Mets Will Mash the Royals in 5
Good pitching always beats good hitting.
Madison Bumgarner proved that last year by clinching three of the four victories San Francisco needed to win the World Series against Kansas City.
Now the Royals are back, hungrier than ever after leaving the tying run on third base against the Giants in 2014. This year, the Royals are resilient. They scored three come-from-behind victories against the pesky Houston Astros in the American League Division Series. But the Royals are about to get flushed.
That’s because the New York Mets have the best pitching staff in the world. In their first seven postseason games, Mets pitchers lit up the radar gun at 95 mph exactly 41% of the time, according to baseballsavant.com. Most Major League teams have one ace. The Mets have three:
Matt Harvey, who will start Game 1:
followed by Jacob deGrom in Game 2 and the six-foot six Noah Syndergaard in Game 3. All three throw high heat. In fact, baseballsavant.com notes they hit 95 mph 22% of the time they pitched. By contrast, no other MLB team could hit 95 mph even 15% of the time.
The Mets will be well rested and well tested this World Series, having handily beaten two formidable teams – the Chicago Cubs and Los Angeles Dodgers.
Do the Royals have a chance against the best arms in baseball? Well consider this: the Royals hit .284 against pitches thrown at 95 mph or higher – the best in baseball – according to baseballsavant.com. But even if Alex Gordon, Eric Hosmer and Lorenzo Cain are able to make contact against the mighty Mets, they can’t get past the guy who is arguably the best closer in baseball – Jeurys Familia, who appeared in 76 games this year, shredding hitters with a miniscule 1.85 ERA.
Kansas City has solid relievers in Wade Davis and Kelvin Herrera. But their starting rotation of Edinson Volquez, Yordano Ventura and Johnny Cueto don’t match up to the top three for the Amazin’ Mets. New York has yet another weapon in 24-year old Steven Matz. The rookie pitcher was 4-0 this year with a 2.27 ERA and he’s scheduled to start Game 4.
And then there’s this guy named Murphy. The Mets second baseman Daniel Murphy is the first player in MLB history to homer in six consecutive postseason games. The Mets have all the MoJo this year.
I can see the Mets sweeping the Royals in four games – but KC is too scrappy to get shut out. So I’ll say the Mets in 5 games. That’s my story and I’m sticking to it.
