World Series: James Shields Will Start Game 5 For Royals
By Hayden Kane
James Shields will start Game 5 of the World Series for the Kansas City Royals if they are not swept by the San Francisco Giants.
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Much of the attention paid to the Kansas City Royals and their journey to the 2014 World Series has focused on the famous trade they made for starting pitcher James Shields before the 2013 season. The man had “Big Game” in his nickname, after all, and the Royals wanted a guy they could trust on the biggest stages.
With the Royals finally in the playoffs and now the World Series this season, the results with Shields have been mixed at best. In Game 1 of the World Series on Tuesday night, Shields was disastrous. He was charged with five earned runs and failed to make it out of the fourth inning. Shields was out-dueled by Madison Bumgarner, and the Giants won easily in a 7-1 blowout.
Shields struggled so much that his status as the scheduled starter for a possible Game 5 was called into question in the minds of some people. Royals’ manager Ned Yost was quick after the game to say that Shields will start if there is a Game 5 in this World Series.
Ned Yost affirms: James Shields will start Game 5.
— Buster Olney (@Buster_ESPN) October 22, 2014
In the meantime, maybe Shields should consider a new nickname.
Big Game James now has 53.1 career post-season IP with a 5.74 ERA and 1.54 WHIP. That's not exactly a tiny sample size.#IronicNickname
— High Heat Stats (@HighHeatStats) October 22, 2014
The Royals will try to bounce back in Game 2 with Yordano Ventura on the mound opposite Jake Peavy for the San Francisco Giants. That will be the first shot for the Royals to get a win in this series and give Shields another shot in Game 5.
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