Royals one game away from being champions
Listen to this articleThe New York Mets had their big comeback in Game Three of this World Series, beating the Kansas City Royals 9-3. But Kansas City still led in the series, two games to one so the Mets needed to win Game Four to even the record.
It wouldn’t be easy for them because they faced Chris Young, the Royals pitcher who kept them from scoring runs in the final three innings of Game One. On top of that Young has an ERA of 2.31 in the postseason.
New York had their young new pitcher Steven Matz taking the mound. He’s had a difficult postseason, but he can still throw the heat and his ERA is good, at .3.72. He could be over the nerves, if that’s what got to him against the Cubs.
But it would be the bats that would prove to be the game changers. Both teams have powerful lineups and if either pitcher was off, even a little, the other team would take advantage of it.
Going into the eighth inning it looked like the Mets would have their second win of the series. But a routine ground ball, hit by Eric Hosmer, to Mets second baseman Daniel Murphy proved to be the game-changing moment of Game Four.
Murphy muffled it, letting the ball through his legs. Instead of getting an out, or even a double play, the Royals’ Ben Zobrist scored from third. Lorenzo Cain, who had been intentionally walked took third.
Then Michael Moustakas singled and Cain scored with Hosmer taking third. Salvador Perez followed with a single scoring Hosmer.
Until that eighth inning the Mets had been winning 3-2, Their starting pitcher had done well through four innings, keeping the Royals off the scoreboard. But he gave up two runs, one in the fifth and another in the sixth.
The Mets had gotten to Royals starter Chris Young. Rookie Michael Conforto hit a home run in the third and Curtis Granderson hit a sacrifice fly that scored Wilmer Flores. The Mets were winning 2-0.
Alex Gordon put the Royals on the board in the fifth with an RBI single that scored Salvador Perez. In the bottom of the fifth Conforto followed with his second homerun of the game.
In the sixth Cain got a single RBI, making it a one-run game (3-2). It stayed a one-run game until that eighth inning.
Now the Kansas City Royals are just one game away from winning it all and the Mets are in a do-or-die situation. They would have to win three straight games, two of them in Kansas City, to win the World Series.
But first they will need to win Game Five, which is Sunday Night at Citi Field. Edison Volquez, who just returned from the Dominican Republic after his father’s funeral, will get the start for the Royals. Matt Harvey will take the mound for the Mets.
(L.A. Post-Examiner Staff contributed to this article)
Photo above: Mets second baseman Daniel Murphy is surrounded by media asking him about the error in the eighth inning that allowed the Royals to score and take over the game.
(All photos by Claudia Gestro)
Claudia is of Peruvian and Italian descent, having been born in a small town, in the North of Peru, South America. She was raised by her grandmother from an early age, living in poverty until Claudia’s mother brought her to America. She landed in Miami, FL and started her new life, playing high school basketball and eventually becoming a United States citizen. Claudia completed her education at Florida International University with a BA in Broadcast Journalism and became a model to supplement her income. Since graduating from FIU Claudia has worked with many of the Spanish Language broadcasting companies, including Telemundo, Univision and most recently Spanish Language channels on SiriusXM satellite radio and PasTV Deportes in Venezuela.She encourages you to follow her on Twitter and Facebook. Her content appears here under a shared content agreement with her Spanish television clients.