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A stock-piled offseason of free agents is about to get into full swing in Major League Baseball with some of the game’s top pitchers and position players ready to narrow down their suitors and sign offers for their futures.

The Kansas City Royals ran away with the 2015 World Series, but it is no secret that a lot of organizations are right there in terms of contending for the title. Some are just a piece or two away from taking the next step, and that should be reflected in some aggressive plays for the top available free agents.

With that in mind, let’s take a look at three notable free agents and where we expect them to land.

David Price

A staple of a franchise just a few years ago, star pitcher David Price has suddenly shifted to a playoff mercenary in the last couple of years. But after coming up short in his World Series quest as a rental pitcher once again, he’s likely aiming for a more permanent home in which to chase rings.

Entering the free-agent market, Price has apparently told about six teams that he’d be willing to join their pitching staff. Peter Gammons reports that list includes the Chicago Cubs, St. Louis Cardinals, San Francisco Giants and Los Angeles Dodgers. 

Price has been expectedly quiet in the recent days and weeks as he fields interest from teams, but one such team that could rise above the rest is the Cubs. Their sudden rise to prominence should carry extra weight for Price, who expressed interest in them way back before he was even traded from the Tampa Bay Rays, as he made the following comments to Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch:

Being a part of something special is also something you want to do. You can take that to a first-place team. You could take that all the way to a last-place team like the Cubs. With the talent they have coming up they could be a very special team in a few years as well. That would probably be the coolest city to win a championship in. They haven’t done it in I’m not sure how long. To do that there that would be the coolest city to win a championship in right now.

Price has jumped from Detroit to Toronto in the hopes of contributing to a championship team but has fallen short. Despite his lowly postseason record, he showed vast improvements there in 2015, putting together some fantastic outings.

You can just tell by the way he talked about Chicago—which came when it was a last-place team, mind you—that winning there would be special for him. After seeing the Cubs’ run to the National League Championship Series that fell short largely due to a lack of deep pitching, Price can envision exactly where he’d fit.

Prediction: Price signs with Chicago Cubs

Ben Zobrist

The three or four months that Ben Zobrist spent in Kansas City with the Royals were one of the most successful half-season stints with a new team in MLB history.

He settled into the Royals lineup seamlessly, put up big numbers and made huge contributions to the Royals’ first World Series title in 30 years. Now, he can go use that spotlight to put his name on a big-money deal with another offense-thirsty contender.

The New York Mets are one team chasing him, as New York Post‘s Dan Martin and Ken Davidoff reported, but the Yankees across the city aren’t keen on doing the same due to the big contract he’d command. If the deep-pocketed Yanks aren’t intent on ponying up, it’s hard to think the Mets—who will soon have to throw hundreds of millions at their young pitchers—will be able to, as Adam Rubin of ESPN.com noted:

Where does that leave the Zobrist sweepstakes? Right in the hands of two more NL powers, as the Giants and Cubs are both interested, as reported by Chris Cotillo of MLBDailyDish.com. 

Chicago would be an ideal fit, as Zobrist could reunite with manager Joe Maddon, but the Cubs are already flush with skilled position players. Meanwhile, San Francisco is desperate to rekindle its offense and find more balance in the lineup, and it should be willing to throw a lot of cash around to do so.

Prediction: Zobrist signs with San Francisco Giants

Zack Greinke

Up until the 2015 season, the impending free agency of Zack Greinke seemed to suggest that this would be his last season in Los Angeles with the Dodgers.

Then, he went out and posted one of the most dominant seasons on the mound in recent memory. Suddenly, it’s not far-fetched for fans to suggest he may be even more valuable than his counterpart, Clayton Kershaw—at least in the short term.

While Greinke is getting a boatload of interest, Fox Sports’ Ken Rosenthal still sees a return to L.A. as the most likely scenario: “We learned the last time Greinke was on the market that he prefers the National League, and the best guess is that he will re-sign with the Dodgers, unless the Giants somehow bid higher.”

