World Series 6: Royals 10, Giants 0

Giants - 000 000 000 -  0  6  0
Royals - 071 010 10x - 10 15  0

The Royals exploded for eight hits and seven runs in the second inning and cruised to victory behind Yordano Ventura's seven shutout innings. And for only the second time in the last 12 seasons, the World Series will be decided in a Game 7.

Ventura (7-3-0-5-4, 100) was the pitching star of the night, allowing only three hits (though he did walk five). Sixty-four of his 100 pitches were clocked at 95+ mph.

Giants starter Jake Peavy (1.1-6-5-1-2, 42) allowed a walk and a single in the first inning. He fell completely apart in the second. Alex Gordon and Salvador Perez both singled to right center - and San Francisco manager Bruce Bochy got Yusmeiro Petit up in the bullpen. Peavy had been working every Kansas City hitter away, but when he came inside to Mike Moustakas, the Royals third baseman ripped a double down the right field line. Gordon scored, the the Royals led 1-0. Omar Infante flailed away at three outside pitches and struck out, handing Peavy and the Giants an easy out. Alcides Escobar tapped a ball to first baseman Brandon Belt. Belt looked towards the plate - and Peavy pointed towards the plate - but Perez was not running. Belt then raced Escobar to the bag, but the Royal slid in ahead of a tag. The bases were loaded. Nori Aoki fouled off four pitches before grounding a run-scoring, opposite-field single into left field. That was the end of Peavy's night. (It was the shortest outing for a WS starter since David Wells of the Yankees recorded just three outs against the Marlins in Game 5 in 2003.)

Petit entered the game with the bases loaded, down 2-0. Lorenzo Cain fought off a 2-2 pitch and dropped a single into short right-center - and two runs scored, Escobar running through a stop sign at third base. KC 4-0. After a wild pitch moved Cain to second, Eric Hosmer doubled to left-center for two more runs. 6-0. Then Billy Butler doubled to the right-center gap, and Hosmer scored. 7-0. Petit was able to retire the 10th and 11th batters of the inning and get his team back in the dugout.

Ventura walked the bases loaded with out in the top of the third - and there was a faint hope the Giants could get back in the game. But Buster Posey went after the first pitch and grounded into a 6-3 double play to end the frame. The Giants were able to get only two runners past first base for the rest of the game.

Two ground-rule doubles - by Infante and Cain - gave the Royals a run in the third. It also marked the second time in World Series history that all nine starters on a team had at least one hit through three innings. The first was the 2001 Diamondbacks, in their Game 6 rout of the Yankees.

Escobar doubled home a run in the fifth and Moustakas homered to lead off the seventh.

Six different Royals had two hits: Escobar, Cain, Hosmer, Perez, Moustakas, and Infante. Cain drove in three runs, and Hosmer and Moustakas had 2 RBI each.

Tonight's 10-run margin was the largest in a World Series shutout since the Royals whipped the Cardinals 11-0 in Game 7 of the 1985 WS.

The last time there was back-to-back shutouts by opposing teams in the World Series was 1958.

Home teams have won nine straight World Series Game 7s. The last visiting team to win a Game 7 was the 1979 Pirates.

Since 1982, 10 World Series teams have come home trailing 2-3. Eight of the 10 won Games 6 and 7. The Royals will try to make that 9-of-11 tomorrow night.