Full Preview, Pitcher vs. Lineup Breakdown of Winner-Take-All World Series Game

In a postseason that has been nothing less than spectacular, it’s only appropriate that it all comes down to Game 7 of the World Series.

Two days after being shut out by Madison Bumgarner and the San Francisco Giants in Game 5 of the Fall Classic, the Kansas City Royals turned the tables on the National League champions in Game 6 with a 10-0 rout at Kauffman Stadium, knotting the series at three games apiece.

Now, the Royals and the Giants will play one final contest to determine baseball’s best team.

Game 7's pitching matchup will be the same as Game 3's, with Jeremy Guthrie starting for the Royals and Tim Hudson taking the mound for the Giants. However, with both teams featuring numerous well-rested arms in their respective bullpens, there’s a realistic chance neither starter is around for long in the winner-take-all game.

Here's an in-depth look at the pitcher-versus-lineup matchups for Game 7 of the World Series between the Royals and the Giants.

Jeff Roberson/Associated Press

Royals Hitters vs. Tim Hudson

Tim Hudson has compiled mediocre-at-best numbers in 11 regular-season starts against the Royals during his 16-year career (11 GS, 67.2 IP, 4.12 ERA), but the veteran took the loss in their only 2014 meeting.

Taking the mound on Aug. 9 at Kauffman Stadium, Hudson kept the Royals off the board through four innings before allowing a solo home run to Alex Gordon to open the fifth.

The Royals would get to Hudson in the seventh inning, as Billy Butler, Alex Gordon and Lorenzo Cain opened the frame with consecutive hits, forcing Giants manager Bruce Bochy to go to the bullpen with runners on first and second and no outs. Left-hander Jeremy Affeldt replaced Hudson and promptly induced a double play but then allowed three straight two-out hits that resulted in three runs.

The four-run inning was the difference in the game, as the Royals defeated San Francisco 5-0.

Alcides Escobar	5-for-11, 4 R, 2B, RBI
Nori Aoki	2-for-8, 2B, RBI, 3 BB
Lorenzo Cain	1-for-6, 2 RBI
Eric Hosmer	0-for-2
Billy Butler	1-for-3, R, K
Alex Gordon	3-for-5, HR, 2B, 2 RBI
Salvador Perez	1-for-5
Omar Infante	6-for-27, 2 RBI, BB, 4 K
Mike Moustakas	1-for-4

In terms of specific matchups, Kansas City’s hitters' familiarity with Hudson stems from basically two games—the aforementioned one on Aug. 9 and Game 3 of the World Series—except for players who spent time in the National League, such as Nori Aoki and Omar Infante.

In Game 3, the Royals took an early lead against Hudson, as Alcides Escobar opened the game with a ringing double down the left field line and scored on Lorenzo Cain’s groundout. But the 39-year-old right-hander settled in to retire 12 consecutive batters between the second and sixth innings.

As was the case back on Aug. 9, the Royals got to Hudson when they turned over the lineup for a third time, as Escobar singled with one out in the sixth and came around to score on a double by Alex Gordon. Hudson retired the next batter, Cain, on a groundout to third base before giving way to left-handed reliever Javier Lopez, who promptly allowed an RBI single to Eric Hosmer.

The Royals didn't attempt a stolen base against Hudson in Game 3, but that could change in Game 7 if they have runners on base early in the game. Over the last two seasons, opposing base stealers have been successful 85 percent of the time (22 of 26) with Hudson on the mound, which means he’s the easiest to run on among all Giants starters.

On top of that, Hudson is 0-5 with a 5.51 ERA in his last nine starts (including the postseason), and at 39 years of age, he'll be the oldest pitcher to start a do-or-die World Series game, per ESPN Stats and Info.

Marcio Jose Sanchez/Associated Press

Giants Hitters vs. Jeremy Guthrie

Jeremy Guthrie has struggled in three starts against the Giants during his 11-year career (14.2 IP, 6.14 ERA), and he missed the National League champions when the two teams met in a three-game series at Kauffman Stadium in early August of this year.

