The Kansas City Royals will host the New York Mets on Opening Night as Edinson Volquez will take the mound against Matt Harvey. This World Series Game 5 rematch is today's third MLB game, but it is easily the most anticipated.
Scroll to the bottom of the page for the live stream and radio broadcast.
Kansas City and New York made some changes to their roster this offseason, but for the most, part this will be a true rematch. Raymond Fuentes will be the Royals' starting right fielder after the club decided to reject Alex Rios' team option, and Neil Walker will be the Mets' starting second baseman after the team let Daniel Murphy walk in free agency. Those are the only two roster differences from Game 5.
Both clubs made crucial re-signings, as Kansas City kept outfielder Alex Gordon on a four-year deal and New York retained Yoenis Cespedes on a three-year deal. However, the spotlight will be on Harvey tonight.
The 27-year-old is seeking revenge after the Royals spoiled his tremendous Game 5 performance in the ninth inning. The right-hander tossed eight shutout innings before Kansas City scored two runs on one hit and one walk to force extras, which eventually ended in a Royals' victory.
He coaxed manager Terry Collins into letting him go out for the ninth inning despite him having already thrown 102 pitches. Collins was going to call in closer Jeurys Familia, but he went with his heart and allowed Harvey to attempt to finish the job.
Harvey comes into 2016 after a spring training in which he displayed improvement with his fastball, curveball and slider, so the Royals' aggressive lineup will have their hands full tonight. The Dark Knight is looking to build off his 13-8 record with a 2.71 ERA, 1.02 WHIP and 188 strikeouts in 29 starts last year.
His opposition will be Volquez, who is coming off an impressive Game 5 performance of his own. The right-hander allowed two runs (one earned) on two hits and five walks over six innings, with the only earned run coming off a Curtis Granderson homer in the first. He went 13-9 with a 3.55 ERA, 1.31 WHIP and 155 strikeouts in 34 games last year.
The Mets managed to score 19 runs throughout the World Series but could only notch one win thanks to multiple late-game collapses. New York allowed 15 runs in the eighth inning or later over those five games, including seven in their Game 5 loss.
Tonight will be a different story, as New York hopes to spoil the Royals' home opener in Kansas City. The Mets will have David Wright ready to go after a long offseason of rest and rehab in addition to a healthy Cespedes and Granderson (the two dealt with nagging injuries in the postseason).
It should be an entertaining and electrifying opener, especially since reports have suggested that the Royals are seeking revenge on New York for Noah Syndergaard's first pitch of Game 3 when he threw a fastball up-and-in to shortstop Alcides Escobar.
Check out the live stream for tonight's game here, as well as the live radio broadcast here (KCR) or here (NYM).
