Royals Score Five Runs in 12th Inning, Win World Series

A word to the wise for opponents of the Kansas City Royals in 2016: Don’t open the door even a crack or they’ll knock it off its hinges and blow right past you. Trailing 2-0 to the Mets in the ninth inning of Game 5, New York starter Matt Harvey, who had been lights out the whole game, walked leadoff man Lorenzo Cain. Cain then stole second. Eric Hosmer doubled, driving in Cain. Exit Harvey, enter closer Jeurys Familia, Hosmer advanced to third on groundout and then scored with some heads up base running to tie the game.

It stayed at 2-2 until the top of the 12th inning, when Kansas City blew it wide open with five runs. And after the Royals’ superb closer Wade Davis struck out Wilmer Flores in the bottom of the inning, Kansas City had yet another post season comeback. This one won the World Series, the first for the Royals since 1985.

Mets manager Terry Collins had wanted to lift Harvey in the ninth, but the pitcher convinced his manager to let him continue. Though Collins will be second guessed about the decision as long as fans talk about baseball, it was not necessarily a bad decision, given the fact that the Mets bullpen had struggled. Familia the closer set a World Series record with three blown saves; setup man Tyler Clippard finished with an ERA of 9.00. The Mets bats didn’t help either; New York hitters hit just .193 for the Series. Still, it was a great season for the Mets. They have a terrific young starting rotation, and while the hitters were shut down by an excellent Kansas City pitching staff, they have a pretty solid offense. They will set the standard in the N.L East next year.