(Story by Marco Stoovelaar)
 Comeback-win Royals; one win away from World Series-title!
Nederlands
 QUEENS, New York City, New York (USA) -
The Kansas City Royals are one win away from the World Series-title.
On Saturday-evening (October 31), the Royals trailed since the third inning, then scored three runs in the eighth to win 5-3 in Game Four against the New York Mets.
The Royals last won the World Series in 1985.
The Mets last won the World Series in 1986.
In 1986, it were the Boston Red Sox, who won the first two games against the Mets.
They did it with a one-run difference and six-run difference score, like the Royals did this year.
Back then, the Mets won Game 3 with a 6-run difference, like they did this year!
But in 1986, the Mets won Game 4 to even the Series, then trailed after five games, but won the last two to win the title.
For the record, tonight was the fourth World Series-game in history that was played on Halloween.
The others were played in 2001, 2009 and 2010.
Game Five will be played on Sunday in New York.
On Tuesday, the Royals opened the World Series with a 5-4 win in a 14-inning thriller that lasted more than five hours.
On Wednesday, the Royals took a 2-0 lead by winning 7-1.
On Friday, the Mets cut the Royals-lead in half by winning 9-3 at home in New York.
Recap Game One
Recap Game Two
Recap Game Three
Starting pitchers tonight were lefthander Steven Matz for the Mets and righthander Chris Young for the Royals.
24-year old Steven Matz was 4-0 this season with a 2.27 ERA.
The rookie pitched in only six games during the regular season.
He never pitched against the Royals.
Before tonight, he was 2-0 at home in the regular season.
Matz was the starting and losing pitcher in Game 4 of the NLDS against the Los Angeles Dodgers.
He then started Game 4 of the NLCS against the Chicago Cubs, but then had a no-decision.
36-year old Chris Young was 11-6 this season with a 3.06 ERA.
In his career, Young is 0-1 against the Mets.
Young pitched for the Mets in 2011 and 2012.
During the ALDS against Houston Astros, he pitched in relief in Game One after a 49-minute rain-delay, taking over for starter (and loser) Yordano Ventura.
In the ALCS vs. Toronto Blue Jays, Young started Game Four and had a no-decision.
In Game One of the World Series, Young took over in the 12th inning of the 14-inning marathon and the was the winning pitcher.
On Friday, the Mets cut the Royals-lead in half by winning 9-3.
The nine runs were the second-highest total in club-history in a World Series-game since scoring ten in Game 2 of the 1973 World Series against the Oakland Athletics.
Tonight, the first two innings remained scoreless.
In the top of the first inning, the Mets turned a rare double play.
Alcides Escobar led off with a basehit (again).
Moments later, he took off to steal second base, while Ben Zobrist struckout.
But Zobrist then stepped in front of catcher Travis d'Arnaud when he made the throw to second base.
Home Plate Jim Wolf reacted immediately and ruled Escobar out for batter's interference.
A flyout then ended the inning off of starter Steven Matz.
After Matz retired the side in the top of the third inning, he was supported with two runs in the home half.
The Mets were retired in order in the first and second inning, but then struck in the third at bat.
Michael Conforto first led off with a homerun to open the score.
Hereafter, Wilmer Flores singled and then advanced on a wild pitch.
He reached third base on a sacrifice bunt by Steve Matz and then scored on a sacrifice fly by Curtis Granderson.
Flores appeared to leave a bit too soon from third base, before the ball was caught.
An appeal followed, but it was judged that Flores left on time.
That resulted to a challenge, but the call was upheld and so Flores scored to give the Mets a 2-0 lead.
In the top of the fifth inning, Matz ran into problems.
With one out, he gave up a double to Salvador Pérez.
He hit the ball towards centerfielder Yoenis Cespedes, who reached in an attempt to catch the ball.
After the ball hit the ground it caroomed into leftfield after it was hit by Cepedes' leg.
Moments later, Pérez scored the first run for the Royals when Alex Gordon singled.
After a flyout, pinch-hitter Kendrys Morales singled, but the inning ended with another flyout.
In the bottom of the fifth, Danny Duffy took over the pitching for the Royals.
He faced rookie Michael Conforto, who then homered again!
With this, he became only the second Mets-player to have hit two homeruns in a World Series-game.
The first was Gary Carter, who did it in Game 4 of the 1986 Series.
Conforto also became the first rookie to homer twice in a World Series-game, since Andruw Jones did it in Game One of the 1996 Series, playing for the Atlanta Braves.
The 22-year old Conforto made his professional debut last year!
He was drafted by the Mets in 2014, then signed a contract in July and went on to play in the Single-A Short Season-team of the Mets.
This year, he began in Single-A Advanced, promoted to Double-A, then made his Major League-debut on July 24.
He went on to play in 56 games with the Mets and batted .270.
In 2012 and 2013, Conforto was a member of the National (Collegiate) Team of the USA.
And with that team, he participated in the Haarlem Baseball Week in Haarlem (Netherlands) in 2012.
Also playing for that team in Haarlem were Chicago Cubs-rookie Kris Bryant and Cincinnati Reds-rookie Michael Lorenzen.
In the top of the sixth inning, the Royals narrowed the deficit again to only one run.
Ben Zobrist led off with a double, then singled on a following single by Lorenzo Cain.
Hereafter, Jon Niese took over for Matz.
Cain stole second base, but Niese retired the next two batters.
Niese was the replaced by veteran Bartolo Colón, who then made an errant pick-off to second base that enabled Cain to move to third base.
But he stranded there, as Colón ended the inning by striking out Salvador Pérez.
In the top of the seventh inning, new Mets-pitcher Addison Reed retired the side.
The first two batters hit a line drive, but they were caught, then a strikeout ended the at bat.
But in the eighth inning, the Royals turned the game its way.
With one out, reliever Tyler Clippard walked Ben Zobrist and Lorenzo Cain.
Hereafter, closer Jeurys Familia replaced Clippard.
But then, second baseman Daniel Murphy made an error on a grounder by Eric Hosmer, which enabled Zobrist to score the tying run.
The Royals then took a 4-3 lead when Mike Moustakas followed with a single.
Another run was added when Salvador Pérez also singled, which was his third basehit in the game.
A nice double play ended tge inning, but the Royals were now leading 5-3.
Royals-closer Wade Davis then retired the side in the bottom of the eighth inning.
He also began with an out in the ninth, but then gave up a single to Daniel Murphy.
Yoenis Cespedes followed with another basehit to put runners on first and second base.
Lucas Duda then lined out to third baseman Mike Moustakas.
He was able to complete a double play, as Cespedes had taken off from first base, while second base was occupied and returned back to first base too late.
And so, the game ended with a double play and the Royals are now one win away from the championship!
(October 31)
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