KANSAS CITY: Even as he pitched in a must-win game of the World Series, Yordano Ventura's thoughts were never far from Oscar Taveras on the day his friend was buried.

Ventura scattered three hits and struck out four over seven shutout innings Tuesday to spark the Kansas City Royals over San Francisco 10-0 and level Major League Baseball's best-of-seven final at three wins each.

The 23-year-old Dominican rookie right-hander dedicated his victory to Taveras, the 22-year-old St. Louis Cardinals outfielder who died Sunday in a car crash in his native Dominican Republic and who was buried just hours before the game in his homeland.

"If he was still here, I would for sure be talking to him and he would be very happy for me and very proud," Ventura said through a translator.

"Oscar was a very humble guy and very likeable and I am going to miss him a lot. I'm grieving and I want to send my best thoughts to his family. I know I'm going to miss him a lot and this is hard for me."

A moment of silence in tribute to Taveras was observed before the start of game six, which the Royals needed to win in order to force a one-game showdown Wednesday to determine a champion.

Ventura wrote the initials "O.T." and uniform number along with "R.I.P." on his cap in a tribute to Taveras.

"It's a little emotional for us," Ventura said. "From the minute I found out about Oscar, I said this game was going to be dedicated to him. I prepared myself mentally and physically for this game."

After the game, Ventura waved a Dominican flag on the field.

"I'm very proud to be a Dominican and that's why I brought the flag out," he said. "I carry my emotions on my sleeve and I did it for the whole country."

Royals manager Ned Yost, whose team had not reached the playoffs since winning the 1985 crown until this year, could not have asked anything more from his first-year fastball specialist in dispatching the Giants, who had only two baserunners advance as far as second and none beyond.

"Awesome. I don't really know what more to say," Yost said. "You've got a 23-year-old kid pitching the biggest game this stadium has seen in 29 years with our backs against the wall and he goes out there in complete command of his emotions with great stuff and throws seven shutout innings.

"We've talked all along about how special he is but this just shows it. You can't be on a bigger stage than he was. To perform the way that he did was just special."

Yost could see there was extra motivation in Ventura before the game began over the death of Taveras.

"That kid had that look in his eye before the game started that it didn't matter what the score was, he was going to go out and throw up a good ballgame for us," Yost said.

"This hit home for a lot of people, but especially for guys that had a relationship with Oscar. It hurts. It hurts a lot of people. Yo had a relationship with Oscar and he was definitely in his thoughts and in his mind the whole time he was competing."