World Series 2015: Games 1 and 2 summaries, Game 3 prediction

We take a look at the first two games in this year’s World Series, then have a look at predictions for game 3 and beyond. Will Escobar continue to do what he does best? How will Noah Syndergaard fare in game 3?

The Tuesday night game of this year’s World Series was the longest opening match in World Series history.

The Royals won 5-4 after 14 innings, with five hours played in Kansas City, finishing at 12:18am when Alcides Escobar ran home after Hosmer hit a sac-fly right and Curtis Granderson threw home. The game was a mix of thrilling play and antagonizing waiting.

The first pitch of the game resulted in an inside-the-park home run from Escobar, the first in a World Series since 1929 and the first leadoff one for more than a hundred years – 112 years to be exact.

The Mets led the game at the start of the sixth inning, 3-1, until the Royals did the unexpected and managed to tie the game. The eighth and ninth innings saw one-a-piece scored, which tied the game 4-4 until Escobar managed to run home in the 14th inning.

In Game 2, also held in Kansas City, the Royals dominated, winning 1-7 while Johnny Cuteo threw a complete game for the Royals. The first three innings were devoid of any runs, but finally in the fourth inning, Lucas Duda scored with an RBI two-out single, putting the Mets 1-0. Jacob deGrom’s grounding out of Salvador Perez ended the inning.

The fifth inning was where the Royals really got their game on, taking the lead 4-1. Esobar tied the game with an RBI, while Eric Hosmer had a two-run RBI, putting the game up to 3-1. Mike Moustakas then put the game up to 4-1 with another RBI. The sixth inning, meanwhile, saw Cuteo achieve his second 1-2-3 inning of the game, doing the same in the seventh inning as well. He’d got 13 consecutively hitters out, not allowing a baserunner since the 4th inning.

The eighth inning saw Escobar get an RBI triple, knocking the score up to 7-1. At this point, the Mets fans started to leave, knowing they’d lost the game and were going 0-2 against the Royals in the first two games of the Series. The ninth and final inning had Cueto pitching once again instead of the usual Royals closer Wade Davis. The game ended Royals 7, Mets 1, taking the Royals 2-0 up in the Series.

So what can we expect for the third game of the Series? Well, firstly it’s in New York, so the Mets will have that advantage up their sleeves. They also have one of the best rotations in Major League Baseball, seemingly managing to put a top-of-the-line pitcher out every night.

Rookie Noah Syndergaard will start the game this time; he has a great fastball at more than 100mph and a good season record. However, fastballs of this type don’t seem to faze the Royals. All the same, Syndergaard gives reason for Mets fans to be excited about this.

The Royals have great depth in their hitters, who can hit a ball anywhere at any speed and generally get good things out of it. Must pundits seem to believe the Royals will take Game 3 in New York, but if the Mets can make home advantage count, we might be in for a much closer Series.