After a wild and dramatic Game 3 at Citi Field on Friday night, the New York Mets got their first World Series win since 2000 by defeating the Kansas City Royals, 9-3.
Playing in front of an electric New York crowd, the Mets proved they belong with the Royals in the Fall Classic. With game 4 set for Friday night, here are three decisive keys to the Mets making a serious comeback.
Starting Pitching
New York’s starting pitchers had no problems taking care of the Chicago Cubs in the NLCS, which ultimately lead to a New York sweep. But it has been a different story with the Royals. The Cubs and Royals couldn’t have more opposing approaches in the batters box. Chicago lived and died by the long ball, but Kansas City makes pitchers work, forcing deep counts. The approach works by putting together combinations of singles and doubles, which then lead to runs.
Starting pitcher studs Matt Havey, Jacob deGrom and Noah Syndergaard have been nothing short of dominant this postseason (for the most part). Up until Syndergaard’s game three struggles, these three young pitchers have been dicing up the Kansas City lineups. But the Mets will be relying on rookie Steven Matz, who is from Long Island, on Saturday night to even up the series.
Many Royals fans were not happy with the stunt that Mets pitcher “Thor” pulled on Friday night, throwing up and in on the first pitch of the game to Royals leadoff hitter, Alcides Escobar.
“I mean, I certainly wasn’t trying to hit the guy, that’s for sure,” Syndergaard said, via ESPN.com. “I just didn’t want him getting too comfortable. If they have a problem with me throwing inside, then they can meet me 60 feet, 6 inches away. I’ve got no problem with that.”
Tempers will certainly be flaring on Saturday night in New York, and the Mets will need a strong outing from Matz if they want to continue their comeback.
Clutch Hitting
One could make an argument that clutch hitting is the key to any team making a comeback, and it couldn’t be more true for the Mets. Game 3 is a perfect example of how New York must respond in the future after Kansas City stretches some runs across the plate. Lead by veterans David Wright and Curtis Granderson, the Mets have been doing a professional job of scoring runs.
New York will really need Daniel Murphy to start playing like he did in the NLDC and NLCS. Murphy has posted a .353 batting average this postseason but is batting .154 in the World Series. The Mets will also need some serious production out of NL MVP hopeful Yoenis Cespedes, who sports a paltry .234 postseason average with 15 strikeouts.
If the Mets can continue to piece together clutch runs and start seeing consistent production from stars Murphy and Cespedes, then they have a very strong chance at cementing this 2015 World Series comeback.
Home Field Advantage
Any average baseball fan could tell that Citi Field was rocking on Friday night, and any average fan will tell you that is one of the main reasons for the Mets dominating 9-3 Game 3 win. With the next two games taking place at home, look for the Mets to rely on the energy of the fans to make their comeback complete.
Crowd energy aside, the Mets also have an advantage over the Royals at home because Kansas City must play by National League rules, which means pitchers have to bat. This is no problem to the Mets, or any NL team, but American League hitters only bat during the few inter-league games each year. Having an American League pitcher up to bat is almost a guaranteed out, and this will play in favor of the Mets.
So, if the Mets starting pitchers can keep stringing together solid outings, if the hitters can keep piecing together hit after hit and if New York uses the NL home rule to its advantage, then the 2015 World Series should see the full seven games. Should this occur, then Game 7 is a toss-up and anything can happen.