Royals: Revisiting the 2015 World Series, Game 5

Surviving a blow in Game 3, the Kansas City Royals won Game 4 and now try to end the series before it can go back to City of Fountains.

Since the 1969 season, the World Series has ended in five games or less nineteen times out of forty-five. Hard to believe but the contest between the American League and National League pennant winners was essentially not close 42 percent of the time. Would this be another yawner or can the New York Mets rally against the Kansas City Royals and keep their hopes alive?

As great as it would be to win the trophy at Kauffman Stadium you know the Royals organization and, if answering honestly, the majority of fans would prefer to end it here and not take the chance of extending the series.

The last time Kansas City was the best team in baseball was in 1985, and they had to rally from dropping the first two contests at home and being down three games to one. They are very aware that winning three in a row is possible.

The Mets have to ask themselves what they have to do to keep the Royals down. By giving up late leads in both Game 1 and Game 4, New York could easily be the ones looking to clinch the title this crisp November night. The Kansas City Royals hope to put a dagger in the hearts of Mets fans by winning the title at Citi Field.

On tap is a rematch from Game 1 with Matt Harvey and Edinson Volquez taking the bump. The lineups for both teams stay essentially the same with neither manager breaking from the norm to pull off a victory.

For all the losses Ned Yost oversaw during his managerial career, he enters this game with a 21-9 postseason record. That is good for a .724 winning percentage and best ever for any skipper who managed at least 17 playoff games. One more victory and he would be able to hoist the World Series trophy.

If the Kansas City Royals are going to win the World Series this night they will have to do it from a familiar spot…trailing.

Lorenzo Cain tries to get a Kansas City Royals special going, starting a rally with two outs, by singling and stealing second base.  Eric Hosmer goes down swinging, however, and with that, the inning is over.

Curtis Granderson punishes Royals’ pitching again slamming his third home run of the series to lead off the game.  Volquez settles down after that striking out the next two batters and inducing a Yoenis Cespedes grounder but the damage is already done.

A David Wright error puts Mike Moustakas on base to lead off the second but he advances no further.  Lucas Duda walks to begin the home half of the inning but a Travis d’Arnaud double play kills that momentum.

Harvey surprising allows a single to Volquez to start the third.  Volquez was 0-for-6 batting with the Kansas City Royals that season and the prior year with the Pittsburgh Pirates his average was .038 in 53 at-bats.  An Alcides Escobar double-play ball erases that mistake and no more base runners are allowed.

Volquez pitches a 1-2-3 frame and the first third of the game is complete with New York clinging to a 1-0 lead.

As the game moves on through the middle innings, the Kansas City Royals cannot seem to fire up the bats.

Harvey comes out firing bullets in the fourth not only striking out the side but doing it to the heart of the Kansas City Royals lineup.  Cain, Eric Hosmer, and Moustakas all take a seat.  The only negative could be it took the Dark Knight 15 pitches to do so.

Volquez walks Daniel Murphy with one out but thanks to another double play escapes with no runs allowed.  Havey again strikes out the side in the fifth, with a walk to Alex Gordon mixed in.  Another 19 pitches are expended to get out of the inning.

The unpredictability of locating his pitches hits Volquez as he puts Duda on with a free pass.  A couple of outs are recorded and then Wilmer Flores is intentionally walked to get to the pitcher’s spot in the batting order.  With Harvey cruising on the mound he is left in to bat and ends the inning with a ground out to Escobar.

Ben Zobrist gives the Royals another baserunner with a line-drive single to right field but again Kansas City can not advance him any further.

Granderson leads off with another walk which the Royals probably view as a better option than hitting it out of the park.  After a single to David Wright, Hosmer makes another unexpected error and now the bases are loaded.

Volquez stays in the game and pops Cespedes to pop to short which is the best outcome possible.  Duda hits a ball deep enough to center field that chases Granderson home and d’Arnaud grounds out to Moustakas to end the inning.  One run in but it could have been much worse.