Royals thump Mets, go up 2-0 in World Series

In Wednesday night’s World Series Game 2 in Kansas City, the Royals topped the Mets 7-1 (box score) to take a 2-0 series lead. Here’s what you need to know about Game 2:

1. In the early innings, Johnny Cueto was at his best as a Royal.

Since being acquired by the Royals prior to the non-waiver deadline, Cueto has more often than not fallen short of his usual standards. During the regular season, he pitched to a 4.76 ERA while striking out 20.3 percent of opposing hitters. In the postseason, he’s run an ERA of 7.88 over three starts.

With KC, Cueto has struggled at times when it comes to exhibiting command low in the zone and getting movement on his pitches. Perhaps the extra rest helped him going into Game 2. Of course, it wasn’t just about what Cueto did early …

2. The Royals needed Cueto to go deep, and he did.

In the course of that 14-inning Game 1, key, high-leverage Royals relievers Wade Davis, Kelvin Herrera, and Ryan Madson combined to throw 75 pitches. It’s the World Series, so all hands are on deck. Still, in Game 2, Herrera was available for no more than one inning, and the other key pen men were of uncertain status (Davis warmed up late in Game 2).

Fortunately for the Royals, Cueto twirled his first complete game since Aug. 10. There’s also this …

3. Jacob deGrom was in charge early, but the Royals kept putting the bat on the ball.

In Game 2, Mets starter Jacob deGrom didn’t give up a base-runner until the third and didn’t allow a hit until the fourth. That said, deGrom managed just two strikeouts through five innings, and only one swing-and-miss through the first four innings. This, of course, is a pitcher who struck out 27.3 percent of opposing hitters during the regular season (good for third place among NL qualifiers) and registered a swinging-strike rate of 12.7 percent (good for fourth among NL qualifiers). As well, you saw Lorenzo Cain and Salvador Perez each drive the ball more than 330 feet, albeit in fly-out fashion.

As has been pointed out numerous times in this space, the Royals are excellent at making contact are excellent at handling high velocity. They did that again in Game 2, putting the bat on the ball despite deGrom’s deep and fully commanded repertoire and despite his sitting in the mid-90s with his fastball. In the end deGrom registered more walks than strikes for just the second time in his career and for the first time since late May of last year.

4. DeGrom’s pitch selection on 0-2 against Alcides Escobar was out of character.

A key turning point came in the home half of the fifth, with runners on first and second, no outs, and Alcides Escobar at the plate. Escobar fouled off two attempted bunts to craft an 0-2 hole, but then he lined an 89-mph slider to drive in the tying run. As it turns out, deGrom had been in an 0-2 count against a right-hander 132 times this season, and just 10 times — or 7.7 percent of the time — he’s thrown the slider. He typically favors the fastball in 0-2 counts against same-side hitters, but perhaps because he’d shown Escobar first- and second-pitch four-seamers, deGrom and d’Arnaud decided to go to the slide-piece. It didn’t work. The sample size is miniscule, but coming into Game 2 opposing hitters were batting .400 against deGrom’s slider in 0-2 counts.

5. Eric Hosmer is still in elite RBI company.

Hosmer’s overall numbers this postseason haven’t been strong, but he’s making a bit of postseason RBI history here and there. As noted in this space, Hosmer in Game 1 passed George Brett to become the Royals’ all-time playoff RBI leader, and in Game 2 he notched a two-run single in the fifth. That brings us to this …

When you travel with Biscuit Pants, you travel with the best.

6. The Royals keep coming back.

In Game 2, the Royals were down 1-0 in the fifth. They of course hung four on the Mets in the home half of the fifth and cruised from that point forward. They’re accustomed to this, you see. In fact, of the nine games the Royals have won in the 2015 season, six have been come-from-behind victories.

7. Ned Yost made history.

The man in the Royals’ dugout knows a thing or two about racking up Ws this time of year …

He’s two more wins from a ring.

8. As you would imagine, the odds are now against the Mets.

The Mets are of course now down 0-2 in this best-of-seven affair. Throughout the history of best-of-seven series in baseball, the team down 0-2 goes on to prevail in the series just 17.1 percent of the times. Of course, the Mets are headed back home for Games 3, 4, and (if necessary) 5, and the team that loses the first two games on the road has slightly better odds: They go on to win the series 20.0 percent of the time. The good news for the Mets is that the team down 0-2 goes on to win Game 3 a majority of the time (54.3 percent of the time, to be exact). Still, the NL champs are heavy underdogs, as they must now win four out of five from the Royals.

The Royals are two wins from the trophy. (USATSI)

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