Mid-World Series Questions That Must Be Answered to Decide the Champion

The World Series is three games in, and the upstart Kansas City Royals have a two-games-to-one lead over the San Francisco Giants—winners of two of the past four championships—after their 3-2 road victory on Friday night.

Yes, the Royals, who hadn't played October baseball since 1985, are just two games away from winning it all.

With Game 4 scheduled for Saturday night in San Francisco, the big question is: Can the battle-tested, playoff-experienced Giants avoid losing three in a row, two at home, which would put them on the doorstep of defeat?

We're going to try to answer that question with another question. Five of them, in fact, each of which highlights a factor that could determine the outcome of this Fall Classic.

Will the Royals Running Game Get Going?

In case you haven't noticed, it's been a while since the Royals have stolen a base.

Despite their reputation as speedsters, the Royals last nabbed a bag back in Game 2 of the American League Championship Series, which was their only theft of that series, by the way. They've also been thrown out in three of their past four attempts, which is worth noting for a team that was successful on 153 out of 189 chances (81 percent) in the regular season.

After going 12-of-13 between the Wild Card Game and the division series—in a total of four games—Kansas City has stopped going to the wheel well almost entirely. It didn't even try against Tim Hudson in Game 3 despite the fact that the righty is the easiest Giants starter to run on by far, allowing 15 out of 18 this year.

"We're not going to go in there and try to run into an out because we're known for running," said Jarrod Dyson, who has a steal this postseason but also is responsible for two unsuccessful tries, via Alden Gonzalez of MLB.com. "We're just going to go out there and play our game, and if it presents itself, take advantage of it."

Chances are Kansas City skipper Ned Yost will find a place or two to have his fastest runners take off, but don't expect the Royals to run wild.

Do the Giants Have Enough Relievers to Rely On?

Matt Slocum/Associated Press

If Tim Lincecum can't recover quickly from his back injury, it could be problematic for the Giants.

Entering the World Series, the Giants bullpen actually had a better postseason ERA than the Royals (1.78 vs. 1.80), but the unit is showing some cracks lately.

Between Jean Machi looking gassed in September and October (12 ER in 11.1 IP), Hunter Strickland surrendering homers at a record pace and Tim Lincecum dealing with an ailing back, manager Bruce Bochy is suddenly somewhat short on options.

The good news is that Lincecum has been feeling better since his unexpectedly early exit in Game 2, as Henry Schulman of the San Francisco Chronicle writes:

"

For Lincecum to pitch, his back has to feel good, and Bochy said it is. Although the Giants will wait to see how Lincecum feels when he plays catch later, Bochy said, 'It looks like he's good to go.'

And, yes, Lincecum's five-up, five down performance before he came out with the back injury in Game 2 has given Bochy more confidence to use him in leveraged situations.

"

Still, if Lincecum is brought in, there will be questions about whether he can pitch effectively and make it through his outing unscathed.

As for Machi and Strickland, well, it's possible we could see the former make another appearance if necessary, but the latter should only be used in an absolute blowout or extra-, extra-, extra-inning game.

How Will the Royals Deploy Billy Butler Under NL Rules?

After getting two big RBI singles in Game 2—the game-tying knock in the first and eventual game-winner in the sixth inning, respectively—designated hitter Billy Butler will sit on the bench until called upon by Yost for a pinch-hitting opportunity. That's National League baseball for ya.

"My job every day is basically like four pinch-hits, so I basically treat it as that," Butler said in his press conference. "I'll be prepared for whatever the team needs, and hopefully I'll come up in a big situation and contribute."

Alas, Butler didn't get a chance at all in Game 3. It was especially egregious when Yost allowed reliever Kelvin Herrera—who was working his second multi-inning outing in two straight games and who had never stepped to the plate as a professional baseball player, either in the majors or minors—to bat in the top of the seventh with a runner on.

While the Royals obviously would prefer to have Butler in the lineup, there's a strategy and potential advantage to being able to insert him into the order at key points in Games 4 and 5 in San Francisco. But Yost actually has to pull the trigger, especially if the score is tight.

Can Buster Posey Find His Power Before It's Too Late?

Elsa/Getty Images

Buster Posey hasn't hit for much power this postseason.

When it comes to plate appearances this October, Buster Posey's 61 trails only Giants leadoff man Gregor Blanco. And yet not one of the Giants catcher's trips to the dish has resulted in extra bases. Yikes.

Posey has reached the 50-extra-base-hit plateau in each of his last three years in the majors, so this is a surprising—and ill-timed—power drought for a guy who normally has plenty of pop.

There's more, though, as Posey is just 2-for-13 (.154) in the Fall Classic thus far, which is a big reason why San Francisco has scored all of 11 runs in three games and trails.

With his team in a hole and the offense struggling, it's time for Posey to come up with a key and/or timely hit—preferably of the non-single variety—to help keep the Giants alive.

Could the Weather Forecast Help the Giants?

Jamie Squire/Getty Images

A rainout would mean the Giants potentially could bring back ace Madison Bumgarner on regular rest in Game 4.

Before Game 3, there was some speculation that Giants ace Madison Bumgarner might go in Saturday's Game 4 on short rest. When asked beforehand, as John Shea of the San Francisco Chronicle reported, Bochy didn't outright dismiss the idea.

It seemed to be even more of a possibility immediately after San Francisco lost to go down two games to one in the series.

But after the contest, Bochy made his decision clear: Ryan Vogelsong will be the Game 4 starter, per Mark Feinsand of the New York Daily News, meaning Bumgarner will go in Game 5.

Unless...

Saturday's weather forecast in San Francisco calls for rain starting in the early afternoon and continuing throughout the evening. The big question, then, is will there be enough precipitation leading up to Game 4's 8 p.m. ET starting time that there could be a postponement?

Baseball will want to do everything to get the game in, but if the weather takes a turn for the worse, that would be huge for the Giants, who could then start Bumgarner in Game 4 Sunday on regular rest.

Given Bumgarner's Game 1 performance and overall October dominance—he has a 1.40 ERA and a 33-to-6 strikeout-to-walk ratio in five starts—that would be big boost for the home team.

How's your rain dance, San Francisco?

Statistics are accurate through Oct. 24 and courtesy of MLB.com, Baseball-Reference.com and FanGraphs, unless otherwise noted.

To talk baseball or fantasy baseball, check in with me on Twitter: @JayCat11.