Most of the teams that are willing to shell out a pretty penny for pitching hail from the American League, but Greinke apparently isn’t a big fan of making that switch. There’s always the chance that the Dodgers could be outbid, but after reassessing what Greinke has done for them on the mound in the last several years, they’ll spend much more than initially expected to keep their ace in tow.

Prediction: Greinke re-signs with Los Angeles Dodgers

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The Kansas City Royals are celebrating a championship 30 years in the waiting, secured after Sunday night’s Game 5 victory that won the 2015 World Series.

After coming one game short of glory during last season’s pennant run, the Royals made no mistake of their place atop baseball this time around. They took down the New York Mets in a clash of long-suffering franchises.

The Royals’ Twitter account shared the moment the World Series was won:

Kansas City put together the ultimate team performance to etch its place as one of the most balanced teams to ever win a championship. There aren’t any superstars on this Royals roster. There’s no flair. They just step up and find ways to win games.

But a Most Valuable Player must be crowned, so why not catcher Salvador Perez? He hit at a .364 average in the series, going an impressive 8-for-22 against the Mets’ strong pitching, and most importantly, he brought the tying run home in the ninth inning of Game 5.

On top of throwing out three baserunners attempting to steal and calling a great series for the pitchers, Perez defined the Royals’ ability to hang in despite deficits throughout the postseason, as he told Christina Kahrl of ESPN.com:

You guys know what we’ve done all season. We never quit. We never put our heads down. … We always compete to the last out. And that’s what we did tonight.

MLB captured Perez celebrating with the trophy:

The moment must have tasted sweet for Perez, who was the last Royal to bat in Game 7 of their defeat last season to San Francisco, as ESPN Stats & Info noted:

Just like in Game 4 of the American League Division Series, when the Royals were nine outs from elimination in Houston, Kansas City flexed its late-inning muscle throughout the World Series. In three of its four wins, it trailed late in the game only to put together a trio of miraculous comebacks.

Victory seemed improbable again in Game 5, with Matt Harvey pitching a shutout through eight innings. But a walk to Lorenzo Cain to open the ninth and a follow-up double by Eric Hosmer had Harvey yanked for struggling closer Jeurys Familia, and the rest is history.

Andy McCullough of the Kansas City Star noted the thoughts of all Royals fans at that moment:

It took until the 12th inning for Kansas City to pull away, which it did in a five-run inning that all but put the Mets away. Wade Davis took it from there, notching three strikeouts to clinch the championship.

Moments later, the Royals were posing with the trophy they came so close to hoisting a year ago, including Mike Moustakas, as the team’s Twitter showed:

While the Mets will spend the coming days—maybe weeks, months or even the rest of their lives—wondering what could have been, the Royals don’t have to do that. They saw their opportunity and seized it in dramatic fashion.

It has been easy for any baseball fan to count out the Royals at a number of points in this postseason, but they just continued to prove their worth when the spotlight was brightest. Baseball is a game of ebbs and flows, and those certainly went the way of Kansas City throughout October and into the early days of November.

As a result, the Royals are celebrating a title that will last a lifetime.

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The Kansas City Royals have three chances to end their 30-year world title drought, beginning with Sunday night’s Game 5 of the 2015 World Series.

Having trailed into the eighth inning of two of their wins this series, the Royals could just as easily be down 3-1 as opposed to up by that same margin. The New York Mets have to be kicking themselves for getting in this position, but they’ll have one last home game at Citi Field to attempt to get back into the series.

Let’s take a look at everything to know for Game 5.

Game 5 Info (Royals Lead 3-1)

Date/Time: Sunday, November 1, at 8 p.m. ET

TV: Fox

Live Stream: Fox Sports Go

Game 5 Preview and Latest Comments

It’s safe to say the Royals have become masters at the art of winning the close game. 

In the Mets’ lone victory in this series, they took it to the Royals and won by a wide margin of 9-3. Of course, Kansas City has one lopsided win as well, but its other two wins have been quite improbable.

