Five key moments from the Royals’ 5-4 win in World Series Game 1
The Kansas City Royals are relentless. Throughout the team’s postseason run, the Royals have constantly managed comeback victories. They did it again Tuesday during the club’s 5-4 win over the New York Mets in Game 1 of the World Series.
[Related: World Series preview: Can the Mets put a stop to the Royals’ redemption?]
Things started almost immediately. Alcides Escobar led things off with an inside-the-park home run, giving the Royals the early 1-0 lead. The Mets would battle back, moving ahead 3-1 by the sixth inning.
As the Royals have done all October, they mounted another comeback. In the bottom of the frame, Eric Hosmer and Mike Moustakas drove in runs, tying the score at 3-3.
Again, the Mets refused to go down quietly. Hosmer made a key error at first base in the eighth inning, giving the Mets a 4-3 lead. With the Royals heading into the ninth inning down one run, and Jeurys Familia on the mound, it looked like Kansas City’s magic would finally end.
Not a chance. Alex Gordon smacked a game-tying home run to center field, sending the game into extras. Both teams would remain scoreless until the 14th, when the Royals finally decided to stop toying with their opponent.
[Related: Mets, Royals remember the last time their teams won the World Series]
With the bases loaded, Hosmer delivered a sac fly, driving in Escobar to finally end the game.
Here are five key moments from the contest, starting with Escobar’s first-inning blast.
ESCOBAR SWINGS AWAY
Well, this was mostly unexpected. By now, everyone knows that Royals leadoff hitter Alcides Escobar is going to swing at the first pitch. The team inexplicably has a tremendous record when he does so, even if it defies logic. So, it wasn’t necessarily a surprise when Escobar took a swing at Matt Harvey’s first offering of the game.
What happened next was shocking. Escobar belted the ball out to center field, and Yoenis Cespedes couldn’t handle the play. The ball hit Cespedes and bounced towards left field. Using his speed, Escobar was able to score easily on the play, picking up the first inside-the-park home run during Game 1 of the World Series since 1923.
This was also unexpected! In the bottom of the fourth inning, one of the Fox trucks lost power, causing everyone watching to lose their feed for roughly eight minutes. The game was also briefly delayed due to the issue, as neither team had access to replay as a result. The broadcast eventually resumed with just video, while an alternate team broadcasted the game. There was also a very brief outage just before Curtis Granderson’s home run in the fifth inning, but that lasted just a couple of seconds. Eventually, things fell into place and the rest of the broadcast proceeded as normal.
ERIC HOSMER EVOKES BILL BUCKNER
With the score tied 3-3, New York threatened in the eighth inning. Juan Lagares managed a two-out single, and put himself in scoring position after stealing second. Shortstop Wilmer Flores stepped to the plate looking to play the hero, but instead hit a groundball to first base. The normally strong Eric Hosmer went to make the play, but couldn’t field the ball on the hop. Lagares would come around to score on the error, giving New York the 4-3 lead.
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The late Hosmer error was eerily familiar to another moment involving the Mets.
GORDON GOES DEEP
The game was pretty much over once Mets closer Jeurys Familia came in. At least, that’s how it’s been all offseason. On Tuesday, that wasn’t the case. With one out in the bottom of the ninth, Alex Gordon, the team’s No. 8 hitter, belted a 97 mph sinker out to center, tying the score 4-4. The blast sent the game into extras, and put life back into a previously deflated home crowd.
HOSMER’S REDEMPTION
After his eighth-inning error allowed the Mets to tie things up, Eric Hosmer got his redemption in the 14th. With the bases loaded and no outs, Hosmer lofted a deep fly ball out to right field. Alcides Escobar tagged from third, and scored on the throw from Curtis Granderson. The sac fly ended the contest, and made Hosmer the hero after he was nearly the goat just a few hours earlier.
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Chris Cwik is a writer for Big League Stew on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at [email protected] or follow him on Twitter! Follow @Chris_Cwik
