Mets Look To Even World Series After Marathon Game 1
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KANSAS CITY (CBSMiami/SportsDirect) – The 2015 World Series certainly got off to a great start on Tuesday night.
The Kansas City Royals won a marathon 14-inning affair in the series opener and look to take a 2-0 lead when they host the New York Mets on Wednesday.
Eric Hosmer's sacrifice fly ended a 5-hour, 9-minute classic as the Royals delivered a 5-4 victory.
Hosmer recorded two RBIs to raise his postseason career total to 25, eclipsing the franchise record he shared with the legendary George Brett (23).
Alex Gordon smacked a one-out, ninth-inning homer to forge a tie and an error by New York third baseman David Wright opened the door in the 14th for Hosmer's fly to right that plated Alcides Escobar.
"I wanted to redeem myself for what happened earlier," Hosmer said, referring to an eighth-inning error he committed that gave New York a 4-3 lead. "That's the beauty of this game. Always get a chance to redeem yourself and can't thank my teammates enough."
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.
TV: 8:07 p.m. ET, FOX
PITCHING MATCHUP: Mets RH Jacob deGrom (3-0, 1.80 ERA) vs. Royals RH Johnny Cueto (1-1, 7.88)
The 27-year-old deGrom was passed over for the Game 1 start in favor of an extra day of rest as manager Terry Collins noticed he needed more time.
"For me, that is that release point, that consistent release point you have to make the pitches," Collins explained during his press conference. "If you start to get a little fatigued, that hand just doesn't catch up sometimes. That's why we wanted to give him an extra day, because the last time we pushed him back a little bit, he came out throwing great."
The well-rested deGrom has struck out 27 and allowed just 15 hits in 20 postseason innings.
Cueto was a major disappointment for the Royals in the regular season and gave up eight runs in two-plus innings while losing his lone American League Championship Series start against Toronto.
He has an eye on cashing in as a free agent after the season and repeatedly has said he was going to be the "real Johnny Cueto" during the postseason.
"My ups and downs have been - it's just part of the game," Cueto said at a press conference. "I've pitched some good games as well. Obviously, the year is not over. And all I'm focused on is trying to go out and help this team win."
WALK-OFFS
- Escobar hit an inside-the-park homer in the first inning to extend his postseason hitting streak to 11 games.
- Mets 2B Daniel Murphy went 2-for-7 in the opener, but his record streak of hitting a home run in six straight postseason games reached an end.
- Kansas City 2B Ben Zobrist recorded three hits in Game 1 and is batting .347 in 49 at-bats this postseason.
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