After coming back late in Game 1 and putting together a similar effort in Game 4, the Royals added to their many wins this postseason that came in surprising fashion, as SportsCenter noted:

Coaches can teach hitting. They can teach good pitching. One thing, however, that only comes with experience—or is just hard-wired into certain players—is the ability to pull out the tight games.

Royals manager Ned Yost knows his team has that, as he told ESPN.com’s Jerry Crasnick.

“They’re as cool as cucumbers,” Yost said. “They never panic because they’ve been through it before, and they know they’re capable of doing it again. It’s just something they believe in their heart that they can accomplish.”

If the Royals are going to end their 30-year World Series drought Sunday, it will come down to the arm of Edinson Volquez—at least early on. Volquez learned of the death of his father after Game 1, but he is back with the team to pitch Game 5.

There’s nowhere Volquez would rather be than with his teammates on the biggest stage of his life, as he told the team’s Twitter account:

Volquez will take to the mound opposite the Mets’ Matt Harvey in a rematch of a Game 1 pitching duel that saw both pitchers go six innings and give up three earned runs. 

One concerning aspect for Mets fans is that Harvey has gone over the 200-inning plateau already in 2015. But while that could be seen as a disadvantage fatigue-wise, Harvey is looking at the positives, per ESPN.com’s Adam Rubin:

As a starting pitcher and being a younger guy, I think getting to that 200-innings limit is something you always look for. You kind of want to be a horse and go out there. And you look at guys who have thrown 230 innings year after year after year, that’s kind of somebody who I’ve always wanted to be. I think, obviously, after this start I’ll probably be hopefully around 215 innings or so. And that’s a good mark for me. I’m definitely happy about that.

If Harvey is going to pitch the Mets back into the series and force these teams to return to Kansas City for a Game 6, he’ll need to pitch like he’s fresher than ever against a Royals lineup that is hitting virtually everything.

The best chance that the Mets have is to get something rolling on offense in the early innings in order to allow Harvey to settle down and be comfortable enough to execute his pitches. Otherwise, the Royals’ bats could jump on him instead.

If that happens, don’t be surprised if the Royals are returning to Kansas City to celebrate a championship 30 years in the making.

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One win away from taking the 2015 World Series, the Kansas City Royals turn to a pitching rematch of the series’ opening game for Game 5 against the New York Mets.

For much of the last two games, the Mets have had Citi Field rocking and given the look that they would have this series tied up by now. But things fell apart in the eighth inning of Game 4, when the Royals put up three runs to take the lead and eventually take a 3-1 series advantage.

Both teams have to hope for similar performances from their aces that they got in Game 1, hopefully with considerably less extra-inning time. Let’s take a closer look at the pitching matchup for Game 5.

Edinson Volquez, Royals

Volquez‘s life has changed dramatically since he last stepped on the mound for the Royals in Game 1.

After pitching six innings of work in the series opener, giving up six hits and allowing three earned runs in an eventual Royals 14-inning victory, Volquez found out that his father had passed away. He’s now back with the team to pitch in a game that could clinch the Royals’ first World Series in 30 years.

Volquez has much more than just the stage of the World Series to motivate him Sunday, as Kansas City Star‘s Vahe Gregorian reported:

“I’m pretty sure my dad is going to be proud of me when I pitch tomorrow on the mound,” he said. “We’ll see.”

His father, he added, “was everything for me. He was one of the greatest men.”

Even for the most diehard Mets faithful, anyone following this World Series has to be pulling for Volquez to at least pitch well in this tough circumstance. It’s surely been a tough few days, but he’s been with the team since they arrived in New York and has had the great support of his teammates.

When it boils down to it, the 32-year-old is the Royals’ most reliable starter—and he’s shown it. The desperate Mets bats will surely get a few runs home on him in the early going and Kansas City’s bullpen will relieve him after six, but he’ll do more than enough to keep his Royals in the game.

Prediction: 6 innings, 5 hits, 2 runs, 3 strikeouts

Matt Harvey, Mets

One of three young aces, Mets pitcher Matt Harvey could do nothing but sit in the dugout and watch as the Royals eventually won Game 1 in one of the longest games in World Series history.

