Alcides Escobar immediately puts speed, defense in World Series spotlight
KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- It took one pitch for Alcides Escobar to highlight his team's strengths -- and emphasize one of the Mets' weaknesses -- in the Royals' 5-4 win over the Mets in Game 1 of the World Series on Tuesday.
Escobar, an aggressive hitter like many in the Kansas City lineup, drove Matt Harvey's first offering deep to left center field. The ball split Mets left fielder Michael Conforto and center fielder Yoenis Cespedes, and after Conforto appeared to back off from it at the last moment, the ball struck Cespedes in the leg and bounced toward the wall.
The speedy Escobar raced around the bases for an inside-the-park homer, the first in World Series play since 1929.
"When I hit the ball, I thought at least that’s a double," said Escobar after the game. "I just focused on running and seeing my third base coach."
"We were both going toward the gap," Conforto said. "I thought I heard something. It sounded like, 'I got it,' so I pulled up. I really don't want to make excuses. I had a shot to catch that ball, and that ball can't get down. We're in the World Series, and it has got to be caught."
"I didn't say anything," Cespedes said. "As I ran up to the ball, I looked at Conforto, and by the time I looked up, I had lost the ball."
The play seems a perfect embodiment of not only the Royals' style of play but the way it appears apt to serve them well against the Mets. Kansas City puts the ball in play frequently and runs the bases well. The Mets, behind fireballing young starters like Harvey, Jacob deGrom and Noah Syndergaard, rely on the strikeout for outs and do not typically play great defense.
Cespedes, who has played left field in the majority of his Major League games, shifted over to the corner position when the Mets brought Juan Lagares into the game in the sixth inning for his superior defense.
"It's definitely loud," Conforto said. "What I heard could have been anybody. I thought I might have heard something, but who knows?"And the raucous Kauffman Stadium crowd that appears to energize the Royals may have provided a more tangible benefit on the play.
"You're talking about a guy that's playing his first game with the crowd noise," manager Terry Collins said. "He just thought he heard (Cespedes) call it, so he gave way, and Ces didn't get there."
The homer was the first inside-the-park shot of Escobar's career. The 28-year-old shortstop entered World Series play coming off an ALCS that saw him hit .478 with a 1.134 OPS and earn the series MVP award.
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