Mets' bats break out in Game 3 win
In the city that never sleeps, the New York Mets' offense finally came to life.
David Wright hit a homer and drove in four runs, Noah Syndergaard recovered from a shaky start to finish strong, and the Mets beat the Kansas City Royals 9-3 in the first World Series game in New York since 2009.
Wright's two-run single in the sixth helped fuel a decisive four-run inning for the Mets, who battered seven Royals pitchers for 12 hits after going 2-for-28 in Wednesday's 7-1 loss. The victory reduced the Mets' series deficit to 2-1 ahead of Saturday's Game 4.
Top Performer: Wright's first World Series game in New York was well worth the wait. The Mets captain hit his second career postseason homer, a towering two-run shot in the first, before adding the timely single in the sixth to extend the Mets' rally. Wright, who entered batting .182 with no RBIs in the first Fall Classic of his 12-year career, drove in the most runs by a Mets player in a World Series game since Rusty Staub's five in Game 4 of the 1973 final.
Starting Pitchers: Syndergaard struggled to put away Kansas City's relentless lineup early on, allowing three runs through his first two frames and falling behind 3-2. The long-haired flamethrower quickly recovered, though. Syndergaard used his triple-digit speed to retire his next 12 batters between the second and sixth to earn his second win of the postseason.
| Pitcher | IP | H | R | ER | BB | SO |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Yordano Ventura | 3.1 | 7 | 5 | 5 | 0 | 1 |
| Noah Syndergaard | 6.0 | 7 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 6 |
Ventura, meanwhile, never found his groove against a Mets lineup that has struggled to show the potency it displayed during its NLCS sweep. The right-hander surrendered two early homers - Wright's and Curtis Granderson's two-run blast in the third - and allowed three of the first four batters he faced in the fourth to reach base, ending his night.
Key Moment: Though Franklin Morales' botched play in the sixth helped put the game out of reach, no moment was more pivotal to New York's big win than Terry Collins' decision to leave Syndergaard in to face Alex Rios during the top half of the sixth inning. With the bases loaded and the rookie right-hander up to 102 pitches, Collins opted to use Syndergaard against the Royals' No. 8 hitter and was rewarded with a rally-killing groundout.
(Videos courtesy: MLB.com)
Up Next: The Mets will look to continue the eerie similarities to their 1986 World Series-winning team on Saturday when they host Game 4 at Citi Field. New York, which lost the first two games of that series before winning four of the next five to win its second championship, sends rookie Steven Matz to the hill in search of evening the series 2-2. The Royals will counter with soft-tossing veteran Chris Young.