Now, the man who was once pegged as the best young pitcher in baseball has a chance to prove he’s worth all the hype by pitching his Mets into a Game 6.

Harvey did allow three runs on five hits in six innings in his Game 1 outing, but one run came on a wild inside-the-park home run. In the middle innings, he absolutely dominated, retiring a dozen batters in a row before allowing the Royals to tie it up as he left the game.

If he can get it going along with his other two aces, the Mets may have a chance after all, as Adam Rubin of ESPN.com noted:

Harvey will come out dealing hot fire and relying on his brutal fastball, one of the only ones Royals hitters have had trouble making contact with in this series. Kansas City’s opportunistic bats will find a way to ink out a run, but not much more against Harvey.

Considering the bullpen’s troubles in this postseason, the Mets will continue riding Harvey until he can pitch no longer. Expect a long outing for him in this must-win affair.

Prediction: 7.2 innings, 4 hits, 1 run, 3 strikeouts

Game Prediction: Mets 5, Royals 2

The Royals are up 3-1 in the series, but it could just as easily be 3-1 Mets. Some might argue that it should be 3-1 Mets.

Surprisingly enough, late-game errors and struggles of elite closer Jeurys Familia have allowed for the Royals to steal a pair of games—including Game 4 on Halloween night. That’s the reason why the Mets will do everything they can to keep Harvey in the game, as long as he’s pitching well.

Volquez will have the Mets struggling at the plate, but they’ll get to the Royals bullpen and put up a few more runs to ice this and force a Game 6.

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Winning baseball starts on the mound, and that’s an understatement as far as the 2015 World Series goes with two stud pitchers lining up for Game 2 in Kauffman Stadium.

Both Edinson Volquez of the Kansas City Royals and Matt Harvey of the New York Mets pitched gems in Game 1 and canceled each other out with three runs apiece. That led to an incredible 14-inning affair as both bullpens battled adversity before the Royals took advantage of a Mets fielding error and loaded the bases for Eric Hosmer’s walk-off sacrifice fly.

Neither staff takes a step downward with pitching quality for Game 2. In fact, one could argue that the pitching will be even more dominant in Wednesday’s contest. 

Johnny Cueto, Kansas City Royals

It’s a battle of spectacular hair in Game 2 of the World Series.

While the mop of Jacob deGrom has generated a world of interest throughout this postseason (and long before it), he’s got some competition in the form of Johnny Cueto. And if you ask Cueto, he’s got the leg up in that category, as he told Jerry Crasnick of ESPN:

Well, that’s one advantage he might have over the Mets ace.

Otherwise, Wednesday spells a tough ask for Cueto, who looked shaky at best in his last postseason outing. He gave up eight runs against the Toronto Blue Jays and was yanked after just two innings.

He did do well to dispel his playoff struggles before that, pitching 14 combined innings in two victories over the Houston Astros in the ALDS. But Wednesday, he’ll be tasked with slowing down a desperate Mets lineup intent on jumping on him early.

Cueto should settle down in front of his home crowd eventually, but Royals fans haven’t seen the ace in Kansas City who emerged as one of baseball’s best pitchers with the Cincinnati Reds. He should pitch a strong game but not strong enough to outduel deGrom.

Prediction: 6 innings, 3 runs, 2 walks, 5 strikeouts

Jacob deGrom, New York Mets

Any Mets fans whose heart rates have spiked since their Game 1 defeat should rest easy heading into Game 2, knowing they have their best pitcher on the mound.

And that’s saying something, considering the rotation New York has dominated with throughout 2015. There’s little doubt, however, that deGrom is the bell cow of that rotation and best suited to pitch in what feels like a must-win game.

Should pitching on the road phase deGrom? He certainly doesn’t think so and in fact believes it’s to his advantage, per Neil Best of Newsday.

“I’ve actually enjoyed pitching on the road in the postseason,” deGrom said before Game 1. “You go out there, and you’re getting booed, and it’s fun to try to silence the crowd.”

