Bumgarner maddeningly good, Giants take World Series Game 1, 7-1, over Royals

On Tuesday, Kauffman Stadium's 29-year World Series drought finally ended when the Royals and the Giants opened Game 1, pitting a pair of aces -- San Francisco lefty and NLCS MVP Madison Bumgarner against Kansas City right-hander James Shields -- against each other.

The Royals -- the so-called "destiny" team -- entered looking for their first Fall Classic title since 1985, while the Giants -- "dynasty" -- sought their third in five years.

The Highlights

The Giants wasted little time before ridding Kauffman Stadium of the warm and fuzzy feelings that surrounded the buildup to the Fall Classic. They scored thrice in the first to jump out to an early lead, the first run coming across on Pablo Sandoval's double. Buster Posey, representing another possible run, was thrown out at home, but it wasn't exactly how KC expected to get things started:

The very next batter, Hunter Pence, got a fastball right down the middle, and he did with it exactly what one would expect of a good hitter receiving a fastball right down the middle. It went over the wall in center for a 3-0 San Fran lead:

Shields fended off the Giants until the fourth, when Michael Morse, serving as the designated hitter in the AL park, fought off an inside fastball to punch an RBI single to center. That plated Pence and ended Shields' night:

Then, Danny Duffy entered for the first time since Oct. 2. He walked two batters to force in a run for a 5-0 Giants lead.

San Francisco continued to tack on in the seventh. Joe Panik tripled to bring Gregor Blanco home, and Sandoval followed with a single to score Panik. But that 7-0 lead wasn't all the Giants' work - Panik got an assist on his triple from from Kansas City right fielder Nori Aoki:

The Royals finally broke through against Bumgarner in the bottom of the seventh. Salvador Perez got a hold of a fastball inside and pulled it to left for a homer. Fireworks ensued:

Bumgarner's scoreless World Series innings streak ends at 21 2/3. Had not given up a run on the road in 33 1/3 IP before that Perez homer

- Jamal Collier (@JamalCollier) October 22, 2014

But at 7-1, the game was all but over. Hunter Strickland made that official with a perfect ninth:

The Game Changer

Surprise! Bumgarner was good. Really good. Again. With seven innings of one-run ball, Bumgarner's career World Series ERA is 0.41 (one run in 22 innings across three starts).

The tall lefty appeared close to falling apart in the third, but then he very much did not. The Royals had runners on second and third with nobody out until Bumgarner struck out Alcides Escobar and Aoki swinging to calm things down.

K's are not just another out.

- Alex Cora (@ac13alex) October 22, 2014

Bumgarner walked Lorenzo Cain to load the bases but induced a groundout from Eric Hosmer to end the inning:

He dominated most of the rest of the way.

Other Key Players, Plays

As good as Bumgarner was, "Big Game" James Shields was not, and indeed added to the argument that his nickname belies his postseason track record (and 5.74 ERA). Tuesday, Shields lasted only three-plus innings and was charged with five runs on seven hits:

How does that phrase go? Behind every great pitcher is a great center fielder? Blanco helped keep the Royals off the board in the first by ranging well into right-center, taking a hit away from Eric Hosmer with a runner on first:

Bumgarner's entire 6-foot-5, 235-pound frame very gracefully fielded his position when he knocked down a liner in the sixth:

Sandoval, a free-agent-to-be, added to his already impressive postseason resume with an RBI single through a drawn-in Royals infield to account for the Giants' final run:

What's Next?

The World Series resumes at 8:07 p.m. ET Wednesday at Kauffman Stadium when right-hander Yordano Ventura will seek to help KC pull even. It will be his first game in 11 days after allowing the Angels four runs in 5 2/3 innings in what was ultimately a Royals win.

Opposing Ventura is San Fran righty Jake Peavy, who is looking for his second World Series ring in as many years. He last pitched Oct. 12, when he allowed the Cardinals two runs in four innings. Another Giants win would be significant -- it would put them up, 2-0, as the series shifts to their home park.