World Series 2014: Giants vs. Royals Game 2 Pitching Preview, Predictions

Madison Bumgarner and the San Francisco Giants put a swift end to the Kansas City Royals' impressive postseason winning streak in Game 1 of the World Series. The importance of maintaining efficiency on the mound in the championship series was wildly apparent on Tuesday, and the Royals must turn things around quickly to avoid a disappointing conclusion to the year.

San Francisco gave up just four hits and one run in Game 1 to a Royals offense that averaged 5.25 runs over their previous eight postseason games. Meanwhile, James Shields was pelted early and often by the Giants lineup, giving up seven hits and five earned runs before getting yanked after three innings of work.

These teams looked incredibly evenly matched heading into the World Series, but that just wasn't how things unfolded after one contest. Luckily for Kansas City, it is a seven-game series, but can it right the ship in Game 2? Let's take a look at the forthcoming pitching matchup and predict the outcome.

Game 2 Viewing Info

Series: Giants lead 1-0

Where: Kauffman Stadium in Kansas City, Missouri

Date: Wednesday, October 22

Time: 8 p.m. ET

Channel: Fox

Live Stream: MLB.tv (requires subscription)

Pitching Preview and Prediction

The Giants showed what their dangerous lineup is capable of accomplishing on Tuesday. This team is chock-full of hitters who provide tough at-bats each and every time they step up to the plate. Shields learned that the hard way, going just three innings while giving up five earned runs, recording only one strikeout and watching his pitch count reach 70.

SportsCenter tweeted a thought that was on everyone's mind following Shields' outing:

Yordano Ventura will attempt to get Kansas City off to a better start in Game 2. However, based on the way he's been pitching lately, that may be a tall order against this San Francisco lineup.

While Ventura did have one nice postseason outing so far—he went seven innings against the Los Angeles Angels and gave up just one run for a 1.29 ERA—it was sandwiched between two disastrous games that saw him give up a total of six runs in six innings.

We'll see if the pressure of Wednesday's start gets to the hard-throwing rookie, as the Royals' official Twitter account noted he'll be going into the team's record books:

Ventura was solid during the regular season—especially in September—but so far, the postseason hasn't been kind to the 23-year-old right-hander.

While the Royals are looking to even things up with some youth on the mound, the Giants are going with experience, as 33-year-old veteran Jake Peavy will get the start.

Peavy has only pitched twice in the playoffs, totaling 9.2 innings while giving up six hits and two earned runs for a 1.86 ERA. He has plenty of experience coming into Game 2; after all, this marks his second consecutive World Series.

The team's official Twitter account noted a big difference in championship game experience between Peavy and Tim Hudson, the team's expected Game 3 starter:

"

Tim Hudson making his 1st appearing in the #WorldSeries. @JakePeavy_44 is here for the 2nd consecutive year pic.twitter.com/jGRulrUvFS

— #OctoberTogether (@SFGiants) October 21, 2014"

An issue with Peavy is the fact he doesn't record many strikeouts. The more opportunities the Royals are given to put a ball in play, the better chances they have of relying on savvy baserunning to manufacture runs over the course of a game.

Both of these pitchers give us reasons to believe they may not last more than five innings on Wednesday. If that's the case, we'll be seeing plenty of bullpen work. Neither team used its stud relievers on Tuesday, so Game 2 could quickly become a late-inning pitchers' duel.

Look for the Giants to utilize Sergio Romo, Jeremy Affeldt and possibly Santiago Casilla, while the Royals could be calling upon Wade Davis, Kelvin Herrera and Greg Holland to mop things up. They way things look, this one could come down to which starting pitcher blinks first.

While he may not be the flashiest starter, the edge here goes to Peavy. He's a veteran and comes in with a "been there, done that" attitude. The Giants earn another win in a closer game.

Prediction: Giants 6, Royals 5