World Series Recap Games 1-4

The 2015 World Series between the New York Mets and Kansas City Royals is well underway.  The Royals lead the series 3 games to 1 and before Game 5 tonight let's take a look back at the previous four games.

Game 1:

The World Series began at Kauffman Stadium in Kansas City.  It was an interesting game as it ended as the longest game one in World Series history.  The Royals scored first on the very first pitch of their at bat as Alcides Escobar hit an inside-the-park home run as Yoenis Cespedes misplayed the ball.  In the fourth the Mets tied it on an RBI single by Travis d'Arnaud that scored Daniel Murphy.  In the top of the fifth, Curtis Granderson hit a home run into right field.  In the sixth the Mets made it 3-1 as Michael Conforto hit a sac fly to score Cespedes.  In the bottom of the sixth the Royals tied it.  In the top of the eighth the Mets took the lead as Wilmer Flores reached first base on a fielding error.  The error resulted in Juan Lagares scoring.  With a 4-3 lead, Jeurys Familia came on to try to close out the game but he blew it.  With one out Alex Gordon hit a home run to tie the game and force extra innings.  In the 14th Eric Hosmer's sac fly scored Escobar and the Royals took a 1-0 series lead.

Game 2:

The Mets got off to a good start with an RBI single by Lucas Duda to score Daniel Murphy but the Royals exploded for seven runs en route to a 7-1 win over the Mets.  Royals starting pitcher Johnny Cueto out dueled Jacob deGrom, pitching a complete game.

Game 3:

The series shifted to New York for the first World Series game in Citi Field history.  The crowd was fired up as Billy Joel sang the national anthem and Mike Piazza threw out the ceremonial first pitch.  Mets starting pitcher Noah Syndergaard sent a message early, throwing at Alcides Escobar's head.  The Royals took 1-0 lead but the Mets answered quickly in the bottom frame.  With Curtis Granderson on base, David Wright hit a homer to left-center to put the fans into a frenzy.  The Royals scored two in the top of the second to go up 3-2.  In the bottom of the third, Syndergaard got a big base hit and Curtis Granderson homered to put the Mets back up 4-3 and they never looked back.  In the sixth, with Juan Lagares and Wimer Flores on base, Juan Uribe singled to right field to score Lagares.  Wright followed with a base hit to deep centerfield to score Flores and Uribe.  Yoenis Cespedes finished up the scoring when he hit a sac fly to score Granderson.  Syndergaard or "Thor", what the fans call him, pitched a gem going six innings and striking out six.  The Mets took Game 3 with a final score of 9-3.

Game 4:

On Halloween night, the Royals robbed the Mets and now put them on the ropes after Game 4.  The Mets showed a lot of promise early on.  In the bottom of the third, Michael Conforto homered to right field.  The Mets went up 2-0 on a sac fly by Curtis Granderson that scored Wilmer Flores and the Mets were up 2-0.  In the bottom of the fifth, Conforto hit his second home run of the game to right-center. 3-1 Mets.  In the sixth the Royals got within one and in the eighth the Royals took advantage of a terrible Mets bullpen, scoring three runs to go up 5-3 which was the eventual final score.  The culprits in the pen were Tyler Clippard and Jeurys Familia.  Clippard took the loss while Familia blew the save.  

Tonight it is do or die for the Mets in Game 5.  For the Royals they are now one win away and could potentially clinch it tonight unless the Mets have anything to say about that.  The pitching match-up tonight is Edison Volquez for KC and Matt Harvey for NY.  Will the Royals win the World Series tonight after failing to last year or will the Mets win in front of their home crowd and keep the series going.  Tune in to FOX at 8:00 to find out. 

World Series Preview

This year’s World Series features two teams that are looking to win it all for the first time since the 1980’s.  Representing the National League is the New York Mets, who haven’t won a World Series since 1986.  Over on the American League side, the Kansas City Royals return to the Fall Classic for the second straight year after losing last year to the San Francisco Giants in seven games.  The Royals are looking to win the World Series for the first time in 30 years, 1985. 

Daniel Murphy has been the hottest hitter on the Mets all postseason; in 38 at-bats he hit .421 with seven homers, 11 RBI’s and a 1.462 OPS.  He homered in every single game of the National League Championship Series in which the Mets swept the Chicago Cubs in four games.  He actually has homered for six straight games heading into Game 1 on Tuesday night.  Besides Murphy, the Mets lineup features other solid bats such as Curtis Granderson, Lucas Duda, David Wright, Yoenis Cespedes, and Travis d’Arnaud.  The offense for the Royals has been the best of any team in the postseason, collectively hitting .271 with a .777 OPSl the lineup is led by Alcides Escobar, Ben Zobrist, Lorenzo Cain, Kendrys Morales, Mike Moustakas, and Alex Gordon. 

