In a stunning sight, the All-Star finally broke for the first time this postseason, surrendering a lead after continuous quality at-bats by an unrelenting Royals lineup.
Advertisement
So if he pitches again in a Kansas City uniform, it probably means that the World Series has shifted back to Kauffman Stadium after three games in New York.
DeGrom allowed four runs, six hits and three walks over five innings in a hairy matchup of pitchers with contrasting long locks.
Volquez yielded six hits and three runs in six innings. Both hits were by Lucas Duda.
The next time they see Eric Hosmer and his teammates may be in a parade. “The longer the game goes the stronger I get. If you continue to pound the strike zone, they’re going to put in play, and that’s what they did”.
Forty-one of the 51 teams to take 2-0 leads in best-of-seven World Series have gone on to win the title, including nine consecutive, since Atlanta stumbled against the New York Yankees in 1996.
But just like in the decisive Game 5 of the divisional round, when Cueto tossed eight innings of two-hit ball against the Astros – and retired the final 19 batters he faced – all those chants reverberating through the stadium were for him. DeGrom walked Gordon to lead off and then Alex Rios drilled a solid single into left field.
Ben Zobrist’s grounder advanced the runners, and Lorenzo Cain fouled off four pitches before a flyout to short center. Hosmer moved to third on designated hitter Kendrys Morales single and scored on third baseman Mike Moustakas’ single to right.
New York will be seeking redemption of its own in Game 2 after shut-down closer Jeurys Familia allowed his first run of the postseason by serving up Gordon’s tying blast.
“In the fifth I couldn’t stop the bleeding”, deGrom said. He’s had a brilliant postseason with a flawless 3-0 record and 1.8 ERA.
“Jake came out throwing great”. They took him into the manager’s office and closed the door.
The Mets were not able to do the same against Cueto, who was dominant.
The little they’d done to that point was no match for the Kansas City Royals juggernaut that keeps building steam in the World Series. Even Duda’s two hits were softly struck. The inning included Gordon’s run-producing double, an Escobar RBI triple and a Paulo Orlando sacrifice fly. He threw 122 pitches.
“You go out there and expect to see the best, and expect to see the Johnny Cueto we saw in Cincinnati for so many years”, Wright said.
“We don’t swing and miss”, Royals manager Ned Yost said. The Mets hadn’t fallen behind in a series through two rounds, but now they’re down two games as they come home to Citi Field and turn to Noah Syndergaard to get them back into the series on Friday night.
Avelutto may have been born in Brooklyn, with Mets memories dotting his childhood, but make no mistake about who he roots for now. Wednesday, their ace encountered his first postseason blip. Kansas City has the series lead and the upper hand heading into Wednesday night’s game, but the Mets won’t hit the field hanging their heads.
Advertisement
“This is a family and we respect each other’s families”, Moustakas said.
