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Ace up their sleeve: Giants beat Royals 7-1 to take Game 1 of World Series

October 22, 2014

Kansas City Royals fan Sung Woo Lee, from South Korea, shows off his “super fan’ cap before Game 1 of baseball’s World Series between the Kansas City Royals and the San Francisco Giants Tuesday, Oct. 21, 2014, in Kansas City, Mo. (AP) Photo/Charlie Neibergall)

The San Francisco Giants had an ace up their sleeve. Madison Bumgarner pitched eight strong innings and the Giants beat the Kansas City Royals 7-1 in the World Series opener. Game 2 is Wednesday night.

The Royals looked as though they haven’t been to the World Series in 29 years. Giants look like October regulars.

Two impressive streaks ended for Bumgarner on one swing by Salvador Perez.

The big lefty gave up a solo homer to Perez with two outs in the seventh inning, trimming San Francisco’s lead to 7-1. Bumgarner had thrown 21 2-3 shutout innings in World Series play, the second-best streak to start a career in major league history behind New York Giants great Christy Mathewson (28 innings), according to STATS.

Mathewson pitched three shutouts in the 1905 World Series against the Philadelphia Athletics. His streak ended in 1911.

Bumgarner also had tossed 33 1-3 consecutive scoreless innings on the road in postseason play, a major league record

**AP materials were used in this report.