Bob Lutz: Royals’ ace Shields no match for Bumgarner in Game 1

KANSAS CITY, Mo. – There’s no shame in losing to Madison Bumgarner, the San Francisco Giants left-hander who pitches like a Sandy Koufax/Whitey Ford hybrid when the October leaves are falling.

But the Royals have to be concerned about their ace, James Shields, who was knocked out early in Game 1 of the World Series on Tuesday night in a 7-1 Giants win.

Shields, a workhorse, was way off Tuesday. The Giants touched him for three runs in the first inning and it could have been worse if not for a bone-headed decision by San Francisco third-base coach Tim Flannery, who got Buster Posey thrown out at the plate by a country mile.

Speaking of a country mile, that’s how far Hunter Pence hit a Shields pitch for a two-run blast that gave the Giants a 3-0 first-inning cushion. It was a huge home run considering the momentum the Royals picked up by throwing Posey out at the plate for the second out.

Bumgarner with three runs is like a Brink’s truck with a gold shipment, guaranteed to deliver.

The Giants have made a habit of winning Game 1 in the postseason. They’ve done it 13 of 15 times since 2000 and opposing Game 1 starting pitchers are 0-13 against San Francisco with a 7.20 ERA. And we’re talking some noteworthy starters here, including Tom Glavine, Matt Morris, Jarrod Washburn, Josh Beckett, Derek Lowe, Roy Halladay, Cliff Lee, Justin Verlander, Edinson Volquez, Stephen Strasburg, Adam Wainright, and now Shields.

Shields, who picked up the nickname “Big Game James” somewhere along the line, isn’t living up to that in this postseason. He’s made four starts and is averaging less than five innings. In 19 innings, he’s allowed 28 hits and 15 runs and will carry a 7.11 postseason ERA into his Game 5 start in San Francisco.

If there is a Game 5.

And what about Shields starting that game? Kansas City manager Ned Yost was asked about that afterward and immediately responded that Shields would be on the mound if there is a Game 5.

Asked later to expand on why, Yost came to his pitcher’s defense. Which is what you would expect.

“Well, he’s a guy that we’ve watched for two years,” Yost said. “He’s a guy that . . . he’s very competitive and he’s a guy that when his stuff is right, he’s dominant. He’s like what you saw out of Bumgarner tonight – that’s James Shields.”

Shields did settle down to work spotless second and third innings. But the Giants chased him in the fourth with two more runs. He wasn’t fooling anybody. He hasn’t fooled anybody for a while now.

It makes you wonder whether all of the innings over all of the years are finally catching up to Shields. He’s pitched in a lot of high-stress situations this season and now, when he’s reaching back for that something extra, it’s just not there.

His pitches were up against the Giants. And they pounded him for five hits in the first inning and two more before he retired a batter in the fourth.

Danny Duffy, so valuable as a starter for the Royals before a September shoulder injury shut him down for a couple of weeks, relieved Shields and was effective for a while. So effective, it made me think perhaps he would be a suitable replacement for Shields in a potential Game 5.

But Yost is having none of it.

“This is a funny game,” Yost said. “You can go out one night and give up seven runs and come back the next time and throw a great game. You have to know James Shields. You have to know that he’s a tremendous competitor and he has the ability to make adjustments. Right now, he just hasn’t been as sharp as he has been. But with the extra rest lately and then coming back five days from now, we think that will benefit him.”

But the Royals can’t be sure. Not even Shields can be sure at this point. Something is definitely missing. He’s not pitching like somebody the Royals can trust in big games.

He’s not pitching like Bumgarner, who had the Royals blanked until Salvador Perez’s solo homer with two outs in the seventh inning. In three World Series starts, Bumgarner has allowed only that one run and seven other hits.

The only push the Royals made against him was in the third inning, when Omar Infante reached on an error by shortstop Brandon Crawford and Mike Moustakas followed with a double. After Alcides Escobar chased a fastball high and out of the zone to strike out, Bumgarner got Nori Aoki on a check swing. He walked Lorenzo Cain to load the bases, but Eric Hosmer chased Bumgarner’s first pitch and rolled over on a curveball for a soft grounder to second base.

You’re lucky to get a chance to do some damage against a pitcher like Bumgarner, but the Royals couldn’t come through.

And the Giants cruised, beating “Big Game” James Shields with baseball’s best big-game pitcher.

This story was originally published October 21, 2014 at 11:37 PM with the headline "Bob Lutz: Royals’ ace Shields no match for Bumgarner in Game 1."