It’s not just his talk that should have Mets fans confident—he has backed it up as well. All three of his starts have come on the road this postseason, and he’s been virtually unhittable while striking out opponents with ease, per ESPN Stats & Info:

When it comes down to it, pitching on the road hasn’t fazed deGrom in the least. It also hasn’t fazed him pitching in an elimination game, as he put together a gem in Game 5 of the NLDS and beat the Los Angeles Dodgers.

This game isn’t a must-win, but it feels like it. Expect deGrom to pitch in that fashion, putting together seven innings of marvelous work.

Prediction: 7 innings, 1 run, 2 walks, 8 strikeouts

Game Prediction

The Mets bullpen entered the stretch run of Game 1 with a one-run lead and didn’t prove able to hold on to it. But you can’t expect closer Jeurys Familia to give up a late game-tying homer in a second straight game.

New York will give the Royals’ opportunistic lineup a breath of life in the eighth, allowing them to trim the deficit to just one run. But in the same position as he was Tuesday, Familia won’t let his club down.

Prediction: Mets 3, Royals 2

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This 2015 World Series is going to be fun.

The opening night of it provided an obvious showcase of that, as Tuesday night’s Game 1 went well into the morning in one of the longest games in World Series history. After five hours and nine minutes, over 14 innings, the Royals emerged on top to take the 1-0 series lead.

Heading into Wednesday’s Game 2, there’s little time for reflection on that instant classic with another one right around the corner. With that in mind, let’s dive right into odds and predictions for Game 2 as well as the updated prop bets.

Game 2 Odds

Game 2 odds courtesy of Odds Shark.

Updated Prop Bets

Prop bets courtesy of OddsChecker.com.

Preview and Prediction

The opening game of the World Series unfolded just as we expected it—albeit with a handful more innings than initially thought.

Game 1 in Kansas City was indeed evenly matched, so much so that starting pitchers Matt Harvey and Edinson Volquez canceled each other out by conceding three runs each. The teams matched each other after that as well, largely thanks to Alex Gordon’s ninth-inning bomb that tied the game and sent it to extras.

Four more innings of even baseball followed as relief pitchers Bartolo Colon and Chris Young both pitched gems, until an error from the Mets allowed a bases-loaded situation with no outs that Colon couldn’t overcome.

With the Royals once again coming from behind, they tied an incredible statistic, as ESPN Stats & Info noted:

It wouldn’t be surprising at all if the Royals were forced to cut into a deficit again Wednesday night in Game 2—not with who the Mets are rolling out onto the mound.

New York ace Jacob deGrom has turned into a folk hero, more so for his dominance on the mound than his wild mop of hair (although the latter is nonetheless exceptional). The 27-year-old is coming into his own in his first postseason, winning all three of his starts.

What’s more, deGrom tends to come through when pitching following a Mets loss, as Baseball Tonight noted:

For all of deGrom‘s great pitching throughout the postseason, he has proven susceptible during one stretch of games—the first inning. He has gotten into an early jam in each of his last two postseason starts, including allowing two runs to the Dodgers early in Game 5.

But it’s no secret why he’s able to settle in after that, as Mets pitching coach Dan Warthen told Scott Miller of Bleacher Report:

“Because he’s able to breathe,” Warthen says, in referring to deGrom‘s ability to slow the game down. “He’s able to focus. Even when you watch him get behind in the count, I’ve watched him umpteen different times where he’ll get 3-and-0 or 3-and-1 and he’ll be able to come back and get quality pitches from that count.

“At any given time, he can throw a 3-1 changeup or a 3-0 breaking ball and get back in the count. His command of the fastball and, more than anything, his ability to focus on that individual pitch [is key].”

You can bet that deGrom‘s early shakiness will be on the Royals’ scouting report. However, that doesn’t mean they’ll be able to prevent him from getting into his groove after that.

Kansas City’s bats have proven opportunistic throughout this postseason and the last, but only when the opposing pitching gives them the opportunity. Harvey rarely conceded that in Game 1, and deGrom will be even less likely to do that.

In the other dugout, trade-deadline acquisition Johnny Cueto gets the ball—who was shaky in his last outing, allowing eight earned runs in just two innings (two innings!) last time out in Game 3 of the ALCS.

