The Kansas City Royals will host Game 1 of the World Series on Tuesday on FOX as they continue their remarkable first postseason run since 1985, and it will be the San Francisco Giants on the field with them, looking to capitalize on an opportunity to make National League history by claiming the game’s greatest prize for a third time in five seasons.

Those same Giants who had hit only two home runs combined in their nine previous games this postseason simply overpowered the Cardinals in a victory that allowed them to bring a premature ending to the best-of-seven series.

The Rafters, who had been shut down for the bulk of the evening, scored five runs in the eighth inning on their way to a 5-1 win Thursday night at Salt River Fields.

When the Royals clinched the American League pennant on Wednesday night, the players stressed that who their next opponent would be did not concern them at the moment; they’d rather bask in the glory of their AL Championship Series win against the Orioles. That grace period lasted just over 24 hours as the Giants finished off the Cardinals on Thursday night, setting up a World Series date between San Francisco and Kansas City that will begin on Tuesday at Kauffman Stadium.

Like the Giants, the Cardinals were a team that had trouble making the pieces fit in a rollercoaster of a season. Like the Giants, the Cardinals kept pushing and fighting and clawing. They did themselves proud on a bunch of different levels. In a magical postseason, the Giants just had a bit more.

By hitting a walk-off homer to send the Giants to the World Series on Thursday night in San Francisco, Travis Ishikawa became the latest unlikely hero to buoy his club on the postseason stage.

After about five minutes of raucous celebration, the Giants’ clubhouse fell silent. Off went the music. The victorious screams stopped. So did the jumping up and down. The beer and champagne remained bottled. Hunter Pence gave the floor to Tim Hudson for a moment 16 years in the making.

The Royals and Giants, who will meet in the World Series, are proof that it’s possible to get on a roll once you survive the Wild Card Game.

Giants left fielder Travis Ishikawa became just the ninth player in history to end a postseason series with a home run on Thursday night. He also became part of an even shorter list of players with a walk-off of any kind to win the NLCS.

Major League Baseball announced the broadcast schedule for the 2014 World Series, which can be seen on FOX and is set to begin on Tuesday at Kauffman Stadium.

The Giants will meet the Royals in the World Series starting Tuesday night at Kauffman Stadium, and that thrilling experience of the Fall Classic is already underway with the launch of the 2014 World Series official gear at the MLB.com Shop.

The Giants and Royals open the 110th World Series at 8:07 p.m. ET Tuesday on FOX. Existing MLB.TV subscribers can watch it at no additional cost, and for those who want to get in on the action, signups are underway at just $9.99 for eligible subscribers as this marks the first Fall Classic streamed live online and via mobile with no blackout restriction in the U.S.

As the surprise party raged on in the Royals’ clubhouse Wednesday evening — surprise, the Royals had swept the Orioles in the American League Championship Series — a man with strong ties to Kansas City baseball celebrated in a more modest manner in his Queens, N. Y., home. Ed Charles celebrated the AL championship as well as his own clairvoyance.

The Rangers have hired Pirates bench coach Jeff Banister to be their new manager. Banister will be introduced at a press conference on Friday morning at Globe Life Park in Arlington at 11 a.m. CT.

Twenty-five years ago, October in the Bay Area, joy and jubilation were mingled with death and devastation. In the immediate aftermath of the earthquake that interrupted the 1989 World Series, there was no knowledge about the enormity and the tragedy of this event.

Here’s a look at how the Kansas City Royals used the Draft, trades, free agency and international signings to build its AL pennant-winning team.

The story of the 2014 playoffs — at least on the American League side of things — has been the utter dominance of the Kansas City Royals. But might the Royals be a victim of their own October success?