Royals Don’t Strikeout, Neutralize Mets’ Advantage en Route to 2-0 World Series Lead

from: newyork. cbslocal.com
Jacob deGrom (pictured) won 2 games in the NLDS against the Dodgers. lost last night against KC.

4 Strikeouts.

That is all Mets’ starters Matt Harvey and Jacob deGrom have mustered through 2 starts in the World Series – both Mets’ losses.

The Mets lost their opportunity to gain the needed split when they blew the lead in game one, and a skinny 1-0 lead wasn’t enough in game two when Royals’ BABIPs finally found the holes they needed.

The BABIP, or Batting Average on Balls Put in Play is a stat that sabermetricians like to cite mostly to talk about “hitters’ luck” i.e. getting a hit on a ball that should have been fielded.  While some of that may be true, what isn’t taken into account is the amount of pressure balls put in play has on a defense.

Going into the series, the Mets’ strength figured to be the starting pitching – its weakness figured to be the infield defense.

A rotation that had spent the first two rounds of the playoffs striking out batter after batter, left the Mets’ defenders without any pressure as pitchers like deGrom and Harvey worked their ways out of jams with strikeout after strikeout.

But in this series, the Mets have had to make the plays in the field, and they have simply crumbled.

Lagares didn’t get the start in game 1, and a misplayed fly ball by center fielder Yoenis Cespedes turned into a hometown scoring inside-the-park homerun.

He got the start in game two, and couldn’t get to two balls that Mets’ fans expect him to catch, and his inability to throw the ball showed up as the Royals ran the basepaths with reckless abandon.

The Mets’ infield defense was tested and it failed as well last night with Wilmer Flores showing the lack of range that caused manager Terry Collins to go with Ruben Tejada at SS for the latter part of the season and into the playoffs.

All told, the Royals put up 7 runs last night and put the Mets in the backseat down 2 games to 0 headed back to Citi Field.