The Royals knew the only way to salve their regret was
to win the World Series, and Sunday night at Citi Field, they accomplished that
in a very Royal-like manner, with a come-from-behind 7-2 victory in 12 innings
over the Mets. The victory,
their fourth in five games, gave them their first championship since 1985.
The Royals survived a superb performance by the Mets’
Matt Harvey, scoring twice in the ninth inning to tie the score at 2-2 and
breaking through to score five times in the 12th against relievers Addison Reed
and Bartolo Colon.
For a team that has been defined by its derring-do on
the basepaths, it was fitting that the game turned on the bold base running of
Hosmer, who dashed home with the tying run in the ninth on an infield groundout
when Mets first baseman Lucas Duda’s throw home went wide of the mark.
The winning rally also had innocuous roots: a bloop
single by Perez, a stolen base by pinch-runner Jarrod Dyson, a productive
groundout by Alex Gordon that moved Dyson to third and a line single to left by
pinch-hitter Christian Colon, who was making his first appearance in the postseason.
Then the floodgates opened. Doubles by Alcides Escobar
and Lorenzo Cain brought home four runs, sending fans toward the exits and
leaving the Royals to await the coronation. That came when Wade Davis struck
out Wilmer Flores for the final out, sending the Royals storming out of the
dugout.
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