KANSAS CITY – San Francisco captured a third World Series title in five seasons with a 3-2 victory over Kansas City behind the historic relief pitching effort of left-hander Madison Bumgarner.
The Giants captured a dramatic winner-take-all showdown to capture Major League Baseball’s best-of-seven final four games to three over the Royals, who fell one game short of winning their first title in 29 years.
Bumgarner had baffled Kansas City batters in winning games two and five and returned for the decider on a career-low two days of rest.
He collected his third World Series win by tossing 50 of his 68 pitches for strikes and allowing only two hits over the final five innings while striking out four to earn World Series Most Valuable Player honours.
“I wasn’t thinking about innings or pitch count,” Bumgarner said.
“I was just thinking about getting outs until I couldn’t get them any more.
“Right now I’m not tired at all,” he added. “We just won the World Series.”
The Giants won their eighth championship overall, following up crowns in 2010 and 2012, but not without drama until the final out.
San Francisco took a 3-2 lead in the fourth when Pablo Sandoval singled, advanced on a Hunter Pence single and a Brandon Belt sacrifice fly and scored on a Michael Morse single.
That set up the dramatic entry of Bumgarner, who took the mound in the fifth inning for his first relief stint since 2010. Royals fans raised the volume of their supportive chants, sensing a crucial moment.
Omar Infante tagged Bumgarner for a single to right, but Bumgarner retired the next 14 Royals batters he faced. Infante reached second on Alcides Escobar’s sacrifice bunt, but Nori Aoki flew out and Lorenzo Cain struck out to end the threat.
After “MadBum” retired the heart of the Royals’ batting order on fly outs in the sixth, sent down the bottom of the lineup in order in the seventh and baffled the beginning batters a second time to conclude the eighth inning, the Giants were only three outs from a title.
Kansas City relievers Kelvin Herrera and Wade Davis had kept the Giants from stretching their lead, but Bumgarner struck out Eric Hosmer in the ninth and induced a fly out by Billy Butler.
But one strike from victory, Giants centrefielder Gregor Blanco misplayed a single by Alex Gordon and let the ball roll to the outfield wall, allowing Gordon to reach third base.
Unflustered, Bumgarner induced a fly out by Salvador Perez to end the game and touch off a wild on-field Giants celebration.
History had favoured the Royals as home teams had won the previous nine World Series game sevens, no road team having taken a one-game showdown for the crown since Pittsburgh at Baltimore in 1979,
The Giants entered 0-4 in winner-take-all World Series games, having lost final title contests in 1912, 1924, 1962 and 2002.
The Giants became the first World Series road team since the 1975 Cincinnati Reds to lose game six but recover to win game seven.
When faced with play-off elimination, the Giants have won eight games in a row and have won 10 play-off match-ups in a row over the past five years, one shy of the New York Yankees all-time record.