Game 2 of this World Series most definitely did not follow the Game 1 script that we witnessed Wednesday night. On this cool evening, Madison Bumgarner and Doug Fister wowed both sides with an impressive arsenal of pitches that put location and movement beyond speed and power. Either San Francisco or Detroit full-well…

The only men to ever hit three home runs in a single World Series game? Babe Ruth, Reggie Jackson, Albert Pujols ... and now Pablo Sandoval. The San Francisco Giants are now up 6-0 in the fifth inning of Game 1, having already knocked out Justin Verlander. And it's only the second three-HR game ever in AT&T Park…

The World Series is upon us! Game 1 starts at 8 p.m. EDT, and this is where you can yak about the game as it unfolds before your eager eyes. Tonight's pitching matchup is Barry Zito vs. Justin Verlander, which means that you will be simultaneously soothed by Zito's totally chill curveball and electrified by…

Today on Grantland, a pair of World Series preview pieces: Rany Jazayerli on why the Tigers could win, and Jonah Keri on how the Giants could take home the championship. Both men predict the series will go seven games—Jazayerli takes Detroit; Keri, San Francisco. Also on ESPN.com: a list of experts' World Series picks. …

Here are two things that Detroit has:

For all the reasons one can/should/better love the spectacle and awesomeness of the World Series, one perpetual risk is that some lazy newspaper columnist will come out and play the "Robinson Crusoe" card, acting like they've suddenly been dropped on a remote Pacific island with no other way of passing the time than by…