Rapid Reactions to All of the Early 2015 World Series Action
The lead is now commanding, and the Kansas City Royals have their season-long goal within reach.
After Johnny Cueto once again reverted to ace form and led the Royals to a 7-1 Game 2 win over the New York Mets on Wednesday night at Kauffman Stadium, the Royals lead the best-of-seven World Series 2-0 as it heads back to Citi Field in New York on Friday. But despite the Mets getting the next three games in their yard, the Royals control the most important series of the year.
The first two games showed us Cueto’s outstanding pitching performance along with the Mets’ top two starters faltering, the hotness of Alcides Escobar and the cooling down of Daniel Murphy. It also showed us plenty of reasons why the Royals have won the first two games.
As the series heads into its first day off, we look back at what we've already seen.
The Dependable Johnny Cueto
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In the wee hours of the morning before the Royals handed Cueto the ball for Wednesday's Game 2, MLB Network analyst Dan Plesac said on TV there was no way the team could be completely confident that the right-hander—flimsily the staff ace—would give Kansas City a great outing. And based on Cueto's recent inconsistent history, that analysis was correct.
He answered plenty of World Series questions about himself with his complete-game gem that gave the Royals a dominant 2-0 series lead. His command was spot-on with more than just his fastball, and at times in his nine innings, the Mets looked like they didn't have a chance against him.
Cueto was the guy the Royals believed they were getting when they traded for him before the non-waiver deadline in July. The simple proof: one run and two hits allowed.
“That's what they brought me here for was to help win a World Series,” Cueto told reporters in his postgame press conference. “And that's what I've worked for, and I dedicate this type of outing to my peers, to the organization, to the staff and everyone involved.”
If this series gets to a sixth game back in Kansas City, Cueto will again get the ball. In that contest, there will be zero questions about the team’s ability or reasoning to believe in the man who is supposed to be its ace.
Mets Lost with Their Best
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The Mets lined up their two aces to start this series on the road and had to figure a split in Kansas City was the worst-case scenario.
Instead, they ended up with a disastrous outcome, as the Royals won both games started by Mets front-line starters Matt Harvey and Jacob deGrom. The Royals attacked early in counts and made both pitchers pay for mistakes in the strike zone—starting with Harvey's first pitch of Game 1, an inexplicable in-the-zone fastball to Alcides Escobar that ended in an inside-the-park home run.
The Mets came into the series with a distinct advantage in their rotation, but through two games, it has been the Royals starters—Edinson Volquez and Johnny Cueto—who have pushed their club to a 2-0 lead. They’ve combined to throw 15 innings, allowing four runs and eight hits. Meanwhile, Harvey and deGrom have combined for 11 innings, seven runs, 11 hits and, surprisingly, only four strikeouts.
Just as stunning is deGrom missed only three bats in Game 2. He averaged 15 swings and misses in his previous 33 starts, including the postseason.
Through two games, the Royals are hitting .304/.387/.435 with an .822 OPS with runners in scoring position. The Mets have a .143 average with a .330 OPS in that situation and have four strikeouts against Kansas City’s two, despite having nine fewer at-bats in that split.
“We win because we ride our starting pitching,” Mets manager Terry Collins told reporters after Game 2. “When they struggle we're going to struggle, and that's what's happened.”
Royals' Bullpen: Believe the Hype, Again
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The Kansas City relievers went into last year's postseason with a heavy reputation for shutting down opponents, and they solidified it in the playoffs with a 2.74 ERA and 70 strikeouts in 62.1 innings.
This season's group, even without closer Greg Holland, went into these playoffs with the same billing. And once again the bullpen is dominating when it counts most, with a 2.39 postseason ERA, including eight innings and no runs allowed in this World Series.
In these playoffs, they have also struck out 71 in 49 innings. That is an amazing pace.
“There’s no better weapon,” manager Ned Yost told Mark Feinsand of the New York Daily News during last year’s postseason, but that has been even truer this October.
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Murphy, Escobar Trending in Different Directions
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The two championship series MVP winners—Daniel Murphy for the Mets and Alcides Escobar for the Royals—are moving toward opposite ends of the production spectrum in the World Series.
Murphy was the hottest hitter in the playoffs through the National League Championship Series, but he is 2-for-9 with two singles and four strikeouts through the first two games of the Fall Classic. He carried the Mets offense to this point, but when guys such as Yoenis Cespedes and Curtis Granderson are not going to produce—Cespedes is 1-for-10, while Granderson is 1-for-8—the lineup cannot afford for Murphy to cool down.
On the other side of the batter’s box, Escobar is still simmering with a home run, a triple, three RBI and three scored runs without striking out from the leadoff spot in Kansas City’s order. His speed also led to his inside-the-park home run as well as Mets third baseman David Wright hurrying a throw to get Escobar at first base in the 14th inning of Game 1. Escobar reached on that error and eventually scored the walk-off run.
For the Mets offense to have a chance right now, Murphy has to get hot again. For the Royals, if Escobar continues to produce with the bat and his legs, he could end up as the biggest reason for their World Series win.
Royals Are Probably the Next World Series Champions
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Considering how recent history has favored teams in the Royals’ current position, Kansas City would not be seen as arrogant to start finalizing parade plans.
Of the last 16 teams to take a 2-0 lead in the World Series, 15 have gone on to pop champagne two wins later. That includes the last nine teams to have won the first two Fall Classic games.
While the Mets are heading back home for the next three games, they have also lost the first two with their aces on the mound. Noah Syndergaard and Steven Matz go in the next two games for New York, and while Syndergaard has been good, Matz has not gone beyond five innings in either of his first two postseason starts. Also, the Royals’ ability to hit fastballs was well documented before this series and has been proven during it, which does not bode well for Syndergaard and his 97.1 mph average fastball velocity.
The Mets are not facing an impossible mission at this point, but the Royals seem to have just about all the odds in their favor of winning their first World Series since 1985.
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