On Oct. 27, 1985 and 1986, the Kansas City Royals and New York Mets won their last World Series titles, respectively. On this exact day in 2015, the Mets and Royals began their quests to end a championship drought.
Between the Mets’ rotation, the Royals’ bullpen and both teams’ lineups, I was completely expecting an exciting and phenomenal Game 1.
I got it.
ALCS MVP Alcides Escobar proved why he got that hardware Friday night, with a leadoff, inside-the-park home run on the first pitch Matt Harvey threw. Yoenis Cespedes missed the ball in center that allowed Escobar’s incredible run.
“We’re pretty happy with our outfield defense. I think Yoenis has shown that he can play center field,” Mets Manager Terry Collins said Monday.
I bet Collins isn’t feeling too great about that comment anymore.
Daniel Murphy went into the Fall Classic hitting a home run in the past six games, looking to continue that streak. That did not happen, but he did score a run in the fourth to tie the game at 1. Murphy is just so hot right now he can’t be stopped.
The Mets scored in the fifth and sixth innings to take a 3-1 lead, but the Royals tied it up in the bottom of the sixth and took the lead in the eighth. The Mets looked as though they would take Game 1, with stellar pitcher Jeurys Familia on the mound and two outs away from the win. But Alex Gordon wanted to add some drama and drilled one to center to tie the game at 4.
So the game went into extras, and strong pitching by Chris Young and Bartolo Colon extended the game to 14 innings, the longest Game 1 in World Series history. But Colon loaded the bases with no outs in the 14th, and Eric Hosmer hit a sacrifice fly to score Escobar, and the Royals finally take game 1.
This game proved everything I thought it would: strong pitching by the Mets and outstanding offense by the Royals. Both teams proved why they are the last two left.
Jacob deGrom and Johnny Cueto are Wednesday’s starters, which should be another tight game as both pitchers are exceptional. With the length of the game, relievers like Colon and Young won’t be available, and some of the starting lineup may not be available to start Wednesday.
This is going to be an incredible World Series. Let’s just hope the next games don’t last five hours each.