Game 3 of the 2015 World Series is upon us, as the Fall Classic shifts to Citi Field with the New York Mets’ hopes resting on the arms of two rookie starters: Noah Syndergaard and Steven Matz. Down 0-2 in the series versus a hot-hitting Kansas City Royals lineup, how much will the duo’s youth and inexperience hurt the Mets?
Friday, Syndergaard will go up against Yordano Ventura. The Dominican 6-footer pitched brilliantly on baseball’s biggest stage during last year’s World Series.
As for Matz, he gets to toe the rubber opposite Chris Young, who was composed under pressure, pitching three innings of no-hit ball out of the bullpen to earn the win in Game 1 on Tuesday.
With that in mind, let’s take a look at all the social media murmurings ahead of Games 3 and 4 in order to dig a little deeper as to where the series might be headed.
While Syndergaard has only been pitching in the majors since May 12, he has garnered high marks for his composure and poise on the mound all year long. Combine that with the fact that he has been completely dominant at home this season, and it’s no wonder why the young man is full of self-assurance ahead of the biggest start of his life, per Major League Baseball’s Instagram:
But Ventura has the know-how.
During the 2014 World Series, he shut down the San Francisco Giants in Game 6 to save his team and force a Game 7. He is 1-0 with a 1.46 ERA in two career World Series starts.
Even though Ventura had a down year in 2015, he is fully capable of rising to the occasion. That is one reason why the Mets may be in serious trouble.
Oh, and the Kansas City Royals seem to be the hottest sports team in the world right now.
During a four-run fourth inning in Game 2, they seemed to be all over almost every pitch Mets starter Jacob deGrom threw, a point that MLB.com’s Anthony Castrovince was quick to point out on Twitter:
The Royals have only struck out a total of 10 times this series.
If progress is to be made in the strikeouts department, Syndergaard will have to dial it up in terms of velocity.
In the 111 years of World Series history, only 11 teams have done what the Mets are attempting to do, per SB Nation’s MLB Twitter page:
In any case, this should be a fun game to watch if you dig the fastball, per MLB’s Instagram:
As MLB.com correspondent Richard Justice points out, there may be a bit of hope for the Mets yet:
Looking ahead to Game 4 on Saturday, Matz has a tough task in trying to beat Young, who, at age 36, has far more experience than him. Nevertheless, the Mets remain positive, as evident from injured pitcher Jerry Blevins’ Tweet:
New York’s two rookie starting pitchers must do all they can to limit Kansas City’s ability to get hits in bunches, a task that seems very difficult at the moment. Royals manager Ned Yost's quote on MLB's Instagram sums it up:
As Fox lead color commentator Tom Verducci said, these Royals just don’t quit. They are relentless.
They have looked far too comfortable at the plate, seeing the ball so well. The Mets response should be to pitch them inside more and brush the hitters off the plate.
Intimidate them. Get in their heads. That might be their only shot at getting back in this series.
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