His string bean ace, Jacob deGrom, was on the mound, tossing in the mid-90s, with off-speed stuff that darted here and there like a drunken firefly.
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The finalists for Gold Glove awards were announced Thursday and not surprisingly the Kansas City Royals have four players up for a coveted defensive nod – tied with the San Francisco Giants for most in the major leagues. Still, all postseason long, this kid pitcher had pulled off Houdini escape acts.
“We love the roll the Royals are on, and we know that interest in this Series is sky-high in this area”, Jayhawks coach Bill Self said Friday.
No guarantees for a parade, but the odds are heavily stacked in the Royals’ favor.
Mike Piazza was back at the World Series for the Mets on Friday night.
The Royals are like that persistent dog that chews and chews and chews, and eventually your couch has no legs to stand on. They’re making good pitches on him. Maybe. Or maybe this is just the way the Royals roll. “And my body feels fine, physically, I’m not anxious about bouncing back and excited to be out there tomorrow”.
“He just smoked it and as soon as I saw him hit, I just started running as fast as I could … all of a sudden I saw it pop through a little seem in the bottom of the wall, and it was laying there right in front of me”, Esfeld said. “Guys just lock in, you know?”
Kansas City’s only change was the loss of its designated hitter, No. 5 batter Kendrys Morales. Having spent four games battering the Chicago Cubs, they could not figure out how to slap so much as a clutch single up the middle. To minimize confusion, the basketball game would be shifted to the following night if the Series is extended to six games, ensuring a return to Kansas City.
Johnny Cueto’s postseason form has oscillated between extremes. But since coming over from Cincinnati, he had started 16 times for the Royals before Wednesday and compiled a 6.16 run ERA, which, as Baseball Prospectus notes, is close to “Death Star exploding Alderaan” bad. He finished one RBI shy of the franchise record for a World Series game, set by Rusty Staub in 1973.
Kansas City’s aggressive leadoff man is batting.
But Offer, like so many Mets fans, thrives on uncertainty. Trump was thrown out at second by LeBron James, subbing for Curtis Granderson.
When Edinson Volquez slipped into the clubhouse after being taken out of Game 1 he was greeted by his wife, kids, brother and Royals General Manager Dayton Moore.
“I feel like being able to watch the past two games has really helped me out and helped me devise a game plan”, Syndergaard said. Reporters put that to Collins post-game. “I’ve learned a lot from seeing them go out there and pitch and how to react to things, certain situations in the game”. I’m not saying he shouldn’t have moved, that’s human nature…but that was not Syndergaard’s intent.
It’s clear that the six day layoff between Game 4 of the NLCS and Game 1 of this series curbed the Mets’ momentum, and Ventura has a legitimate opportunity to coast through six innings despite the rowdy environment.
Knock us over with a feather.
Syndergaard went on to strike out Escobar with a 99-mph blazer, the first swing and miss at a fastball since Game One by Kansas City, who were the best team in Major League Baseball at hitting high-velocity fastballs.
None of which is to suggest that this series is over, and not just because my younger son, Aidan, who preseason predicted the Mets’ precise victory total, has taken to calling himself Metsradamus and forecasts certain victory.
The biggest game of the Mets’ season will be entrusted to 23-year-old rookie Syndergaard, who regularly hits 100 miles per hour (160 kph) on the radar gun.
New York needs Daniel Murphy to recreate a few of the magic he showcased in the NLDS and NLCS, as veterans David Wright and Yoenis Cespedes have been lost at the plate of late and can not be counted on. Even history offers hope. However, the series shifts to Queens for the next three games, and the Mets believe they can right the ship, especially considering the last Mets team to win the World Series also got off to an 0-2 start.
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When the Royals Hall of Famer came through the security checkpoint before the game, he didn’t quite undergo the same screening as other fans, officials and media members.
