.

Let's start with the good. With Matt Cain injured and Tim Lincecum banished to the bullpen, Bumgarner has tightened his stronghold not just as San Francisco's unquestioned ace, but one of baseball's premier hurlers. Through four playoff starts, he has allowed five runs with 38 strikeouts and five walks.

The lefty has always harnessed a lethal curveball, which mitigated right-handed opponents to a .193 batting average and .261 slugging percentage this season, per Brooks Baseball. As detailed by SB Nation's Beyond the Box Score, he's utilized that advantage more during the postseason.

Shields, on the other hand, has allowed 10 earned runs in 16 postseason innings. He was last witnessed laboring through five innings, surrendering 10 hits against the Baltimore Orioles.

Considering their playoff track records, perhaps Shields should forfeit the "Big Game" label to Bumgarner.

Player	IP	ERA	WHIP	K	BB
Bumgarner	67.1	2.67	1.01	60	14
Shields	50.1	5.19	1.47	40	13

With everything on the line, one would think each manager would consider sending out its respective ace on short rest for Game 4 and a prospective Game 7. Bruce Bochy, however, has already announced Ryan Vogelsong will pitch Game 4.

Not only does that ensure Bumgarner will make two starts at most, it also relegates Yusmeiro Petit to the bullpen despite allowing two hits and no runs through nine postseason frames.

Either way, these two top starters will have a prominent imprint on the World Series. If Bumgarner continues to out-pitch Shields by miles, the Royals will have a tough trek to their first title in 29 years.

Battle of the Bullpens

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Both bullpens have shut the door this postseason, so the first unit to blink could determine this series.

When the Royals parted with top prospects Wil Myers and Jake Odorizzi to land Shields, who would have thought that the win-now gambit would work because of Wade Davis? After faltering in the rotation, Davis has transformed into an unhittable reliever, recording a 1.00 ERA, 13.63 K/9 rate and 3.1 fWAR during the season.

He's carried over that dominance into October, allowing one run in eight appearances. He described his adjustment to his welcomed new role to The Washington Post's Barry Svrluga.

"

For me, it’s been kind of cool. Kind of every day is the same routine. It’s not like, ‘Well, I got nothing to do for four days,’ like when you’re a starter. I don’t want to say you’re doing more for the team, because you’re not. During the course of eight innings, you’re not. But you feel like you’re involved with the team every day, which is fun. I like that part.

"

Along with Kelvin Herrera and Greg Holland, Davis forms a three-headed monster that signals "game over" for anyone trailing heading into the sixth or seventh frame. The Royals' bullpen, which collected a 5.9 WAR and 3.29 fielding independent pitching, is a huge reason they have run the table so far.

But let's not discount San Francisco's bullpen, which is on a roll itself.

Team	IP	ER	K/BB	BAA
Royals	35.0	7	36/13	.179
Giants	35.1	7	30/11	.164

While the Giants have a deep and potent bullpen, they're riding a hot hand while the Royals have three legitimate studs, as well as a blossoming one in 2014 first-round pick Brandon Finnegan.

Jeremy Affeldt, Jean Machi and Santiago Casilla all posted strikeout per nine rates under 7.0 during the season, a subpar mark for a reliever. They're unlikely to generate any whiffs against the contact-prone Royals, who struck out less than anyone in 2014.

San Francisco holds an edge in the rotation, so Kansas City needs to carve out an advantage once the starters are removed from duty.

Prediction

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Remember that part in the introduction about the complete unpredictability of postseason baseball? Yeah, that's still true.

If I declared that the Giants would clinch a World Series ticket on home runs from Joe Panik and Travis Ishikawa, you'd call me an idiot. You'd probably also depict me as naive for anticipating a Mike Moustakas breakout after yet another disappointing season.

So I don't know, maybe Jason Vargas hits a grand slam while playing under NL rules. Maybe both teams decide to bunt every single at-bat until somebody makes a game-deciding throwing error. 

This one is truly up in the air, but Kansas City gets the slimmest of edges in hopes of Hosmer staying hot with the bullpen and defense continuing to do their thing.

Prediction: Royals in 7

Note: All advanced statistics courtesy of FanGraphs unless otherwise noted.