How would Royals respond to loss? Rays Manager Joe Maddon wants to know

It’s not as if Joe Maddon is rooting against the Kansas City Royals in the World Series, which begins Tuesday night with Game 1 against the San Francisco Giants in Kauffman Stadium.

The Tampa Bay manager remains close with Royals Game 1 starter James Shields, who pitched seven seasons for the Rays (2006-2012) under Maddon before being traded to Kansas City before 2013.

But Maddon would like to see the Royals lose at least one game, just to see how a club that has gone 8-0 and has won three extra-inning road games and survived numerous nail-biting moments during a magical October run would respond.

“I’m curious about what will happen if they lose,” Maddon said after the Royals completed a four-game American League championship series sweep of the Baltimore Orioles. “They need to lose one game, and then see what happens.

“Once they’ve lost a game, how badly is that going to bother them? I don’t think it will, but the fact that they haven’t lost, and they’re winning all these extra-inning games on road, is really a benchmark of a good team. When you’re doing that stuff, your confidence absolutely soars.”

The biggest threat to the Royals’ momentum might be their own dominance. Because they swept the Orioles, the Royals, who also swept the Angels in the division series, have gone six days without a game entering the World Series.

But if the Royals can pick up where they left off, Maddon likes their chances against the Giants. The reason? Kansas City reminds the former Angels bench coach a lot of the 2002 Angels club that used an explosive offense and dominant relief pitching to win the 2002 World Series.

“Kansas City is on fire—they can’t do anything wrong,” Maddon said. “They have the swarming offense. They hit key home runs when they need them. Guys are diving all over the place to make incredible plays. They have that mental energy going on right now that is going to be hard to diminish.

“They think they’re unbeatable. They really think they’re bulletproof, and they probably are right now. You get that kind of confidence this time of year, it’s hard to beat.”