NEW YORK – In the end, the small-ball speedy playing team from the heartland proved too much for the big city boys from Queens, as the Kansas City Royals beat the New York Mets, 7-2 to claim their second World Series championship, their first since 1985, four games to one.
One night after seeing post-season hero Daniel Murphy channel his inner Bill Buckner in Game 4, the Royals made sure that there would be no magical comeback from the Metropolitans, as Lorenzo Cain helped the Royals break the game wide open with a bases-loaded clearing double to help the Royals score five runs in the the top of the 12th inning.
In what may lead to some criticism in the off-season, Mets manager Terry Collins deciding not to take Harvey out of the game with reliever Jeurys Familia in the bullpen and up 2-0 in the eighth inning, along with the Mets inability to put the pesky Royals away, came back to haunt them as Eric Hosmer scrambled home from third base to help the Mets tie the game 2-2 in the top of the ninth.
Coming into the World Series, many felt that New York’s hard-throwing pitching trio of Matt Harvey, Noah Syndergaard and Jacob deGrom, would help the Mets claim their first World Series title since 1986, instead it would be the Royals and their brand of relentless hustle, clutch hits and solid bullpen that would suffocate New York.
Save for a win by Syndergaard in Game 3, the Royals were flawless from start to finish.
In what would prove to be the game-winning hit, pinch-hitter Christian Colon connected on a 86-mph slider off of Bartolo Colon to give the Royals a 3-2 lead, and from there as they say, the rest is history.
In batting .364 and going 8-for-22 with two doubles and two RBI’s, Salvador Perez would be named World Series MVP, the first by a catcher since Pat Borders of the Toronto Blue Jays did back in 1992.