Royals complete improbable comeback for Simulated Series crown

The Kansas City Royals made several comebacks in the 2015 World Series, but none as impressive as the one the virtual Royals staged in rebounding from a three games-to-none deficit to defeat the New York Mets in Paste BN Sports' annual Simulated World Series.

The Royals' outstanding pitching staff led the comeback by limiting the Mets to eight runs over the final four games. Johnny Cueto pitched a complete-game three-hitter in Game 6, while Yordano Ventura and three relievers shut out the Mets over the final five innings of Game 7 to wrap up the title.

Royals outfielder Alex Gordon, who hit the winning home run in Game 5, drove in the go-ahead run in the clincher and was named Sim Series MVP after hitting .318/.483/.591 and scoring four runs. DH Kendrys Morales also had an excellent series, going 9-for-16 (.563) with two homers in the four games played in Kansas City.

The return trip to K.C. took a little longer than both teams expected with a week-long rain storm preventing the field from being playable (and conjuring up memories of the 1975 World Series for those old enough to remember it).

Here's how the final two games played out:

Game 6: New York Mets at Kansas City

Johnny Cueto went the distance, allowing only one earned run and striking out nine as the Royals evened the series with a 6-3 victory.

After Eric Hosmer scored on an RBI single by Mike Moustakas to give the Royals the early lead, the Mets took advantage of a throwing error by Kansas City second baseman Ben Zobrist to take a 3-1 lead in the third. Curtis Granderson doubled in a run and scored on Zobrist's wild throw, then Lucas Duda added a run-scoring double to put the Mets in position to clinch with ace Jacob deGrom on the mound.

BOX SCORE: Royals 6, Mets 3

However, Zobrist atoned for his mistake in the bottom of the fifth by hitting a game-tying two-run homer. Later in the inning, Lorenzo Cain put the Royals ahead by scoring from third on a double play ball.

That would be all Cueto needed as he retired 18 of the final 19 batters he faced -- the only blemish coming when he hit Wilmer Flores with a pitch in the seventh. Cueto's stellar effort also made sure the Royals bullpen was fully rested for the decisive seventh game.

Game 7: New York Mets at Kansas City

The Royals capped their amazing comeback in typical Royals fashion -- with great pitching and a string of timely hits -- to defeat the Mets 4-2 in a winner-take-all Game 7.

Kendrys Morales got things started with a tape-measure 505-foot home run onto the concourse beyond the bleachers in right-center field to give the Royals an early 1-0 lead in the bottom of the second inning.

Mets outfielder Yoenis Cespedes answered in the fourth with a 397-foot blast of his own to put New York on top 2-1. But the Royals strung together three singles, a double and a walk to score three times and regain the lead in the fourth. Gordon put the Royals ahead for good with a single that scored Mike Moustakas from third, and Ben Zobrist added an insurance run with a ground out to put Kansas City up by two.

BOX SCORE: Royals 4, Mets 3

That was more than enough cushion for a rested Royals bullpen to protect.

Ventura got the first out in the sixth before giving way to left-hander Danny Duffy. The key moment came after Duffy hit Daniel Murphy with an inside fastball, but then coaxed Cespedes to hit into an inning-ending double play.

Kelvin Herrera pitched two scoreless innings and closer Wade Davis struck out the side in the ninth to complete the incredible comeback.

Series results

GAME 1: Mets 5, Royals 4
GAME 2: Mets 9, Royals 1
GAME 3: Mets 8, Royals 3
GAME 4: Royals 9, Mets 0
GAME 5: Royals 4, Mets 3
GAME 6: Royals 6, Mets 3
GAME 7: Royals 4, Mets 2

Using the Dynasty League Baseball online simulation -- as they have every year since 2009 -- Paste BN Sports' Steve Gardner and DLB designer Mike Cieslinski have pre-played each game of the World Series to provide some insight into the key matchups and strategy fans could expect to see in the Fall Classic. Pre-play your own 2015 World Series by signing up for a free trial at DynastyLeagueBaseball.com and selecting "Series."

Special thanks to Baseball Info Solutions for their statistical analysis.