Two pitchers riding diverging postseason paths will collide in Game 2 of 2015's World Series on Wednesday night.
The New York Mets have emerged victorious in all three of Jacob deGrom's playoff starts, all away from Citi Field. He'll look to once again disappoint a home crowd to bring the series to Flushing tied at 1-1.
Johnny Cueto figured to anchor the Kansas City Royals' starting staff, but he's now a potential liability on the grand stage. After following one of the best starts of his career with one of the worst, he'll need to rebound at Kauffman Stadium to solidify the American League champions' home-field advantage.
After a 14-inning start to the series, a mysterious pitching matchup highlights Game 2 of the Fall Classic. Here's a full viewing guide for Wednesday's showdown.
Game 2 Viewing Guide
When: Wednesday, October 28, at 8:07 p.m. ET (7:07 p.m. CT)
Where: Kauffman Stadium, Kansas City, Missouri
TV: Fox
Live Stream: Fox Sports Go
Tickets: ScoreBig.com
Preview
If playoff baseball isn't already volatile enough, Cueto's polarizing postseason makes Game 2 nearly impossible to peg.
Kansas City acquired him in July to fill James Shields' spot in the playoff rotation, and he's done just that. Then again, Shields was awful last October, registering a 6.12 postseason ERA. Cueto didn't waste any time nailing down the part, accruing a 4.76 ERA through 13 regular-season starts for the Royals.
That all seemingly vanished during Game 5 of the American League Division Series. The 29-year-old righty atoned for his struggles with eight masterful innings, limiting the Houston Astros to two runs and two baserunners while netting eight strikeouts. About time the starter with a career 3.30 ERA corrected course.
Or maybe not. He fared far worse against the thunderous Toronto Blue Jays, allowing eight runs over two disastrous innings. After tightening his command against the Astros, he issued four walks during his shortest start of the year.
Per MLB.com's Jeffrey Flanagan, Cueto wishes everyone would stop bringing up that time he gave up eight runs in a playoff game:
Sorry Cueto, but sports fans flock to the negative and recent results. Also, it's hard to forget a historically bad game. ESPN Stats & Info placed the outing in infamy:
Based on his career success, the Toronto start was a fluke. Looking at his recent hard times, however, his dominance over Houston stands out as an outlier. If the good Cueto doesn't return, Kansas City is in trouble.
This Mets lineup boasts a dangerous mix of patience and aggression. After the All-Star break, right around when the Mets' meager offense turned into a stacked lineup, they recorded an 8.7 walk percentage and .443 slugging percentage. They'll work a count, but Yoenis Cespedes and Daniel Murphy aren't looking for free handouts to first base.
Cueto's fickleness puts more pressure on Kansas City to decimate deGrom early. The ace has toiled out of the gate in his last two starts, allowing a two-run first inning in Game 5 of the National League Division Series and a Kyle Schwarber homer to kick off his National League Championship Series start.
He settled down both times, leaving with two runs apiece despite sporting spotty command. While deGrom hasn't always looked spectacular, he limited the opposition to four runs over three starts. He has also stacked up the strikeouts, as noted by ESPN Stats & Info:
Don't bank on another double-digit strikeout performance, as no team is tougher to punch out than Kansas City.
Also a possible concern, deGrom has now pitched a career-high 211 innings, with all 20 postseason frames logged in high-stress situations on the road. For all the talk of monitoring Matt Harvey's usage, deGrom is also a former Tommy John surgery recipient far surpassing his previous career high of 178.2 innings pitched in a season.
With two high-quality arms on the hill, Game 2 could easily devolve into a pitchers' duel. Yet onlookers shouldn't be surprised if either ace succumbs to a high-quality offense, as the Mets will exploit Cueto's poor control, while the aggressive Royals will put the ball in play.
Cueto is currently too erratic to trust, and playing in Kauffman Stadium gives the Mets potent hitters from No. 1 to No. 9. They'll break through while deGrom limits the damage enough to win his fourth playoff start.
Prediction: Mets 6, Royals 4
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