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Kansas City Royals: It Only Gets More Difficult From Here

By Alec Tilson

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The KC Royals defeated the New York Mets in Game 2 of the World Series, but the next two wins will be the toughest.

The Kansas City Royals dominated the Mets last night.

Johnny Cueto was special. Nine innings, 122 pitches, two hits, one earned. The offense chipped away at Mets starter Jacob deGrom and put up a crooked number in the defining fifth inning. The defense was spotless.

Through two games, the Royals are the overwhelming favorite to win the 2015 World Series. But this thing isn’t getting any easier. It’s the next two wins that could be the most difficult.

History says the Royals win this series roughly four-out-of-five times, according to ESPN‘s Lisa Kerney:

Those are favorable odds, but the remaining games in this series aren’t going to be played on paper. They’re going to be played in Citi Field against a young right-handed pitcher who touches 100 MPH and a young left-handed pitcher who could be as tough on the Royals as any of the Mets starters.

Now if one thing is clear after Game 1 and 2, it’s that man-to-man, if you go up and down each roster, the Royals are a better team than the Mets.

The remaining games are going to be played in front of hostile New York City crowds, against a desperate team with nothing to lose, in a city where it’s easy to become distracted by the eight million people living on top of each other.

Now if one thing is clear after Game 1 and 2, it’s that man-to-man, if you go up and down each roster, the Royals are a better team than the Mets. Their offense is deeper. Their defense is crisper. Their bullpen is a clear advantage. Their depth more effective.

The Mets are playing good baseball (for the most part) and they’re losing ball games. It’s a good sign for the Royals, who roll out Yordano Ventura in Game 3, but it’s also no time to be counting out the National League champions.

New York is a tough team. One quality start from its pitching staff can snowball into three, four, five quality starts in a row. Those starting pitchers don’t usually need more than three runs to win. It’s not a can of worms the Kansas City Royals want to open. The Royals might be the better team, but the Mets only need to be the better team for the next week.

Forget the notion that the Royals need to win this thing at Kauffman Stadium. If they can take two games up in the Big Apple, we’ll all get over the separation anxiety a few seconds after the series-clinching out. And they’ll be flying straight back home for a parade and a week-long party anyway.

It’d be nice to have the Royals celebrate here at home – and we’ll take it if it happens – but this is about winning at any cost. Forget the time or the place, just bring this thing home. We’re two wins away from our first World Series title in 30 years. Don’t sit back and relax now.

Next: KC Royals: What A Championship Would Mean For KC

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