5 things about the World Series ahead of Game 7

KANSAS CITY, Mo. — A second inning that included a franchise-postseason-record seven runs and eight hits guided the Kansas City Royals to a 10-0 win over the San Francisco Giants in Game 6 on Tuesday, tying the World Series at three games apiece.

The Royals will try Wednesday night to become the ninth team in last 11 opportunities to win Games 6 and 7 at home to capture the championship. No road team has won Game 7 since 1979 when the Pittsburgh Pirates beat the Orioles in Baltimore.

Here are five things we know about the World Series entering Game 7:

—5. Teams need breaks to win the World Series, and the Royals are getting plenty. Game 6 loser Jake Peavy said he doesn’t remember breaking three bats in an inning and not recording an out on any of them, as occurred in the second inning Tuesday.

However, Kansas City manager Ned Yost said he is confident his team can keep finding the breaks in Game 7.

“I’ve never been so convicted about a game in my life, seriously,” he said. “I’ve never felt more strongly about us winning a ballgame than I did this game. I had a strong, a very, very strong feeling that whoever won Game 6 was going to win Game 7. But we have to wait until tomorrow to see if my theory is correct.”

—4. Giants right-hander Tim Hudson needs a big game Wednesday. He made his World Series debut in Game 3 and lost a 3-2 decision. Hudson finished the regular season 9-13 with a 3.57 ERA, but he lost his last four decisions. His ERA in September was 8.72, and he is 0-1 with a 3.72 ERA in the postseason. He says he is ready for the big stage.

“You should be,” he said. “This is why you play the game. This is why you compete. This is why you work so hard throughout your career to get to hopefully have this opportunity. I’m going to have some fun. I’ve waited a long time for this.”

—3. The Giants used five pitchers in Game 6, but Giants manager Bruce Bochy still feels as if he has the tools to win Game 7. He used five pitchers, but only Jean Machi pitched more than two innings. He did not use his top four relievers: left-handers Javier Lopez and Jeremy Affeldt and right-handers Sergio Romo and Santiago Casilla. Bochy also has ace lefty Madison Bumgarner available to pitch a couple of innings after having two days’ rest. Bumgarner is 2-0 with a 0.56 ERA in the World Series.

“You hate to have a game go like (Game 6 did), but no question it does allow you to do some things you probably normally wouldn’t do,” Bochy said. “So we’re loaded tomorrow, I feel, and they are, too. So we’re just looking forward to the game.”

—2. The Royals’ bullpen is rested. Yordano Ventura pitched seven innings of shutout ball, and relievers Jason Frasor and Tim Collins pitched the eighth and ninth innings, respectively. That means that Kelvin Herrera, Wade Davis and Greg Holland have another day of rest heading into Game 7.

“To get us through seven innings, and then Frasor coming in and Collins getting through that, that keeps all of our big guns fresh and ready to go tomorrow,” Yost said. “That was the intent once we scored the seven runs (in the second inning) to try to get through that game without using (Brandon) Finnegan, without using Herrera, without using Holland and Wade Davis.”

Jeremy Guthrie, the Game 3 winner who will start Game 7, will aim for a six-inning effort to hand the ball to Kansas City’s talented relief corps.

—1. The last team to win Game 6 at home to force a Game 7 and then lose the World Series was the Red Sox in 1975. Boston won Game 6 in the bottom of the 12th inning on Carlton Fisk’s famous home run before falling 4-3 to the Cincinnati Reds in Game 7. Despite the history stacked up against them, the Giants are loose and confident.

“There’s no other team I would rather be on for Game 7,” said designated hitter Michael Morse, who is in his first year with the Giants. “They’re ready for this. We knew it wasn’t going to be easy today. Ventura came out and pitched a really good game; you have to tip your hat to him. Tomorrow we’re going to go out and do what we do best, and that’s play good baseball. I don’t have a confidence meter. I can’t tell you how confident, but this is the same thing we’ve been doing. This is awesome. It’s been a great ride, and we’re going to be ready for tomorrow.”