Royals: Looking back on 2015 World Series Game 2

After a Game 1 win, the Kansas City Royals look to keep their bats hot against the New York Mets in Game 2 of the World Series at Kauffman Stadium.

The Kansas City Royals kicked off the 2015 World Series in the best possible way, with a Game 1 win at Kauffman Stadium. Not only did they beat the Mets, but they kept fans on the edge of their seats for the entire 5 hours of the 14-inning game. Royals fans couldn’t have asked for anything more.

Luckily for Kansas City, after all the Game 1 excitement there would be more, as Game 2 was to be played the next night back at Kauffman. Game 2 was incredibly important for the Royals. They had a chance to get ahead in the series 2-0, and they the advantage of their fans behind them, continuing the excitement from Game 1.

Taking the mound for the Kanas City in Game 2 was Johnny Cueto. Cueto spent half the season with the Royals after coming over from the Reds through a trade. In his time at Kansas City, Cueto went 4-7 and held an ERA of 4.76. Though he had struggled with the Royals, he had put together some decent games, and had done well in the postseason.

For the Mets, Jacob deGrom got the start. deGrom had put together a good season, going 14-8 with an ERA of 2.54. The Royals knew deGrom could pose a challenge and they would have to try to rough him up early. The Royals also needed a strong game from Cueto, having gone deep to stay alive in 14 innings the previous night.

On October 28, 2015, in front of a home crowd of 40,410 fans, the Kansas City Royals took the field for Game 2 of the World Series.

For the Kansas City Royals, Game 2 of the World Series started quiet, with outstanding pitching from Johnny Cueto.

The first inning got off to a quiet start. For the Kansas City Royals, Johnny Cueto set the tone for the evening, sitting the first three batters he faced. deGrom answered, retiring the three Royals bats he saw as well. The second inning was a similar story. Other than a single from Lucas Duda, Cueto quickly recorded three outs on three batters, the last being a double play. deGrom again retired the three Royals he faced in order.

The game continued as a pitchers battle into the third inning. Cueto retired three in a row to begin the third, and deGrom recorded three outs, plus gave up a walk to Alex Gordon. In the fourth inning, both pitchers started to show some fatigue.

Cueto started the fourth with a walk to Curtis Granderson. After recording the first out, he followed up with another walk to Daniel Murphy. With two outs, Duda again stepped to the plate and knocked a single to left, allowing Murphy in to score. Cueto pulled it together and got the last out, finishing the third without further damage.

deGrom also started to see some issues in the fourth. Ben Zobrist started the inning by reaching first on an error. deGrom recorded an out but followed up with a single to center from Eric Hosmer. With two outs, deGrom continued to struggle walking Mike Moustakas. Unfortunately for the Royals, even with the bases loaded, they were unable to get on the board and deGrom recorded the final out.

The Kansas City Royals looked to heat things up in the fifth inning, hoping to get a lead they could hold on to.

To begin the fifth inning, Cueto wanted to continue strong. He put the one run in the fourth behind him, retiring all three Mets batters he saw. In the bottom of the fifth, the Kansas City Royals knew they had unfinished business from the fourth.

Gordon started the inning by drawing a walk, followed by a single to left from Alex Rios. Alcides Escobar stepped to the plate to keep the line moving, hitting a single to center, driving in Gordon for the score and moving Rios to second. deGrom Looked to have the inning back on track, following up with two outs, but the Royals had other plans.

Eric Hosmer stepped up and singled to center, allowing both Rios and Escobar to reach home and score. To extend the lead even more, Kendrys Morales singled to right, followed by a single from Mike Moustakas, which drove in Hosmer. deGrom finally recorded the third out, but not before the Royals were able to drive the score to 4-1.

In the top of the sixth, Cueto continued to pitch strong going three up three down. At this time, the Mets replaced deGrom on the mound with Hansel Robles. Robles came out strong, sitting the three Royals he faced.

The seventh inning continued the pitching clinic. Cueto again retired three Mets in order. New York brought in Jon Niese to replace Robles for the bottom of the seventh. Niese got out of the inning without any damage, walking Lorenzo Cain, but recording all three outs.