Pitching at home should allow for Cueto to settle down, and both pitchers should shut the door often. But the Mets undoubtedly have the edge in that department, and their desperation to avoid going into an 0-2 hole will have their bats making the plays to win a low-scoring affair.

Prediction: Mets 3, Royals 2

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If Tuesday night’s debut of the 2015 World Series is any indication, we’re in for a championship bout between the Kansas City Royals and New York Mets that should go down to the wire entering Wednesday night’s Game 2.

Nine innings weren’t enough to decide Game 1, a 14-inning affair that went long into the Kansas City night—or, morning. What ended as one of the longest World Series games ever by any measurement resulted in a Royals victory, 5-4.

But if that game provided any takeaways, it’s that these Mets and Royals are as evenly matched as could be, and it wouldn’t surprise anyone to see this series go into November and a seventh game. Game 2 will be a sign of whether that could happen, so let’s take a look at what to expect.

Game 2 Info

When: Wednesday, October 28

Where: Kauffman Stadium, Kansas City

Time (ET): 8:07 p.m.

TV: Fox

Live Stream: Fox Sports Go

Preview and Prediction

Baseball fans couldn’t have asked for any more from Game 1 of the World Series—well, save for a good night’s sleep.

Folks who had to be up early Wednesday morning certainly didn’t get that, as the opener lasted all of five hours and nine minutes. It didn’t end until after 1 a.m. ET, when the Royals loaded the bases with no outs and Eric Hosmer hit a sacrifice fly to bring home Alcides Escobar.

That wouldn’t have been possible without the supremely unlikely: a blown save from Mets closer Jeurys Familia. Having not blown a save since July 31, he allowed Alex Gordon to go yard in the bottom of the ninth; the solo shot tied the game at 4-4 and set up five extra innings of standout bullpen pitching.

The way the game ended, however, couldn’t be more fitting as Hosmer was able to make up for an error that allowed the Mets the lead. Manager Ned Yost echoed that sentiment to the team’s Twitter:

It’s hard to take anything away from the Royals, who once again proved they just put together strong at-bats when it’s needed the most and rarely have to do anything spectacular to get wins. But that doesn’t mean the Mets aren’t leaving Game 1 wishing they had seized the opportunity.

With a dominant closer on the mound and a one-run lead in the ninth, it’s pretty astounding that the Mets couldn’t pull through, as ESPN’s Mike Greenberg noted:

While players, beat writers and fans alike spend Wednesday morning catching up on sleep, there isn’t much time to catch any shut-eye with Game 2 right around the corner Wednesday evening.

And that’s especially true for the Royals, who will have to reset their minds and prepare for another outstanding Mets ace. This one is perhaps the best, as Jacob deGrom has dominated this postseason with a 3-0 record.

Mets captain David Wright—along with the rest of the fanbase—is confident their leading arm can take them to victory and even the series, per ESPN’s Adam Rubin: “He’s been excellent this postseason,” Wright said. “Even when he doesn’t have his best stuff, he’s found ways to win. He’s a stopper for us, so we feel good every time he’s on the mound.”

Although Matt Harvey pitched well and let up just three runs in Game 1, the Royals can’t expect to even get that many off deGrom. He’s simply pitching too well at the moment, and there’s too much on the line for his team for him to do anything short of the spectacular.

Kansas City won’t ever give up, and that will keep this one close until the final out. But Familia will have a point to prove and won’t disappoint when deGrom gives him a lead into the ninth.

Prediction: Mets 3, Royals 2

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The 2015 World Series has finally arrived, and the only certain aspect of an evenly matched series is that oddsmakers and bettors alike have a lot on their plates.

The Kansas City Royals haven’t won the world title in 30 years, and it’s been 29 for the New York Mets, but both clubs are playing lights-out baseball that suggests destiny is on their side. Reliable players in both dugouts seem intent on putting their teams on their backs en route to championship glory.