The Mets feature arguably the best starting pitching staff of the postseason.  Their rotation is now set.  Matt Harvey will pitch Game 1 followed by Jacob deGrom for Game 2, Noah Syndergaard for Game 3, and Steven Matz for Game 4.  As a staff, they have a postseason ERA of 2.65 and a ratio of 69 strikeouts to 18 walks across 54.1 innings in nine games.  The projected starting rotation for the Royals, not yet confirmed, features Edinson Volquez, Johnny Cueto, Yordano Ventura, and Chris Young.  The Royals starters need to have better outings to keep up with the Mets.  Through 11 postseason games, the Royas have managed just a 5.56 ERA in 55 innings. 

Both of these teams have been the best teams in baseball all season long so it is fitting that both of these guys are matching up in the World Series.  This will be a very tight series.  I predict the Mets to win in seven games. 

Mets Sweep Cubs, Advance To World Series

After many years of following the Mets from the days of Mike Piazza I can finally say they are going to the World Series.  When the Mets won game three you can hear it from two sides, some saying the Mets will finish the Cubs while others believed the Cubs could rally.  The Mets wasted no time in the beginning of the game.  With Curtis Granderson and Yoenis Cespedes on, Lucas Duda hit a three run homer to centerfield.  The very next batter, Travis d'Arnaud hit a homer to right-center and the Mets were up 4-0 after the first inning.

Duda also came up big in the following inning.  With David Wright and Daniel Murphy on, Duda doubled into centerfield to score them. 6-0 Mets.  The Cubs were able to get a run in the fourth but for the most part had a hard time against starting pitcher Steven Matz and starter-turned reliever Bartolo Colon.  Matz went 4.2 innings striking out four.  Colon would get the win.

Back in 1945, tavern owner Billy Sianis brought his pet goat to a World Series game at Wrigley Field.  Because the goat smelled, they both got kicked out.  After they got kicked out, Sianis said the Cubs would win no more, in other words never make it back to the World Series.  They haven't been back since.  The weird part about all of this is that the goat's name was Murphy and the player who was the best this entire series has been Daniel Murphy.  Murphy's law came into effect in the eighth inning.  With Wright on, Murphy homered to dead centerfield to quiet the crowd.  It was his seventh straight game with a homer.  The Mets would win 8-3 and advance to their first World Series since 2000.  Murphy would win series MVP.  They will face the Royals after Kansas City won Friday night.  The series will start on Tuesday at 8 from Kauffman Stadium.  Matt Harvey will pitch for the Mets.

Mets On The Brink Of World Series

After the Mets won the first two games in New York the series shifted to Chicago before a fired up crowd at Wrigley Field.  The pitching matchup featured Jacob deGrom for the Mets while the Cubs countered with Kyle Hendricks.  The Mets wasted no time getting on the board.  David Wright got on base and Yoenis Cespedes drove him in with a base hit to left field to score Wright to go up 1-0.

The Cubs tied it in the bottom of the first when Kyle Schwarber homered to left-center and set the fans into a frenzy.  Daniel Murphy, who has been playing out of his mind, got a lot of boos from the crowd. As he stepped in the batter's box in the third inning, you guessed it, he homered to centerfield.  In the fourth the Cubs tied it back up on a Jorge Soler home run.  

In the sixth, a big momentum shift happened for the Mets.  After a ground rule double that saved the Cubs a run, Chicago had the momentum but not for long.  With Cespedes on third, Michael Conforto was at the plate.  Conforto struck out swinging but the ball went past the catcher, Cespedes scored and Conforto made it to first, 3-2 Mets.  

The Mets added two more runs in the seventh.  With Wright and Murphy on, Cespedes hit an RBI single and advanced to second.  Lucas Duda grounded out but Murphy scored and that was all the Mets needed.  5-2 was the final score and the Mets are now one win away from the World Series.  deGrom pitched seven innings with seven strikeouts earning himself the win while Jeurys Familia got the save.  Tonight's pitching matchup will feature Steven Matz for the Mets while the Cubs counter with Jason Hammel.  

Mets Take First Two Games Of NLCS

For the first time since 2003 the Chicago Cubs were in the NLCS.  For the Mets, it was their first time since 2006.  Games one and two were Saturday and Sunday night from Citi Field.  Here is a recap of both games:

Game 1:

In game one, Matt Harvey pitched a gem and Daniel Murphy continued to put up big numbers in the postseason.  Murphy, after his clutch homer in game five of the NLDS that gave the Mets the win, picked up right where he left off with a home run to right field right off the Pepsi Porch to give the Mets the 1-0 lead.  After the Cubs tied it in the top of the fifth, the Mets answered with an RBI single by Curtis Granderson to give the Mets the lead 2-1.  In the bottom of the sixth, Travis d'Arnaud homered to centerfield.  The ball was so deep it hit the "home run apple."  In the bottom of the seventh Granderson got an RBI sac fly to put the Mets up 4-1.  The final score would be 4-2.  Matt Harvey pitched a gem going 7.2 innings with nine strikeouts.  Jeurys Familia got the four out save to close the game and give the Mets the 1-0 series lead.

