World Series Game 3 – Royals Confident as Series Swings West

Kansas City Royals (+117) at San Francisco Giants (-127, 7 o/u)

You kind of got the sense that game two was a must-win for the Kansas City Royals, who were blown out 7-1 in game one. KC got the job done – posting seven runs of their own en route to a 7-2 victory.  Now they travel west for game three with a renewed sense of confidence.

Though many of the Royals have never set foot in AT&T Park before, excitement outweighs the nerves of playing in unfamiliar surroundings.

Said Royals first baseman Eric Hosmer, “I know absolutely nothing. I’ve heard nothing but good things about it, the atmosphere and the energy the crowd brings. I’ve always wanted to play there.”

Third baseman Mike Moustakas added, “I don’t know anything about it. It looks like a beautiful park. I’ve always wanted to see it, and this is a great opportunity to go there.”

Only a third of the Royals have ever played in the park, which can wreak havoc on outfielders with its unique dimensions and howling winds. Kansas City centerfielder Lorenzo Cain, who played in San Francisco when he was with Milwaukee, said he plans on working with coaches regarding his angles.

“It’s kind of a work in progress and a wait-and-see type thing,” said the ALCS MVP.  San Francisco Giants designated hitter Michael Morse, who won’t play much while the series is on the west coast, noted that “[AT&T is] a big park. Right field is tricky. The wind does a lot of different things in the outfield, so our guys are used to it.”

Now that autumn has arrived, the wind will definitely be swirling. Said Giants right fielder Hunter Pence, “You play this game, you play in a lot of different ballparks and you find a way to adjust. I think everyone’s going to enjoy it.”

The Giants will be looking for more production from their star catcher, Buster Posey, who doesn’t have a single extra-base hit in the playoffs. As CBS Sports noted, the Giants’ mid-season turnaround coincided with a dramatic jump in Posey’s numbers. Coincidence? No.

The pitching matchup for tonight’s pivotal game features the Royals’ Jeremy Guthrie (0-0, 1.80 ERA in the postseason) against the Giants’ Tim Hudson (0-0, 3.29 ERA in the postseason). Both will be making their first ever World Series start. But, as with most matchups in this series, the edge in experience goes to the Giants; Hudson has 11 career playoff starts, while Guthrie is getting his first taste of October ball this season. Guthrie had the better record in the regular season (13-11 vs. Hudson’s 9-13), but Hudson had a much better ERA (3.57 vs. Guthrie’s 4.13).

Though Guthrie looked impressive in his lone playoff appearance against Baltimore, this San Francisco squad is a veteran outfit coming home. If you’re looking for value in game three, try the Giants’ run line, which sits at -1.5 and pays at +175 .

(Photo credit: jondoeforty1 (flickr) [https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/] via Creative Commons.)