This thing started off with a historic bang. 

The Kansas City Royals’ 5-4 victory over the New York Mets on Tuesday in Game 1 of the 2015 World Series, which lasted 14 innings and ended up being the longest opener in Fall Classic history, puts the Royals three wins away from the championship. But this series is far from decided despite that emotional come-from-behind win for the Royals.

The Mets can come right back and tie things up Wednesday night at Kauffman Stadium. All they have to do is follow the plan that got them here, which is centered on good-to-great starting pitching. However, the Royals’ game plan of steady defense, good relief pitching and high-leverage, timely hitting was on display for most of the first game, and those elements could be there in the second to give them a dominant advantage in this best-of-seven series.

Going into Wednesday’s game, both teams have clear objectives to fulfill. If they can, we might get another instant classic. If one club does and the other cannot, the odds definitively swing to one side based on these Game 2 keys for victory.

 

Jacob deGrom Must Be Sharp

The right-hander legitimized his ace-hood during a phenomenal All-Star Game performance, and his 13-strikeout outing in Game 1 of the National League Division Series against the Los Angeles Dodgers further solidified that fact.

However, the Mets opted to hand Matt Harvey the ball in Game 1 of the World Series because they felt deGrom was fatigued in his last postseason outings. He allowed only four runs over 13 innings in those games, but he had 17 baserunners in those two turns and allowed two home runs. That led to the Mets giving him the extra day of rest before handing him the Game 2 start.

“He’s been erratic with his command, and that to me is due to a little bit of fatigue,” manager Terry Collins told reporters last Friday. “So is it going to benefit us to start him and use him three times…?”

Now they get a somewhat fresh deGrom, who has not pitched since Oct. 20 on six days of rest. For the Mets to win this game, deGrom, the team’s No. 1 pitcher for the entire regular season, has to be sharp. The Royals are not a team that tends to miss a ton of scoring chances as the Dodgers and Chicago Cubs did against deGrom—Kansas City was second in the American League with a .281 average with runners in scoring position during the regular season.

If deGrom is back on his game as he was in Game 1 of the NLDS—seven shutout innings to go with those 13 strikeouts—he would put the Mets in position to level the series and swipe home-field advantage in what would then become a best-of-five World Series.

“I didn’t feel fatigued out there. I just felt I was having trouble locating, which happened to me early on this year,” deGrom told reporters Tuesday. “I don’t know if it was fatigue. I feel good now, so I don’t think the rest hurt me.”

 

As Johnny Cueto Goes, So Do the Royals

When Johnny Cueto has been good during his time with the Royals, which has spanned 16 starts including the playoffs, the team has gone 5-2 in games when he gives them at least a quality start—six innings, no more than three earned runs allowed. In the two losses, in which Cueto allowed four total runs, the Royals scored a total of five runs in those games.

The problem lately is Cueto has been a total enigma. The Royals do not know who is going to take the ball—the good Cueto or the one who finished the regular season with a 6.49 ERA in his final nine turns and allowed eight runs in two-plus innings in his lone American League Championship Series start against the Toronto Blue Jays.

“My ups and downs have been, it’s just part of the game,” Cueto told reporters Tuesday. “I’ve pitched some good games as well. Obviously the year is not over, and all I’m focused on is trying to go out and help this team win.”

The Royals getting that kind of help from Cueto has been a crapshoot lately.

MLB Network analyst Dan Plesac said on its postgame show:

We’re not sure which Johnny Cueto is going to show up: the Johnny Cueto in Game 5 of against the Houston Astros [in the AL Division Series] or the Johnny Cueto in Game 5 against the Toronto Blue Jays. I don’t think the Royals or [manager] Ned Yost know which Johnny Cueto is going to show up, and the proof in the pudding is he’s starting Game 2 and Game 6. They want him pitching at home.

There are no definitive splits that show Cueto is better at Kauffman Stadium than on the road, but it would be a fabulous time for him to become good again. He has been once in this postseason when he gave the Royals eight innings of two-run ball and eight strikeouts in the deciding Game 5 of the division series. If it’s that Cueto on Wednesday, the Royals could head to New York with a cushy 2-0 advantage.

 

Stingy Defense for Both Teams

Both teams are capable of playing good, even great, defense. However, Game 1 was highlighted by some critical misplays, and the three biggest ones all led to runs, including David Wright’s 14th-inning error that put the eventual game-winning run on base.

The Royals were the best overall defensive team in baseball this season, and it wasn’t even a close race. According to FanGraphs, The Mets were quite mediocre, but they have some capable defenders. The problem is they have to make plays when they arise, and it does not help that their Gold Glove center fielder, Juan Lagares, was on the bench during the outfield miscommunication that led to Alcides Escobar’s inside-the-park home run.

Because every baserunner is so critical in a series like this, whichever team can player crisper, error-free defense will give itself a significant advantage in Game 2, which will alter the complexion of this series no matter which club wins.

 

All quotes, unless otherwise specified, have been acquired firsthand by Anthony Witrado. Follow Anthony on Twitter @awitrado and talk baseball here.

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