The Kansas City Royals defeated the Toronto Blue Jays in Game 6 of the American League Championship on Friday night to advance to the World Series for a second consecutive season. Awaiting the Royals are the New York Mets, who last played Wednesday, completing a sweep of the Chicago Cubs.
The Mets could be described as firing on all the cylinders at the right time. Behind an impressive starting rotation comprised of young stars, and an offense led by Daniel Murphy, New York is only four wins away from a third World Series ring in franchise history.
After an abysmal first half of the season, the Mets took off in the second half, surprising all of baseball on their path to the National League East division title.
The Mets were able to overcome the daunting task of facing Clayton Kershaw and Zack Greinke in a postseason series, going the distance with the Los Angeles Dodgers in the NL Division Series, and taking Game 5 at Dodger Stadium.
Sustaining their strong pitching efforts and Murphy continuing to swing a hot bat, the Mets were able to make quick work of the Cubs. Meanwhile the Royals can be described a team opposite of the Mets in terms of scenario.
Murphy is batting .421/.436/1.026 in the playoffs, and has hit a home run in six straight postseason games, which set a new Major League record. Carlos Beltran previously held it with his five-game home run stretch during the 2004 postseason.
Although the Royals were the Cinderella story in last year’s postseason, they entered the playoffs this year as the AL Central champions. Kansas City finished with the top record in the AL, and fourth-best overall.
The Royals dropped Game 1 of the ALDS to the Houston Astros, and fell behind in the series 2-1, before advancing to the ALCS with back-to-back wins. In a slugfest of a series that saw 64 runs scored over six games, the Royals moved past the Blue Jays.
Kansas City’s second straight World Series berth is one where they again hold home-field advantage by way of the AL team winning the All-Star Game. Last year the Royals had their hearts broken in Game 7 by Madison Bumgarner and the San Francisco Giants.
A World Series win would be only the second in Royals franchise history and first since 1985. The World Series is slated to begin on Tuesday, with the scheduled times as follows:
Game 1: Tuesday, Oct. 27; Mets @ Royals — 5:07 p.m. PT
Game 2: Wednesday, Oct. 28; Mets @ Royals — 5:07 p.m. PT
Game 3: Friday, Oct. 30; Royals @ Mets — 5:07 p.m. PT
Game 4: Saturday, Oct. 31; Royals @ Mets — 5:07 p.m. PT
Game 5*: Sunday, Nov. 1; Royals @ Mets — 5:15 p.m. PT
Game 6*: Tuesday Nov. 3; Mets @ Royals — 5:07 p.m. PT
Game 7*: Wednesday, Nov. 4; Mets @ Royals — 5:07 p.m. PT
*if necessary
