The Kansas City Royals jumped out to a 2-0 lead at home over the New York Mets in the 2015 World Series, but the Mets took Game 3 in New York with a 9-3 win. The teams will play two more games at Citi Field, so this series is far from over.
Rookie Noah Syndergaard gave the Mets six innings, during which he scattered seven hits and allowed three runs while striking out six hitters. Meanwhile, New York got hot at the plate and chased Royals starter Yordano Ventura after 3.1 innings. Ventura gave up five runs while striking out two batters.
The game started with a bit of controversy. On the first pitch, Syndergaard came high and tight on Royals leadoff man Alcides Escobar. As Jerry Crasnick of ESPN.com reported, he knew what he was doing.
“My intent on that pitch was to make them uncomfortable, and I feel like I did just that,” Syndergaard said. “I think in every postseason game that Escobar has played in, he’s swung at the first-pitch fastball. I didn’t think he would want to swing at that one.”
The Royals were clearly unnerved though they managed to get a run across in that first inning. They got two more in the second, but then Syndergaard settled into a groove, and he and the Mets bullpen didn’t allow another run.
The team will send another rookie, this time Steven Matz, to the mound for Game 4. Kansas City will counter with Chris Young, who threw three strong innings in relief in the 14-inning Game 1 marathon. You can catch Game 4 on Fox at 8:07 p.m. ET.
If Young pitches like he did in Game 1, the Mets will be in trouble. They failed to even get a hit against Young in his three innings of work, and four batters went down on strikes.
Young’s height may have had something to do with it. At 6’10”, he has a high release point, which makes it difficult for hitters to track the pitch. Batters aren’t used to seeing the pitch come from so high, and the Mets were clearly caught off guard by him in Game 1.
However, now the Mets hitters have seen Young, so they will have a feel for his pitching style. If they can carry over their success at the plate from Game 3, the team will have a good chance to knot this series at two games apiece.
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