Simply put, a series that can go either way leaves plenty of enticing lines for bettors to choose from. With that in mind, let’s take a look at the odds for Game 1 and the best prop bets for the series, all of which are courtesy of Odds Shark.

Game 1 Odds

Prop Bets

The MVP prop bet is always the toughest of them all, but it never fails to produce intriguing odds and huge payouts.

It’s no surprise that Mets slugger Daniel Murphy leads the list by far after tearing through the postseason en route to a major league record six straight postseason games with a home run, but much more value can be found elsewhere. While Yoenis Cespedes may be shied away from due to an injury that has him “not playing with a full tank,” per Adam Rubin of ESPN.com, other sluggers have the chance to rewrite history. 

For instance, Royals first baseman Eric Hosmer has been unconscious with runners in scoring position, and his extra determination could have him taking home MVP honors, as Andy McCullough of the Kansas City Star reported:

From Mets outfielder Curtis Granderson to Kansas City’s Lorenzo Cain and Alcides Escobar, there’s no shortage of strong bats who could knock their way into the MVP conversation. 

If recent history is any indication, taking the over here seems like a sure bet.

But when given context, it’s pretty hard to see Murphy continuing his torrid home run pace throughout the World Series. Yes, he’s hit homers in six straight games, but nobody is more wary of that than the Royals, who will be doing everything they can to keep the ball away from him.

Plus, there’s that whole magazine curse he has to deal with, as noted by Rubin:

When it comes down to it, Kansas City is likely to intentionally walk Murphy when possible rather than let him have shots at hitting the ball out of the park. If that’s the case, hitting more than one home run in the series seems like a stretch—even for him. 

If there’s one bet you don’t want to take in this article, it’s predicting a four-game sweep.

Sure, the Mets swept the Chicago Cubs in the NLCS, but that series wasn’t competitive for a reason—the Cubs aren’t ready. However, the Royals are.

Both squads have some serious cheese on the mound that will make opposing lineups struggle, and that should lead to both teams notching at least a couple of wins throughout the series. Don’t bet on anything other than a six- or seven-game battle, which has the lowest odds for a reason.

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The anticipation is finally over, and the 2015 World Series will see the first pitch of Game 1 get thrown out Tuesday evening at Kauffman Stadium in Kansas City, Missouri.

That’s where the Kansas City Royals will welcome the New York Mets for the beginning of what promises to be a back-and-forth series. The average baseball fan can only hope to see another series like last year’s championship battle, which saw the Royals take the San Francisco Giants to seven games.

While the Royals couldn’t end their long championship drought then, now they have the opportunity to bring a 30-year window without a title to a close. Meanwhile, the Mets have their own drought of 29 years to rid themselves of.

Here’s a look at everything to know.

Game 1 Info

When: Tuesday, October 27

Where: Kauffman Stadium, Kansas City

Time (ET): 8:07 p.m.

TV: Fox

Live Stream: Fox Sports Go

Preview

One team’s lineup has been finding ways over and over to get past great pitching and put runs on the board. The other team’s pitching staff is preventing opponents from having any breath of life on offense.

This World Series should be fun.

The Royals have once again defied the odds and advanced out of the American League, using their small-ball approach and timely hitting to their advantage. That style allowed them to avoid elimination in Game 4 of the ALDS despite a four-run deficit, before pushing them past the mighty Toronto Blue Jays in six games.

Timely hitting by Eric Hosmer, Lorenzo Cain and others has paved the way for the Royals, but they’ll be hard-pressed to continue it Tuesday and beyond.

That’s because the Mets’ arms are dealing at a ridiculous rate. Jacob deGrom, Matt Harvey and Noah Syndergaard are a three-headed monster of a rotation that has slain everything in its path.

As compared to the Royals pitchers, Jayson Stark of ESPN captured a stunning statistic:

In (the Mets’) nine starts in the first two rounds of this postseason, they got more swings and misses, 140, than balls put in play, 136. Seriously.

Want an idea of how crazy that is? The Royals’ starters have induced almost double the number of balls in play, 153, versus swings and misses, 84. And none of the other six teams that have played more than one game in this postseason are even close to the Mets’ ratio.

