The Kansas City Royals always seem to have a flair for the dramatic.
That was no different Saturday night.
Trailing 3-2 in the top of the eighth, the Royals scored three runs to take a 5-3 lead. After closer Wade Davis allowed back-to-back hits with one out in the bottom of the ninth, Lucas Duda lined out into a game-ending double play. Kansas City won 5-3 and goes into Sunday with a chance to win the World Series.
The Royals have had to come back in all three of their wins this series. This has been their way of doing things since last season. All they need to do is get by Matt Harvey on Sunday night and give Edinson Volquez some run support, and the parade in Kansas City will commence.
Here’s all the info you need for Game 5, including where and when to watch the game, as well as how you should play this one if a trip to the sports book is in your mind.
Game 5 TV Info
When: 8:15 p.m. ET
Where: Citi Field
TV: Fox
Live Stream: Fox Sports Go
Game 5 Odds
Betting Prediction
Here’s how unique this World Series has been from the betting perspective. According to Odds Shark, the Royals have been the underdog for three of the four games. The only time Kansas City was favored was in Game 1, and despite the game going 14 innings, K.C. didn’t cover.
So, that’s why it’s a shock to see the Royals, who are one win away from winning a title, as the underdogs once again when the books listed Game 5 late Saturday night.
If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it. Therefore, the Royals should be the safe pick to not only cover but to win outright and end the 2015 MLB season with a bang.
The World Series has yet to see a pitching duel through four games. It’s about time that happened in this series, and Game 5 sets the stage for it with Edinson Volquez and Matt Harvey as the probable pitchers for the evening.
Both pitchers went six innings and allowed three runs in Game 1, but this game will have a different feel. Harvey will be pitching to save the Mets’ season. Volquez, on the other hand, is returning to the Royals five days after his father died from heart failure.
Neither pitcher will want to make a mistake and will work the zone as much as he can. Now that other Mets players such as captain David Wright and rookie Michael Conforto have picked up the offensive slack for New York, the Royals are going to need to be more wary of how they pitch.
That plays right into Kansas City’s hands when the game goes to the bullpens.
The longer the game goes on, the better chance the Royals have of slamming the door shut on this series. The Royals got two innings from Davis in Game 4, and they’re surely going to go to him again should the situation arise on Sunday.
Despite the bad performance the bullpen had in Game 3, they Royals are prepared to get back to the level they were at in Game 1, as Fox Sports’ Ken Rosenthal notes:
The Royals have been nothing but easy money in this series, as more bets continue to trickle in toward Kansas City. Odds Shark listed 55 percent of the first oncoming bets leaning toward the Royals, and that number should grow throughout Sunday.
Take the Royals with the moneyline and the spread while it’s still in their favor, and be prepared to watch Kansas City party like it’s 1985.
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