The New York Mets bats fell silent in Game 2 of the World Series, but they made a serious racket in Friday's 9-3 Game 3 win over the Kansas City Royals at Citi Field.
One game after mustering two hits against Johnny Cueto, the Mets offense came alive against Yordano Ventura. In 3.1 innings, Kansas City's starter surrendered seven hits and five earned runs, which proved to be all New York needed.
Third baseman David Wright—who entered Friday night with three RBI in the postseason—went 2-for-5 with four RBI, including a two-run single in the sixth to blow things open.
According to MLB.com's Anthony DiComo, the four runs Wright plated were the second-most by a Mets player in a World Series game. Rusty Staub tallied five in Game 4 of the 1973 Fall Classic.
Mets starter Noah Syndergaard was touched up early in the first World Series start of his career, but the 23-year-old regained his composure and struck out six over six innings. The flamethrower also retired 12 straight batters at one point before calmly working out of a bases-loaded jam in the sixth inning.
Jared Diamond of the Wall Street Journal pointed to Syndergaard's poise as a turning point:
Syndergaard came out throwing serious heat, but Kansas City wasn't fazed. The Royals struck first on an RBI groundout from Eric Hosmer in the game's opening frame, and the American League champions went on to rack up six hits over the game's first two innings.
CBS Sports' Jon Heyman broke down how the Royals were able to succeed at the plate early on:
But for a change, the Mets had enough offense to keep pace—and then some. New York entered the night batting .220 in the playoffs, but it supplied Syndergaard with encouraging run support in the first inning thanks to a two-run bomb from Wright:
The blast was the second of Wright's career in postseason play, per ESPN Stats & Info, and it wasn't the last ball the Mets would launch into the Citi Field stands.
After the Royals posted two runs in the second inning, Curtis Granderson poked one over the right field wall in the third to propel the Mets back in front.
As ESPN Stats & Info diagrammed, the shallow dimensions in right field allowed Granderson's ball to clear the fences:
The Mets even got contributions at the plate from Syndergaard (1-for-2 with a run scored) and pinch hitter Juan Uribe, who singled home a run in his first plate appearance since Sept. 25 to give his side a 6-3 lead in the sixth.
It's hard to overstate how important the Game 3 win was for the Mets. Had they lost, it would have effectively been a death sentence.
In league history, no team has ever come back from a 3-0 deficit in the World Series to win, according to WhoWins.com, while teams with 2-1 leads are 55-27 when it comes to closing out the World Series.
The team will task Steven Matz with drawing the Mets even when Game 4 gets underway Saturday night (8:07 p.m. ET).
"This is where you want to be in baseball," Matz said, per the Kansas City Star's Chris Fickett. "This is the dream. This is what you write up in your backyard when you’re playing wiffle ball."
The Royals will hand the ball to Chris Young, who would love to stick it to his former team as Kansas City attempts to seize control of the World Series and ward off the hard-charging Mets.
Post-Game Reaction
The Royals evidently weren’t pleased with Syndergaard's decision to open the game with some high heat against Alcides Escobar, according to the Kansas City Stars Andy McCullough:
Hosmer had a take on the situation as well, per the Kansas City Star’s Vahe Gregorian:
According to Bleacher Report's Scott Miller, Syndergaard responded with a challenge:
Mets manager Terry Collins had no problems with his pitcher’s performance, per the team’s official Twitter account:
The Mets' captain also drew high praise.
"He's David Wright for a reason," Mets pitcher Tyler Clippard said, per DiComo. "No moment is too big for him."
With Friday's win in hand, the Mets will try and sustain a crazy trend.
When the Mets won the World Series in 1986, they lost Games 1 and 2 by one and six runs, respectively, before winning Game 3 by six. This year, the Mets have posted the exact same margins in their first three World Series games, per B/R Insights.
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