It was a bizarre Game 1 of the 2015 World Series in Kansas City.
Edinson Volquez's father passed away just before he took the mound; Alcides Escobar hit the first ever inside-the-park home run to lead off a World Series; Daniel Murphy struck out in his first at-bat; FOX experienced technical difficulties and caused a delay; the Royals made just their second error in 12 postseason games late in the contest to break the tie; and it was third time in MLB history a World Series game went to the 14th inning.
And then the Royals defeated the Mets by a score of 5-4 in Game 1 to take a 1-0 lead in the Fall Classic. Eric Hosmer's sacrifice fly off Bartolo Colon in the bottom of the 14th sent home Escobar for the win.
It was the longest Game 1 in World Series history.
Royals outfielder Alex Gordon forced extra innings with a game-tying home run in the bottom of the ninth off Mets closer Jeurys Familia. After the sixth inning it was a battle of the bullpens.
Matt Harvey allowed three earned runs on five hits and two walks over six innings and was pretty much dead even with Volquez, who surrendered three earned runs on six hits and a walk in six innings.
Escobar's historic leadoff inside-the-park home run (thanks to a miscommunication between Yoenis Cespedes and Michael Conforto) got the Royals off to a fast start, but the relentless Mets scored runs in the fourth, fifth and sixth innings to take a 3-1 lead. Travis d'Arnaud got that rally started with an RBI infield single, Curtis Granderson followed with a solo home run and Conforto capped it off with a sacrifice fly in the top of the sixth.
But then the Royals put on a vintage comeback effort in the bottom of the sixth and scored two runs off an Eric Hosmer sacrifice fly and a Mike Moustakas RBI single to tie the game.
However, the Mets responded and did their best Royals impression to regain the lead in the top of the eighth. Outfielder Juan Lagares came in for Conforto and hit a two-out single off Kelvin Herrera to keep the inning alive. Wilmer Flores then stepped up to the plate and Lagares stole second base to put pressure on Herrera and the Royals defense.
Herrera got Flores to hit a ground ball to first base, but Hosmer misplayed it and Lagares was able to score from second when the ball leaked into the outfield. The costly error from Hosmer also came on the same night he set the Royals postseason RBI record (13) after passing George Brett earlier in the game.
Flores, who was robbed twice earlier in the night thanks to phenomenal defensive plays by third baseman Mike Moustakas, finally caught a break and put the ball in play to give his team the lead.
All New York needed was Familia to close out the game, which seemed like a factor the Mets could almost overlook and put Game 1 in the books. The right-hander hadn't surrendered a run and only allowed two hits and two walks in 9 2/3 innings this postseason. He notched five saves in those eight appearances.
But tonight was a bit different. It was the World Series. It was during (arguably) the most intense situation of his career. It was against the Royals - the cockroaches of the MLB.
Surely enough, Familia surrendered the game-tying solo home run Gordon after getting the Mets out of a tight jam in the eighth. It was the 26-year-old's first blown save since July 30 against the San Diego Padres.
The Royals used a combination of Luke Hochevar, Wade Davis, Ryan Madson and Chris Young (combined for 6 IP, 2 H, 9 K) while the Mets beckoned two veteran starters - Jon Niese and Bartolo Colon - to attempt a comeback in extras.
Niese tossed two scoreless and struck out three. Colon's outing was going well too until third baseman David Wright made a crucial error in the 14th. The miscue allowed Escobar to get on base to lead off the inning and then Zobrist quickly singled him over to third. Colon intentionally walked Cain to load the bases, but it didn't matter because Hosmer put the ball in play to deep right field and didn't allow the Mets to prevent a run from scoring.
It was a heartbreaking loss for the Mets, who will send Jacob deGrom to the mound tomorrow in hopes of earning a victory in Game 2 against Johnny Cueto.
Check out the highlights from the Royals' win below:
