Oct 26, 2014; San Francisco, CA, USA; San Francisco Giants catcher Buster Posey (28) shakes hands with starting pitcher Madison Bumgarner after defeating the Kansas City Royals during game five of the 2014 World Series at AT&T Park. (Kyle Terada-USA TODAY Sports)
SAN FRANCISCO — Left-hander Madison Bumgarner pitched a four-hit shutout Sunday night, lifting the San Francisco Giants to a 5-0 victory over the Kansas City Royals and a 3-2 lead in the World Series.
The best-of-seven series now returns to Kansas City, with the Giants needing one more win to capture their third World Series crown in five years.
Giants right-hander Jake Peavy will square off with Royals righty Yordano Ventura in San Francisco’s potential series-ender in Game 6 on Tuesday night.
Bumgarner won for the second time in the series, running his record to 4-1 in six starts this postseason. He also was the winning pitcher in the Giants’ 7-1 victory over the Royals in Game 1.
He struck out eight and did not walk a batter in a 117-pitch effort.
By going nine innings, Bumgarner became the all-time single-season leader in postseason innings pitched among left-handers. He has now thrown 47 2/3 innings in the 2014 playoffs and World Series; only right-hander Curt Schilling (48 1-3 for the 2001 Arizona Diamondbacks) went further.
Bumgarner’s career World Series ERA dropped to 0.29 after Sunday’s effort. He has permitted just one run on 12 hits in 31 innings, striking out 27.
Shortstop Brandon Crawford drove in three runs and backup outfielder Juan Perez highlighted a game-breaking, three-run eighth inning with a two-RBI double off the center field fence to lead a 12-hit Giants attack.
Crawford produced the Giants’ first two runs with a infield out in the second inning and RBI single in the fourth.
The Giants busted the game open in the eighth against the previously untouchable back end of the Kansas City bullpen.
Perez’s double off right-hander Wade Davis scored third baseman Pablo Sandoval and right fielder Hunter Pence, both of whom singled off righty Kelvin Herrera.
Crawford’s second hit of the night, another RBI single, scored Perez to make it 5-0.
Royals right-hander James Shields took the loss despite giving up just the two runs in six innings. He surrendered eight hits and one walk while striking out four.
Crawford, Sandoval, Pence and left fielder Travis Ishikawa had two hits apiece for the Giants. Sandoval and Pence each scored twice.
The Royals advanced just one baserunner past first against Bumgarner, second baseman Omar Infante’s one-out double in the fifth inning.
Bumgarner didn’t allow Infante to get farther than second, striking out center fielder Jarrod Dyson and Shields to end the inning.
Royals manager Ned Yost’s conservative approach to a sticky situation in the second inning helped produce the first run of the game.
With runners on second and third with one out, Yost elected to pitch to Crawford, the Giants’ No. 8 hitter, with first base open and Bumgarner on deck.
With the infield playing at normal depth, Crawford grounded out to second base, scoring Pence to put the Giants up 1-0.
Bumgarner followed with a hard grounder to third — the perfect inning-ending double play ball had Yost chosen to pitch around Crawford.
Similarly, Crawford came to the plate in the fourth inning with two teammates aboard and a base open, this time third. Again, the Royals chose to pitch to him, and again it was costly, with Crawford singling to center field to score Sandoval from second for a 2-0 lead.
NOTES: The teams had different itineraries after Game 5 late Sunday night. The Royals were due to head straight for the San Francisco airport for an early-morning flight to Kansas City. The Giants opted to sleep in their own beds Sunday night and head east in the morning. … Giants manager Bruce Bochy disclosed before the game that three of his players — RHP Tim Lincecum, OF Michael Morse and 3B Pablo Sandoval — dealt with a stomach virus in recent days. Despite being at less than 100 percent, none would miss playing time, Bochy said. … Neither the Giants nor the Royals has won a best-of-seven postseason series that was tied 2-2. The Giants are 0-7 under those circumstances, the Royals 0-1.