Of course, the Mets haven’t been propelled by pitching alone. There’s also a stout lineup and this guy named Daniel Murphy. 

Murphy has emerged from the shadows this postseason into one of the biggest folk heroes in New York sports history—and that’s elite company. He broke a major league record in Game 4 of the Mets’ sweep over the Chicago Cubs by hitting a home run for a sixth straight postseason game.

However, one daunting sports curse could be against him in the World Series, as Adam Rubin of ESPN noted:

It wouldn’t be surprising to see Murphy go the whole series without a home run, if only because the Royals have been planning for him for days. If they’re smart in that regard, they’ll avoid pitching to him altogether.

Tasked with that responsibility in Game 1 is Edinson Volquez, who hasn’t had the prettiest of postseasons prior to Tuesday. He dropped his only decision against Houston and allowed five runs in a loss in Toronto.

But Volquez‘s only home start in these playoffs was a great one, going six innings on two hits. The Royals will hope for more of the same Tuesday night, as he faces off against the Mets’ Harvey.

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The time has come to decide which long-suffering franchise will put a storybook ending on their season, as the 2015 World Series begins Tuesday with Game 1 of what’s sure to be an enticing series.

The Kansas City Royals make an appearance in the World Series for a second straight year, coming drastically close to ending their now-30-year title drought last season when they took the San Francisco Giants to seven games. The New York Mets haven’t made it this far since 2000, when the Yankees edged them in the Subway Series.

We’ll begin to find out Tuesday evening which club is ready to make the ascension to world champions in Game 1, so let’s take a look at everything to know for that matchup.

Game 1 Info

When: Tuesday, October 27

Where: Kauffman Stadium, Kansas City

Time (ET): 8:07 p.m.

TV: Fox

Live Stream: Fox Sports Go

Preview

The Mets roster is pretty chock-full of players who are in no way experienced on the postseason stage. But you couldn’t tell it by the way they ripped through the previous round.

Against another young squad in the Chicago Cubs, the Mets dominated the National League Championship Series at the rate that made it not even look competitive. New York swept Chicago in four quick games, aided by Daniel Murphy’s continued unconscious hitting and timely knocks from the rest of the lineup.

Murphy’s six-straight postseason games with a home run—a MLB record—are getting a lot of the publicity, but it’s no secret the Mets’ arms are paving the way to this run. A three-headed rotation of Matt Harvey, Jacob deGrom and Noah Syndergaard is proving too much for opposing lineups to deal with.

Even with all three in their first postseasons, they’re pitching like seasoned veterans and will have the Royals’ hands full, per Mark Feinsand of the New York Daily News:

While no Mets player looks scared off by the bright lights of the postseason, the Royals obviously aren’t, either. A mere nine outs from elimination in the ALDS against Houston, Kansas City rallied back to get back in that series and edged the Toronto Blue Jays in impressive fashion.

The Royals’ arms don’t have the name recognition that the Mets’ arms have been getting, but they have a similar chance to dominate the series. Edinson Volquez gets the start in Game 1, while Yordano Ventura and Johnny Cueto have proven capable of shutdown performances.

When it comes down to it, the Royals are the ones who are experienced at this stage after coming one Madison Bumgarner performance away from the championship last year. But manager Ned Yost isn’t convinced that will play a part in the series, per Jacob Albracht of KWCH (Kansas City):

“I don’t really see it as an advantage,” Yost said. “We didn’t have any playoff experience last year, and we took it all the way to Game 7 of the World Series.”

Nerves may not have prevented the Royals from putting together a serious surge at the title last year, but they’re obviously going to feel a lot more comfortable this time around. Beginning the series in Kaufman Stadium will only help that, as Kansas City has gotten a considerable boost when playing in the confines.

The Mets will undoubtedly have to shake off some of those nerves early on, but they shouldn’t be expected to hang around for long. In the end, they’re just going out and doing what they’ve done their whole lives—playing baseball.

Only this time, the whole world is watching, and they’ll be forever remembered by how they perform.

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