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MLB Kansas City RoyalsSan Francisco Giants

San Francisco Giants Take Advantage of Shaky James Shields Start To Win Game 1 of World Series

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Getty Images

It was pretty clear coming into Game 1 of the 2014 World Series that the San Francisco Giants had a better ace taking the mound. No offense to James Shields, who’s proven himself to be a good arm year after year, but Madison Bumgarner has been on a different planet lately.

So if there was one thing the Kansas City Royals could not afford to do in Game 1, it was to give a cushion to the Giants’ left-handed ace. Not only did Bumgarner end up with a three-run first inning cushion, by the time Shields’ night was officially over, he had a massive five-run lead to work with.

When you consider how on fire Bumgarner has been as of late, a five-run lead can basically be called an insurmountable lead. In Game 1 of the WS, it was exactly that.

On the Shields side of things, his performance was flat out unacceptable. Giving up a run in the first inning is no big deal. Two runs is a bad start. But three runs on five hits? That’s just not going to cut it in the Fall Classic.

Clearly, it’s time to remove the ‘Big Game’ moniker. Shields has proven unworthy of it this postseason with his massive 7.11 ERA. In fact, you could argue that his counterpart in Game 1 deserves the nickname moving forward.

The question in this series now becomes — how do the Royals respond after their first loss in three weeks? And not just any loss, a beatdown loss at the hands of a team looking for its third title in five years.

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