World Series 2014: Royals vs. Giants Game 4 Pitching Preview, Predictions

If you only watched Game 1 of the World Series and have been out of the loop ever since, you might be shocked at what the Kansas City Royals have done over the last 18 innings as we head into a crucial Game 4.

The San Francisco Giants seemed to take a stranglehold over the series with a 7-1 win in Kansas City, but the resilient Royals refused to go quietly. They pulled away from the Giants in Game 2 and got back to their bread and butter—one-run ballgames—in Game 3 to shut the door and win 3-2.

Now, the Royals take a 2-1 series lead into Game 4 on Saturday. Once envisioning a three-game sweep in San Francisco to win the championship, the Giants will try Saturday to guarantee themselves a Game 6 and a trip back to Kansas City with another win.

Here's a complete breakdown of Saturday's game.

Date	Game: Matchup	Time (ET)	TV	Series
Saturday, Oct. 25	Game 4: Kansas City Royals at San Francisco Giants	8:07 p.m.	Fox	Royals lead 2-1

Game 4 Pitching Preview

Team	Starter	2014 Postseason Stats
Royals	Jason Vargas	1-0, 2 GS, 2.38 ERA,11.1 IP, 5 H
Giants	Ryan Vogelsong	0-0, 2 GS, 5.19 ERA, 8.2 IP, 9 H

If the head-to-head pitching matchup is any indication, we could be in for more of the same Royals dominance in Game 4.

MLB recounts the starters for Saturday's game:

Kansas City's Jason Vargas went an average 11-10 during the regular season, but he has been very strong in the postseason. He pitched six strong innings and allowed two runs—both homers—against the Angels in a victory, and he won the decisive Game 4 over Baltimore to complete the sweep. 

Other than three bad pitches that turned into three home runs, Vargas hasn't allowed a run all postseason in over 11 innings.

Giants starter Ryan Vogelsong, on the other hand, has struggled as of late. After a strong outing to open his postseason against the Nationals, he gave up four runs in three innings and was pulled from an eventual 6-4 Game 4 win over the Cardinals. 

Vogelsong told The Associated Press' Josh Dubow (via ABC News) that it's more about controlling emotion than anything else.

Charlie Riedel/Associated Press

"The biggest thing is just the experience of curbing the emotions," Vogelsong told Dubow. "It's definitely a situation where you have to be locked into the game and your thoughts need to be on the game, but you have to take a quick second to look around and take it all in."

Vogelsong will certainly have his hands full with a Royals lineup that has generated 10 runs in the last two games. But with a lineup as talented as the Giants' quieting in recent games, a comeback performance is all but expected.

That will put the onus on Vargas as well to deliver early. If he can get out of those inevitable early-inning jams, he can take the crowd out of it—as out of it as an electric World Series crowd can possibly be—and give his offense a chance to make a splash.

Prediction: Giants Win 3-2, Even Up Series

Not even the Royals' strong pitching rotation and dominant bullpen can continue keeping this Giants lineup under wraps at this incredible of a rate. 

The Royals got their gritty runs like they tend to do early in Game 3, but it still took four hitless innings from the bullpen to hold off the Giants. And despite Vargas having the hotter hand of the two starters, Kansas City will be put in a hole, and it will be San Francisco's bullpen doing the honors of closing it out.

Vogelsong struggled in his last postseason start but before that was historically good in the playoffs. Earlier this postseason, he became the only pitcher ever—ever—to yield just one run or less in his first five career playoff starts. 

That experience will shine through, and he'll pitch a gem early on, allowing San Francisco's bats and bullpen to do the rest and even up the series.