Cueto dominates Mets, sends Royals to 2-0 Series lead

ROYALS 7

METS 1

KC leads Series 2-0

The New York Mets have their backs to the wall –- BIG TIME -- in this 2015 World Series, after dropping Game 2 by a score of 7-1 in a dismal offensive display, as the Mets failed to answer the challenge from a heartbreaking loss in Game 1. Down 2-0 in the World Series the chances that the Mets win this series has dwindled greatly. How did the Mets get to this point? Let’s take a look at the Heroes and Zeroes of Game 2.

HEROES:

Johnny Cueto: Yes, a Royal. Have to tip my cap to Johnny Cuteo, who became the first pitcher since Jack Morris of the 1991 Minnesota Twins to throw a complete game in a World Series game. Cueto got absolutely roasted by the media who expected him to fall flat on his face, after he was torched by the Blue Jays in Game 3 of the ALCS. Instead the former Cincinnati Red looked like the Cueto who had a 2.62 ERA in Cincy. He held the Mets to just two hits over nine innings of work, pushing the Royals to a commanding 2-0 series edge.

Alcides Escobar: Right now Mike Moustakas might be the leader as a potential Series MVP, but Escobar continues to hurt the Mets. His RBI single to center tied the game, and opened up the floodgates for Kansas City’s offense.

Mike Moustakas and Eric Hosmer: These two guys continue their postseason domination. And to think both were struggling early on in the playoffs? Both had a couple of hits and drove in big runs against the Mets. Hosmer had two more RBI to increase his playoff total to 15 RBI this year. 

Jonathan Niese: Niese may have been charged with three runs in the eighth inning, but the guy has been the Mets best pitcher in this World Series, (which say a lot about the World Series for the Mets). He gave New York two shutout innings in relief in Game 1, and came back the next day and gave the Mets two more innings. For a guy whom the Mets worried would struggle pitching in relief, Niese has been fine.

Lucas Duda. This is really stretching it, by giving Duda a Hero Award considering his defensive liability has cost the Mets outs at times in this Series and in the postseason, but considering he had the only two hits of the day and only RBI for New York in Game 2, he gets it by default.

ZEROES:

Yoneis Cespedes: Cespedes has been the biggest dog of this World Series for the Mets. It started with his horrific misread of an Alcides Escobar fly ball in Game 1, and has continued with his horrible approach at the plate. Cespedes is 1-for-9 in the World Series, and is hitting only .233 in playoffs. With the exception of Game 3 of the NLDS, Cespedes has been awful this October. If the Mets decide not to resign him in the offseason, the fan base won’t complain if this keeps up.

David Wright. As much as it hurts, Wright continues to struggle in the playoffs. He had an huge error in Game 1, and struck out with men on base twice on Tuesday. In Game 2, Wright was nonexistent, going 0-for-3.

The Mets Offense: The Mets have struggled for much of the posteason to produce much offense. They got through the NLDS and NLCS relying heavily on Daniel Murphy, who played the best baseball of his career. As a team the Mets are hitting only .232 this October, and if one takes Murphy’s stats out of the equation, the Mets are hitting only .208. No matter how good the Mets pitching might be, they can’t win if the Mets don’t hit.

Stuck in Neutral: Jacob deGrom doesn’t deserve either a hero or zero, because he did the best he could considering the circumstances. He had the Royals guessing early on, but Kansas City is so good offensively, the eventually figured him out in the fifth inning when they plated four runs. Again, no run support = a loss.

OUTLOOK: It doesn’t look good for the Mets. They are down 0-2, meaning they have a 19.6 percent chance of winning this series, considering that 41 of the last 51 teams to fall behind 0-2 have lost the World Series. The last team to win the Fall Classic down 0-2 was the 1996 Yankees. The 1986 Mets were also down 0-2 to the Red Sox. Do the 2015 Mets have the same intestinal fortitude?