This is the first World Series matchup between two teams that are from the expansion era meaning they came into existence after 1961.

METS

There was a lot of back and forth about what the Mets' starting rotation would look like, but we now have our answer. Matt Harvey will start Game 1. The rest of the rotation will play out like this: Jacob deGrom, Noah Syndergaard and Steven Matz. Don’t expect the rotation to be changed no matter what is going on in the series as the team will continue to use all pitchers on normal rest, meaning Thor would be in line to pitch in Game 7. So far this postseason that young group of four arms has been stupendous with a 2.65 ERA and 68 strikeouts over 54.1 innings.  Some further notes:

No postseason rotations since 2009 have averaged more mph on their heater at 96.0 mph (the Pirates 2013 group was at 95.0, the same mark as the 2009 Rockies).

There have only been 12 instances in World Series history to have all their World Series starts made my hurlers who were 27 or younger. The Mets seek to be the 13th.

Yoenis Cespedes has two homers and seven RBIs in nine games. He has a wonky shoulder but is fully expected to be good to go after getting a cortisone shot last Thursday. "I feel much better. I'm not 100 percent, but I know I’ll be ready for Tuesday," Cespedes told ESPN Deportes on Sunday: "The cortisone shot relieved the pain and inflammation. But even if I'm not 100 percent, I am certain I will play."

Travis d’Arnaud has hit three big flies.

Jeurys Familia has five saves while allowing two hits over 9.2 innings.

Curtis Granderson has a .385 OBP and is key to getting things off on the right foot for the Mets. He jammed his finger on a slide in the NLCS but the expectation is that he will be fine.

Matt Harvey is 2-0 with a 1.18 WHIP and 16 strikeouts over 12.2 innings. Jacob deGrom is 3-0 with a 1.80 ERA and 1.00 WHIP while punching out 27 over 20 innings.

With Game 1 in Kansas City the Mets need a designated hitter. They will go with Kelly Johnson who has only six playoff at-bats.

Daniel Murphy has seven homers, 11 RBIs and 11 runs scored in nine games. He has a 1.462 OPS.

Juan Uribe will have a spot on the roster (Matt Reynolds loses out).Uribe has been out of action since September 25th with a chest injury.

David Wright is batting .167 which is more than double the .067 mark of Michael Conforto. Wright went 1,546 games before making his first World Series. That’s the most since Todd Helton made his first appearance in 2007 after 1,578 games played.

ROYALS

The Royals face that strikeout staff of the Mets. During the regular season no team made more contact on fastballs over 94 mph than the Royals. They’ve upped that rate by a percentage point in the playoffs.

The Royals' top three arms – Johnny Cueto, Edinson Volquez and Yordano Ventura – are three of 76 Dominican Republic natives in the big leagues. That trio has made 505 career starts. The Mets’ Bartolo Colon has made 467 starts on his own, the most starts by a Dominican born hurler.

The Royals bullpen had a 2.72 ERA this season, the second-best mark in baseball. That’s even with Greg Holland being far from his normal self due to a messed up elbow. Kelvin Herrera has 16 Ks and a 0.81 WHIP over 8.2 playoff innings. Wade Davis has a 0.90 WHIP in his five outings.

Johnny Cueto has a 7.88 ERA and 1.38 WHIP over three outings. He’s allowed 14 runs in 16 innings.

Alcides Escobar has a .386 batting average with nine runs scored in 11 games this playoff season.

Kendrys Morales has four homers and 10 RBIs in the 11 Royals games. Salvador Perez also has four homers with six RBIs and seven runs scored.

Alex Rios has a .389 OBP.

Ben Zobrist has a .933 OPS and leads the team with 10 runs scored.

Yordano Ventura was demoted at one point. After returning from that ignominy he posted a 3.10 ERA over 14 starts (his first 14 starts he owned a 5.19 ERA).


FALL CLASSIC SCHEDULE

*All games air on Fox. First pitch is at 8:07 p.m. ET and the pregame show starts at 7:30 p.m. ET, except where noted otherwise.

Tuesday, Oct. 27
Game 1 — New York at Kansas City
Matt Harvey vs. Edinson Volquez

Wednesday, Oct. 28
Game 2 — New York at Kansas City
Jacob deGrom vs. Johnny Cueto

Friday, Oct. 30
Game 3 — Kansas City at New York
Yordano Ventura vs. Noah Syndergaard

Saturday, Oct. 31
Game 4 —Kansas City at New York
Chris Young vs. Steven Matz

Sunday, Nov. 1
Game 5 — Kansas City at New York
*if necessary
* First pitch at 8:15 p.m. ET, pregame at 8 p.m. ET.

Tuesday, Nov. 3
Game 6 —New York at Kansas City
*if necessary

Wednesday, Nov 4
Game 7 — New York at Kansas City
*if necessary

 

PREDICTION: Mets in six. 

 

 

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