2015 World Series Recap

By Sam Soergel

The World Series came to a close Sunday night, and what a series it was. Kansas City beat the Mets three games to one. The Royals’ electric offense was too much for the Mets’ pitching. They capitalized on any mistake the pitchers made, and brought a World Series title to Kansas City for the first time in 30 years.

In game one, the Royals jumped on Matt Harvey as early as they possibly could. Alcides Escobar hit an inside the park home run on the very first pitch. The Mets, however, would score one in the fourth, fifth, and sixth. Kansas City got two in the bottom of the sixth thanks to an Eric Hosmer sacrifice fly and a Mike Moustakas single. The Mets got another in the eighth. Things looked good, but with one out in the bottom of the ninth, Alex Gordon sent a 1-1 pitch from Jeurys Familia over the center field wall to tie the game. It would stay that way until the fourteenth, when Eric Hosmer hit another sacrifice fly to plate Escobar for the game’s winning run.

Game two was all Royals. The Mets took a 1-0 lead off Johnny Cueto in the fourth, but that was all they would get. Kansas City scored four in the fifth and three in the eighth. Cueto pitched a complete game masterpiece, giving up one run on two hits. He struck out four.

The Mets won Friday, jumping on Yordano Ventua early. He did not get out of the fourth inning and let the Mets score five. That’s all they would need as Noah Syndergaard pitched six strong, giving up three runs while punching out six. New York would get four more of Franklin Morales and go on to win 9-3.

The Royals’ magic continued Saturday. With the Mets winning 3-2, Kansas City tied it up on a Daniel Murphy error, and went ahead after singles by Mike Moustakas and Salvador Perez. The Mets were on the brink of elimination.

Game 5. Do or die for the Mets. It was a pitcher’s duel: New York went with their ace, Matt Harvey while the Royals picked Edinson Volquez, who gave up three in game one. Volquez gave up a leadoff homer to Curtis Granderson and another run came across in the sixth on a Lucas Duda sacrifice fly. The Mets looked good. Harvey was lights out through eight, he struck out nine Royals and did not give up any runs.

Then came the ninth. Terry Collins decided to leave Harvey in to finish what he started. Bad move. Jeurys Familia was ready, even if he blew two saves in the series. Familia was the right choice, but Collins wanted Harvey. Gotham needed their Dark Knight. Harvey walked Lorenzo Cain who then stole second. The next batter was Eric Hosmer who doubled home Cain on a one strike pitch. That was it for Harvey. Collins brought in Familia. He got Moustakas to ground out, but Hosmer moved to third. Then, Salvador Perez hit a groundball to third. David Wright’s throw was on the mark, but Hosmer broke for the plate. Lucas Duda’s throw went past catcher Travis d’Arnaud and Hosmer scored. The game was tied. Familia blew his third save of the series.

The game stayed tied until the twelfth, when the Royals demolished the Mets’ pitching. They scored five, starting with a pinch hit single by Christian Colon that brought home pinch runner Jarrod Dyson. Even with a five run lead, Wade Davis came in, gave up a hit to Michael Conforto, but struck out Duda, d’Arnaud, and Wilmer Flores to capture the Royals’ second title in franchise history.

Salvador Perez was named MVP. He hit .364 and drove in the game tying run, but cases could be made for multiple Royals to take the award. What is surprising about the Royals’ wins is that, in each one of them, they trailed at some point in the game. Without a glaring weakness in the offense, and having the pitching keep them in the game, they were able to rally and break the hearts of the Mets players and their fans. While some of the Royals’ core could leave to free agency this year, they are still a great team that has the talent to compete for years to come. They are going to finish 14^th in the payroll, but were able to win a World Series. Other teams should look at their model for success, as it could possibly lead to multiple championships.