SAN FRANCISCO GIANTS - 2014 WORLD SERIES CHAMPIONS

Madison Bumgarner punctuated his World Series performance for the ages by pitching the San Francisco Giants to their third championship in five years in a 3-2 win over the Kansas City Royals to become the 2014 World Series Champions.

The left-hander came out of the bullpen and threw five scoreless innings on two days' rest, and by winning Game 7 on the road, Bumgarner and the Giants succeeded where no team had in 3½ decades.



Three days after throwing 117 pitches in a four-hit shutout to win Game 5, Bumgarner tossed 68 more and dropped his record-low career Series ERA to 0.25. He has allowed one run and 14 hits in five outings covering 36 innings. His numbers and then some were more than enough for him to be awarded the World Series Most Valuable Player.

The Giants, a 20-to-1 long shot when 2014 odds were first posted a year ago, won their eighth title and third since moving from New York to San Francisco after the 1957 season. They also have won 10 straight postseason rounds, one shy of the record set by the New York Yankees from 1998 to 2001.