MLB

It took seven games for Kansas City to take down the St. Louis Cardinals in the 1985 World Series—the last time the Royals could call themselves world champions. Sunday night, they'll try to dispatch the New York Mets in Game 5 at Citi Field to end that 30-year wait between titles.

But don't expect the Mets to be gracious hosts.

The Kansas City Royals are one win away.

It was a classic Royals rally in the eighth inning. Thanks to hits from Mike Moustakas and Salvador Perez and an error by Daniel Murphy, the Royals scored three times in the top of the eighth and took a 3-1 series lead with a 5-3 win over the New York Mets Saturday night in Game 4 of the World Series.

The Kansas City Royals always seem to have a flair for the dramatic.

That was no different Saturday night.

Trailing 3-2 in the top of the eighth, the Royals scored three runs to take a 5-3 lead. After closer Wade Davis allowed back-to-back hits with one out in the bottom of the ninth, Lucas Duda lined out into a game-ending double play. Kansas City won 5-3 and goes into Sunday with a chance to win the World Series.

The Kansas City Royals moved to within a win of their first title in 30 years with a spoiling and late 5-3 victory over the New York Mets in Game 4 on Saturday.

To examine the data, skim over the analytics and listen to the brains that have firmly entrenched themselves in every single major league front office, clutch does not exist.

It is not tangible. It is not readily quantifiable. Players do not perform better, over time, in certain situations. Other players do not fold, over time, in the same ones.

"Clutch" does not exist.

NEW YORK — The games change quickly, and the stories do, too. Baseball is a game meant to be judged over time, but the postseason gives us little, and the World Series gives us less.

One pitch. One home run. One little ground ball that rolls under a glove and into history.

"I wish I would have caught it," Daniel Murphy said late on Halloween night, when the trick was on him.

The New York Mets were five outs away from tying the World Series at two games apiece, but disaster struck in the top of the eighth inning, and the Kansas City Royals captured a 5-3 Game 4 win Saturday at Citi Field. 

After reliever Tyler Clippard walked a pair of batters with one out, closer Jeurys Familia came in to face Eric Hosmer. The Royals slugger's softly hit ball slid under second baseman Daniel Murphy's glove, which allowed Ben Zobrist to score the tying run from second.

If the saying goes that a playoff series doesn't really begin until both teams have played a home game, the New York Mets loudly announced their presence in the World Series with an impressive victory over the Kansas City Royals in Game 3. 

The Kansas City Royals are one victory away from winning the 2015 World Series crown. For the second time this series, they orchestrated a late rally to upend the New York Mets, extending their lead to 3-1.

New York entered the eighth inning up 3-2, but Kansas City drew two walks off Tyler Clippard before a costly Daniel Murphy error squandered the lead. Two more hits off closer Jeurys Familia extended the edge to 5-3, which held up as the final score.

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.