Royals bullpen mightier in 3-2 World Series Game 3 win (w/video)

SAN FRANCISCO - The one constant for the Giants through their three World Series runs has been great relief pitching. The San Francisco bullpen has consistently frustrated batters with pinpoint accuracy and deceptive movement.

But the Giants have met their match.

The Kansas City bullpen does not frustrate opponents. It mows them down like drought-stricken outfield grass. And that was pretty much the story in the Royals 3-2 victory in Game 3 of the World Series at AT&T Park on Friday.

Starters Tim Hudson and Jeremy Guthrie both were solid. Both ran into a spot of trouble in the sixth inning. But Guthrie had been just a little better, and trailing by a run heading into the seventh is a terrible recipe against these Royals. The Giants simply weren’t able to overtake them, and now face their first series deficit in the 2014 postseason - and their first World Series deficit since 2002.

“Does it change the feeling? Sure, I mean, we’re not up 2-1,” San Francisco relief pitcher Javier Lopez said. “But we have guys who have been through that already, in 2012. Obviously, we have to try to take advantage of the home crowd … and hope that tomorrow presents a better day for us.”

In Game 2 at Kansas City, the teams were even going into the sixth inning, but the Royals broke the game open. This time, both teams added a pair of runs in the sixth.

Hudson, the Giants starter, got himself into a pinch in the top of the inning. Kansas City’s Alcides Escobar grounded a ball up the middle for a single, and Alex Gordon followed by ripping a ball over Gregor Blanco’s head in center; Escobar came home to make it 2-0, and Hudson lasted just one more batter.

More shocking, Lopez was unable to execute the lefty-on-lefty pitches for which he is famous. Eric Hosmer worked him for an 11-pitch at-bat and finally grounded a single up the middle to score Gordon.

The Giants didn’t roll over. Scoreless for 10 straight innings at that point, they began the bottom of the sixth with a single by Brandon Crawford and an RBI double down the left-field line by pinch hitter Michael Morse. Morse went to third on Joe Panik’s ground ball, and Morse scored on Buster Posey’s groundout to trim the deficit to 3-2 and pump some life into the curiously subdued AT&T crowd.

The Giants needed to push across at least one run against the Kansas City bullpen. It wasn’t going to happen.

Right-handers Kelvin Herrera, Wade Davis and Greg Holland form one of the most formidable relief combinations in recent memory. They typically pitch the seventh, eighth and ninth innings for the Royals. All of them pitched Friday, and they were joined by young lefty Brandon Finnegan. He pitched for TCU in the College World Series a few months ago, and he may wind up being as good as any of them.

Herrera actually looked shaky at the outset of his appearance, walking Blanco on four pitches. But Herrera’s velocity climbed at the same time his control improved, and he took command of the game for about an inning and a half.

On came Finnegan, who faced two Giants and struck out one of them, Crawford. Finnegan gave way to Davis in the eighth, and he made Joaquin Arias and Panik look overmatched with a mix of cutters, fastballs and deadly knuckle curves.

Holland came on to pitch the ninth inning, and the heart of the Giants order - Posey, Pablo Sandoval and Hunter Pence - went down in quick order.

In Game 3, Davis was probably the most dominant of the Kansas City pitchers. Blanco sure saw it that way.

“I really think Davis. I gotta say that guy,” Blanco said. “This guy’s good. What I see these three games, he’s really calm in the mound. He got his good pitches - cutter, curveball and that powerful fastball, and he can throw it in any count. And he’s got great command on those three pitches.”

The San Francisco bullpen was very good, too, at least after Lopez. Sergio Romo, Jeremy Affeldt and Santiago Casilla combined to allow just one single in 10 at-bats. But they trailed when they got there, and they trailed when they left.

It was a poignant start for Hudson, who waited 16 seasons for his first World Series appearance.

San Francisco will try to bounce back today behind Ryan Vogelsong, who goes against Jason Vargas. The Royals have fought back from a series deficit. We’ll see if the Giants can do the same.

“That’s what so beautiful about this team,” Morse said. “You’d never know if it was 2-1 them, or us. The way these guys are, so professional, we never count ourself out of it until the last out of every game. Losing today, it’s a bummer, but you know what? We got a game tomorrow.”