In a rematch of Game 2, Yordano Ventura and Jake Peavy squared off in Game 6 and saw similar results. Peavy suffered his second loss of the World Series and Ventura earned his first career postseason win in the Royals' 10-0 rout of the Giants.
San Francisco was shut out for the first time in the postseason since Game 2 of the 2010 NLDS when they lost to the Cincinnati Reds 9-0. After dedicating his start to the late Oscar Taveras, Ventura pitched seven shutout innings and gave up three hits and five walks. Taveras, the 22-year-old outfielder for the St. Louis Cardinals, was a good friend of Ventura's. He was killed in a car accident in the Dominican Republic on Sunday.
Ventura was able to pitch with confidence early on after the Royals shelled Peavy in the second inning. The veteran right-hander surrendered five earned runs on six hits and one walk in only 1 1/3 innings. He threw just 42 pitches before Bruce Bochy replaced him with Yusmeiro Petit. But the Giants' bullpen uncharacteristically gave up five earned runs on nine hits and three walks.
The Royals totaled their most hits (15) and runs (10) in a single postseason game thus far in 2014. Third baseman Mike Moustakas got the party started with an RBI double off of Peavy in the bottom of the second inning. After striking out Omar Infante, Peavy gave up a single to Alcides Escobar and then an RBI single to Norichika Aoki. Peavy's night ended after Aoki's at-bat.
Petit, who has been brilliant throughout the 2014 postseason, was subsequently dominated after Peavy's exit. The next batter, Lorenzo Cain, singled to right field and drove in Moustakas and Escobar. Eric Hosmer then doubled to center to drive in Aoki and Cain. Billy Butler concluded the onslaught with an RBI double to right center field. Petit escaped the inning two batters later, but the damage had already been done. The Royals scored seven runs.
And that was it for Game 6. The Giant showed no signs of life after that, scattering just six hits throughout the game. In two starts against the Royals in the World Series, Peavy is 0-2 with a 12.79 ERA. San Francisco will send veteran right-hander Tim Hudson to the mound tomorrow to face Jeremy Guthrie in a rematch of Game 3. The Royals were victorious 3-2 in that matchup, with Guthrie earning the win and Hudson taking the loss. Guthrie gave up two earned runs on four hits in five innings while Hudson allowed three earned runs on four hits and one walk in 5 2/3 innings.
Game 7 will take place on Wednesday night in Kansas City, and history is in the Royals' favor. The Royals have won all two Game 7 appearances in their franchise's history, which both came in 1985 in the ALCS against the Blue Jays and the World Series against the Cardinals. Additionally, the home team has won the last nine World Series Game 7s, according to ESPN's SportsCenter.
The World Series and 2014 MLB season will come to a conclusion tomorrow night. We'll have a new champion in less than 24 hours.
