Giants melt down in 7-2 World Series loss (w/video)

KANSAS CITY, Mo. – Up jumped the devil, and the devil was the sixth inning.

An up-for-grabs game and a redeemed pitcher had the Giants thinking they just might be flying home to San Francisco with a 2-0 lead in the World Series. And then the sixth inning happened. It was sudden. It was stunning. And it doomed the Giants to a 7-2 loss to the Kansas City Royals in Game 2 at Kauffman Stadium, meaning we’ll be tied at one game apiece when the Series arrives at AT&T Park on Friday.

“We felt like with our big sixth inning there, we took a little momentum out of how they were playing,” Royals designated hitter Billy Butler said. “They were playing really well, and they continue to play well. But we showed them that we have fight in us.”

Giants starter Jake Peavy recovered after a shaky start, and had set down 10 consecutive Royals heading into the sixth. He said later that he felt great at that point. But when Peavy started the inning by giving up a broken-bat, bloop single to Lorenzo Cain and a walk to Eric Hosmer, manager Bruce Bochy made a switch.

In came reliever Jean Machi; out went the ball to left field, an RBI single by Butler. In came San Francisco lefty Javier Lopez, who got one out.

Bochy struck again, and in came Hunter Strickland, the Giants’ hard-throwing young right-handed reliever. Strickland was something of a disaster through the National League playoffs, but had recorded a one-two-three ninth inning here in Game 1. This time, he threw batting practice. Kansas City’s Salvador Perez stroked a two-run double over Gregor Blanco’s head in center, and light-hitting Omar Infante capped the fireworks by crushing a two-run homer into the Royals’ bullpen.

“Those are the matchups that we were trying to get,” Bochy said. “It just didn’t work out.”

Strickland took exception to the way Perez and Infante celebrated at home, and screamed a challenge at them. A few players from each team left their benches.

“After Omar hit the bomb, and I get close to home plate, he start to look at me,” Perez said. “So I asked him like, ‘Hey, why you look at me?’ So he was telling me, ‘Get out of here, whatever.’ … You don’t have to treat me like that. Look at Omar. Omar hit a bomb. I didn’t hit a bomb. I hit a double.”

Strickland left the game to boos. They might have come from the San Francisco fans in attendance, too.

A nice double play finally got the Giants out of the inning. But just like that they had fallen behind by five runs, a losing proposition against the team with best bullpen in Major League Baseball. The Giants had allowed eight runs in their previous seven World Series games. They gave up seven in one game Wednesday, and five in the sixth inning alone.

For the second straight night, the Giants succeeded in quieting the thunderous Kauffman crowd almost immediately. This time, leadoff man Blanco worked Kansas City starter Yordano Ventura for an eight-pitch at-bat, and deposited the last throw into the San Francisco bullpen for a home run.

The Royals didn’t curl up in the fetal position, though. They attacked Peavy in the bottom of the first, with a single by Escobar, a double by Cain, a walk by Hosmer and an RBI single Butler past the diving Brandon Crawford at shortstop. It would have been worse for San Francisco if Posey hadn’t thrown out Escobar trying to steal second.

The Royals took a 2-1 lead in the second inning on doubles by Infante and. The Giants tied it 2-2 in the fourth on doubles by Sandoval and Belt, and threatened with more until Belt was doubled off of second base after Morse’s fly out.

Peavy came into the game with horrible career numbers both in the postseason (1-3, 7.03 ERA) and at Kauffman Stadium (1-5, 6.42), and he seemed to be headed in that direction after two innings. But he settled into a nice groove, retiring 10 straight batters before Cain’s looping single to lead off the bottom of the sixth.

“We found a little mechanical adjustment that we were able to make, and throw the ball where I was supposed to throw it, for the most part, from there on out,” Peavy said.

He outlasted Ventura, who was lifted after giving up a pair of singles in the top of the sixth. But the Giants were unable to plate anyone against the Royals bullpen. So the joyride has pulled to the side of the road for a moment, and this World Series may have become the intense fight it was supposed to be.

“The tighter the races, and the more games you play, the more intense and all of that comes into play – the more stories you guys have, the more drama,” Giants right fielder Hunter Pence said. “Drama’s good for this game.”