Gregor Blanco	1-for-4, BB
Joe Panik	0-for-2
Buster Posey	0-for-4, BB
Pablo Sandoval	3-for-8, 2 2B, 2 RBI, K
Hunter Pence	2-for-9, 2B, 3 K
Brandon Belt	1-for-3, RBI, 2 BB
Michael Morse	3-for-8
Travis Ishikawa	0-for-5, 2 K
Brandon Crawford	4-for-5, HR, RBI
Joaquin Arias	0-for-1

Though the results are based on small sample sizes, San Francisco’s left-handed hitters have fared well against Guthrie, especially Pablo Sandoval and Brandon Crawford, who are hitting .375 and .833, respectively, in their careers versus the right-hander.

Guthrie was anything but dominant in Game 3 of the World Series in San Francisco, allowing two runs on four hits in five innings, but he pitched well enough to get the ball to the Royals bullpen with a lead.

Amazingly, Guthrie failed to record either a strikeout or a walk in the outing, making him the first starter in World Series history to win a game without at least one of either, per Jenifer Langosch of MLB.com.

However, the right-hander efficiently attacked the zone throughout the game, throwing first-pitch strikes to 11 of 18 batters, and he let the defense do all the work by generating an equal number of groundouts and flyouts.

Plus, as ESPN Stats & Info notes, Guthrie is as hot as any Royals starter, with a 4-0 record and a 1.19 ERA in his last five starts dating back to the regular season.

David J. Phillip/Associated Press

All Hands on Deck

With the season coming down to a winner-take-all Game 7, it’s a foregone conclusion that both starting pitchers will be on short leashes.

Guthrie has completed exactly five innings in both postseason starts, but there’s a good chance Ned Yost will call upon his elite bullpen arms even earlier in Game 7, especially if Guthrie gets off to a rocky start.

With Brandon Finnegan, Kelvin Herrera, Wade Davis and Greg Holland all sitting on at least two days’ rest, courtesy of the Royals’ 10-0 rout in Game 6, it wouldn’t come as a surprise if the right-handers were asked to work multiple innings.

From Jamal Collier of MLB.com:

"

Herrera and Davis each threw an inning during Sunday's Game 5 and both also allowed runs, which has become an unfamiliar sight. Holland had not pitched since Friday's Game 3, so his arm should be fresh. He even began firing warmup pitches during the ninth inning on Tuesday in an effort to stay fresh.

[…]

Each Royals reliever has maintained they are able to pitch whenever Yost needs them and for however long that might be. That's a potential six innings should Herrera, Davis and Holland each be able to go two frames tonight. Talk about shortening up a game.

"

In the other dugout, Bochy has already stated that Madison Bumgarner, who became the best pitcher in World Series history with his complete-game shutout in Game 5, will be available to work multiple innings in relief.

“If we do use him, how far he could go, Dave Righetti and myself, we’ll watch him and make sure we take care of him,” Bochy said, via Dan Hayes of CSNBayArea.com. “This is the last game of the year, so it’s easier to push a guy the last game versus doing it twice.”

Bumgarner has held the Royals to one run on seven hits and a walk with 13 strikeouts in 16 innings in the World Series, so don’t think Bochy will hesitate to use his ace in Game 7 as soon as the opportunity presents itself.

Beyond that, Bochy’s decision to use Jean Machi, Hunter Strickland and Ryan Vogelsong on Tuesday in relief of Peavy means he’ll have plenty of well-rested options for Game 7, including Jeremy Affeldt, Javier Lopez, Sergio Romo, Santiago Casilla, Yusmeiro Petit and even Tim Lincecum.

"I mean, we were going to do all we could to win this game," Bochy said, via Collier. "Your mindset doesn't change Game 6 or 7, I don't feel. We were ready to use everybody."