KANSAS CITY, MO. — The Royals took a giant step toward being crowned World Series kings Wednesday night at raucous Kauffman Stadium.
Johnny Cueto pitched a complete-game two-hitter as Kansas City hammered the New York Mets 7-1 to take a commanding 2-0 lead in the series.
Cueto — who calls his unusual, hesitating delivery “la mecedora,” literally, “the rocking chair” — was overshadowed by Mets ace Jacob deGrom coming into the game. But Cueto was clearly the better pitcher Wednesday night.
A sellout crowd of 40,410 chanted “Cueto! Cueto!” in the ninth inning as he became the first American League pitcher to throw a complete game in a World Series since Minnesota’s Jack Morris did it in Game 7 in 1991.
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“A felt a lot of pride. I get a lot of energy from our fans,” said Cueto, who rebounded from a disastrous game in the American League Championship Series against Toronto when he gave up eight runs in two innings.
The Royals acquired Cueto from the Cincinnati Reds at the trade deadline, figuring he was the final piece of the puzzle.
“Tonight was everything we expected Johnny to be,” K.C. manager Ned Yost said. “He kept the ball down. He changed speeds. It was just a spectacular performance by him.”
The veteran right-hander, who retired 16 of the last 17 Mets he faced, was backed up by the Royals’ relentless but disciplined offensive attack that banged out 10 hits. Kansas City batters worked deGrom like Muhammad Ali did Floyd Patterson, peppering him with jabs and negating his firepower.
History is now on the Royals’ side as they attempt to capture their first World Series title since 1985. According to the Elias Sports Bureau, teams that win the first two games of a best-of-seven postseason series go on to win the series 83.3 percent of the time.
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Game 3 is scheduled for Friday night at New York’s Citi Field.
A popular theme coming into the series was this: Kansas City’s ability to take effective at-bats and minimize strikeouts would overcome the Mets’ powerful starting pitching. That certainly proved true Wednesday night.
“They did exactly what people said: They put the ball in play,” Mets manager Terry Collins said. “I told Jake: ‘Not everything has to be a strike. You’ve got to move it around. You’ve got to change speeds, give them something to look at. If you continue to pound the zone, they’re going to put it in play.’ And that’s what they did.”
The Royals sent nine men to the plate in the pivotal fifth inning, rapping out four runs on five singles. To put into perspective, deGrom did not allow five hits in 10 of his 30 starts this season.
The telling punches were landed by Eric Hosmer, who delivered a two-run, two-out single, and Mike Moustakas, who followed up with another RBI single. Hosmer now has 27 RBIs in 28 career postseason games. The only player with more RBIs in that span was New York Yankees legend Lou Gehrig, who had 33.
“I just try to be aggressive,” Hosmer said. “I just try to get something good early to hit and not miss.”
DeGrom was looking to become the first pitcher in postseason history to go 4-0 on the road, and although he fired 98 mph fastballs early in the game, the Royals shrugged off his firepower. He entered the game with 27 strikeouts in three postseason games, including 15 against the Los Angeles Dodgers in a National League division series.
The Royals, however, weren’t biting. Of the 94 pitches deGrom threw, Kansas City had only three swings and misses while fouling off 23 balls.
Cueto breezed through the first three innings. He faced just nine batters and needed only 34 pitches. He gave up a hit to Lucas Duda in the second, but Duda was erased by an inning-ending double play.
Cueto got a bit wild in the fourth, falling behind in the count and walking two. He paid the price when Duda looped a single to left, scoring Daniel Murphy to give the Mets a 1-0 lead. But that was the high point of their night, and now they’re in deep trouble as they head home.
“By no means are we done,” said Duda, who had the Mets’ only two hits.
