Giants' Blanco Hits 1st Lead-off Home Run in World Series in Franchise History

It didn't take long for the San Francisco Giants to put a run on the board Wednesday night, as Gregor Blanco led off Game 2 against the Kansas City Royals with a long ball over the right field fence, becoming the first player in franchise history to hit a leadoff homer in a World Series game, per ESPN Stats & Info.

The solo shot was the first leadoff homer in any World Series game since Boston Red Sox second baseman Dustin Pedroia hit one against the Colorado Rockies in 2007, according to MLB's PR Twitter account.

Royals pitcher Yordano Ventura gave Blanco a healthy dose of fastballs to begin the contest. Although the outfielder isn't typically known for his power, he wasted little time making the 23-year-old flamethrower pay for one that was left up in the zone. Blanco hit just five homers in 393 regular-season at-bats this year, and he has collected just 15 four-baggers through 1,948 at-bats in his career.

Blanco's moment didn't last long, however, as the Royals were able to tie the game on a Billy Butler single in the bottom of the frame. They took the lead in the next inning on an RBI double from Alcides Escobar.

Ventura was able to rebound from that leadoff shot, settling down to retire eight of the next nine batters he faced. The rookie logged 5.1 innings on the night, allowing two runs on eight hits and zero walks with a pair of strikeouts.

Although the Giants had been 5-0 this postseason when scoring the game's first run (per ESPN Stats & Info), that streak came to an end Wednesday evening. They'll now head back to San Francisco for Game 3 on Friday with the series knotted at 1-1.