Game 2: 

In Game 2 of the NLCS, the Mets were looking to go up 2-0 before heading to Chicago.  David Wright has struggled much of the Postseason but he helped the Mets get off to a good start.  With Curtis Granderson on base, Wright got a base hit in deep centerfield to score Granderson and give the Mets a 1-0 lead.  Then Daniel Murphy continued his hot Postseason with a two-run home run into right field.  It was his fifth homer of the Postseason which ties a Mets record.  He is tied with Mike Piazza. 

In the second inning, Chris Coghlan of the Cubs tried to get his team back in the game.  He almost did so with a home run but Granderson made a great catch to take it away from him.  

Noah Syndergaard pitched a gem as he went 5.2 innings with nine strikeouts for the win.  Jeurys Familia got the save and the Mets took Game 2 with a final score of 4-1 and lead the series 2-0.  The series shifts to Wrigley Field tonight for Game 3.  Jacob deGrom will take the ball for the Mets while Kyle Hendricks will pitch for the Cubs.  FIrst pitch is at 8:00 and the game can be seen on TBS.

Murphy's Big Night Lifts Mets To NLCS

After failing to close out the series at home, the Mets and the Dodgers were tied at two games setting up the "win or go home" Game 5.  It was a pitchers duel from Dodger Stadium as Zack Greinke pitched for LA while Jacob deGrom took the ball for the Mets.

Daniel Murphy, who would eventually have a breakout game, got it all started for the Mets at the start of the game.  He hit a double to left field to score Curtis Granderson.  Murphy wound up taking third on a fielding error.  The Dodgers responded with two runs in the bottom frame to take the 2-1 lead.  In the top of the fourth, Murphy was at it again.  With Murphy at first, a walk was issued.  Since there was a big shift, nobody was covering third so that allowed Murphy to advance to third.  That set up a Travis d'Arnaud sacrifice fly to right field to score Murphy and tie the game.

deGrom went six innings and struck out 7 eventually earning the win.  Noah Syndergaard, another starter, did some bullpen work striking out two.  In the top of the sixth, Murphy continued his impressive plate performance launching a home run into the right field seats to give the Mets the lead for good 3-2.  Jeurys Familia worked a six out save and struck out the final two batters to seal the win!

The Mets celebrated on the field at Dodger Stadium and popped bottles of champagne in the clubhouse.   Now they move on to the NLCS with game one set for tonight at Citi Field vs. the Chicago Cubs.  It's going to be one heck of a series 

Mets Use Bats, Take Game 3

After a controversial play on Saturday night involving Chase Utley sliding into Ruben Tejada illegally, helping the Dodgers get the eventual win, the series shifted to New York with the series tied at one game apiece.  The Mets sent Matt Harvey to the mound in the first ever postseason game at Citi Field.

During pre-game introductions it was an incredible sight.  When Utley's name was called, Mets fans responded with some of the loudest boos I've ever heard.  Utley was always a villain to fans during his time with the Phillies but he solidified his status with his slide into Tejada the other night.  As a result Tejada was injured, and Utley got suspended but he appealed and was eligible to play.  When Tejada was introduced, he came out with a crutch and tipped his hat to the fans.

The Dodgers jumped out to a 3-0 lead in the top of the second but the Mets responded quickly in the bottom frame.  With Yoenis Cespedes and Lucas Duda on, Travis d'Arnaud singled to centerfield to score Cespedes.  After Wilmer Flores got on the bases were loaded with Curtis Granderson up.  He launched it to deep centerfield to the wall to clear the bases and give the Mets a 4-3 lead.  In the bottom of the third, d'Arnaud hit a two run homer to put the Mets up 6-3.

In the bottom of the fourth Daniel Murphy hit an RBI single to left field.  Then with two on, Cespedes hit a three-run homer to put the sellout crowd into a frenzy.  The Mets put up three more runs in the bottom of the 7th with a sac-fly by Michael Conforto and a two-RBI double by Granderson.  Matt Harvey pitched pretty well for his first Postseason start, pitching 5.0 innings and striking out 7.

Utley never went in the game but there were numerous chants of "We want Utley!" The Mets took game three with the final score 13-7 and will look to punch their ticket to the NLCS with a win tonight in Game 4.  Rookie Steven Matz will take the ball for the Mets while LA will counter with Clayton Kershaw with first pitch from Citi Field beginning at 8:00.

American League Wildcard: Astros Shut Out Yankees

The first game of the MLB Postseason on Tuesday night included teams that hadn't been to the playoffs in a long time.  The Astros haven't gone since their 2005 run to the World Series.  The Yankees hadn't gone since 2012.  The game was set in the Bronx before a sold-out crowd.

In the second inning, Colby Rasums started to quiet the Yankee Stadium crowd with a home run off of Yankees starter Masahiro Tanaka  In the fourth, Carlos Gomez hit another homer.  Jose Altuve capped off the scoring in the seventh inning on a line-drive single and the Astros held off the Yankees 3-0.

Houston starter Dallas Keuchel pitched a gem with seven strikeouts to quiet the Bronx Bombers.  Tanaka was still able to get out of some jams despite giving up a few runs but it was the Yankee bats that couldn't get it done.  The Astros will now face the Kansas City Royals in the ALDS while the Yankees go home on another disappointing postseason performance.