2015 Kansas City Royals season

2015 Kansas City Royals
2015 World Series Champions
American League Champions
American League Central Champions

The Royals celebrate at Citi Field in Queens, New York City, New York after winning the 2015 World Series, in which they defeated the New York Mets four games to one.
Major League affiliations
Location
Results
Record 95–67 (0.586)
Other information
Owner(s) David Glass
General manager(s) Dayton Moore
Manager(s) Ned Yost
Local television Fox Sports Kansas City
(Ryan Lefebvre, Jeff Montgomery, Joel Goldberg ,Rex Hudler, Steve Physioc)
Local radio KCSP 610 AM
(Denny Matthews, Steve Stewart, Ryan Lefebvre, Steve Physioc)
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The 2015 Kansas City Royals season was the 47th for the franchise, and their 43rd at Kauffman Stadium. The Royals made their second consecutive World Series appearance in 2015, after winning the American League in 2014. They won the series for the first time since 1985. The team won their first AL Central title on September 24, 2015, the first time the Royals won their division since 1985. They opened the playoffs by defeating the Houston Astros in five games in the Division Series and then defeated the Toronto Blue Jays in six games in the American League Championship Series. They defeated the New York Mets in five games in the 2015 World Series, the second World Series championship in franchise history. The 2015 Royals are the first team since the 1989 Oakland Athletics to win the World Series after having lost the series in the previous season.

Offseason

October 30: Josh Willingham, James Shields, Raúl Ibañez, Luke Hochevar, Jason Frasor, Scott Downs, and Norichika Aoki become free agents.

November 1: Billy Butler becomes a free agent. He would sign with the Oakland Athletics.

November 3: Promoted Paulo Orlando.

Week of November 5: Signed 4 players to a minor league contract, and invited 2 of them to Spring training.

November 20: Received Reymond Fuentes from the San Diego Padres for Kyle Bartsch and promoted 2 other players.

November 24: Jayson Nix becomes a free agent while Juan Flores signs a minor league contract.

November 26: Received Ryan Jackson from the Los Angeles Dodgers for cash.

November 28: Received Bryan Flynn and Reid Redman from the Miami Marlins for Aaron Crow. Signed Jason Frasor and also gave Ismaldo Rodriguez to a minor league contract.

December 2: Francisely Bueno becomes a free agent as Dany Geraldo signs a minor league contract.

December 8: Signed Gabriel Noriega to a minor league contract and invited him to Spring training.

December 11: Received Jandel Gustave from the Boston Red Sox for cash.

December 14: Signed Angel Franco to a minor league contract.

Week of December 15:

December 28: Signed 3 players to a minor league contract.

December 29: Signed Edinson Vólquez.

January 4: Signed Ryan Madson to a minor league contract and invited him to Spring training.

January 16: Signed 2 players to a minor league contract and invited them to Spring training.

January 26: Invited 16 players to Spring training and signed J. C. Boscán to a minor league contract and also invited him to Spring training. Brian Bocock also signs a minor league contract.

Season standings

American League Central

AL Central W L Pct. GB Home Road
Kansas City Royals 95 67 0.586 — 51–30 44–37
Minnesota Twins 83 79 0.512 12 46–35 37–44
Cleveland Indians 81 80 0.503 13½ 39–41 42–39
Chicago White Sox 76 86 0.469 19 40–41 36–45
Detroit Tigers 74 87 0.460 20½ 38–43 36–44

American League Wild Card

Division Leaders W L Pct.
(1) Kansas City Royals 95 67 0.586
(2) Toronto Blue Jays 93 69 0.574
(3) Texas Rangers 88 74 0.543
Wild Card teams
(Top 2 qualify for 1-game playoff)		 W L Pct. GB
(4) New York Yankees 87 75 0.537 +1
(5) Houston Astros 86 76 0.531 —
Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim 85 77 0.525 1
Minnesota Twins 83 79 0.512 3
Cleveland Indians 81 80 0.503 4½
Baltimore Orioles 81 81 0.500 5
Tampa Bay Rays 80 82 0.494 6
Boston Red Sox 78 84 0.481 8
Chicago White Sox 76 86 0.469 10
Seattle Mariners 76 86 0.469 10
Detroit Tigers 74 87 0.460 11½
Oakland Athletics 68 94 0.420 18

Record against opponents

2015 AL Records

Source: AL Standings Head-to-Head
Team BAL BOS CWS CLE DET HOU KC LAA MIN NYY OAK SEA TB TEX TOR NL
Baltimore — 11–8 3–3 5–1 4–3 3–4 3–4 2–4 0–7 10–9 6–1 3–3 10–9 1–6 8–11 12–8
Boston 8–11 — 3–4 2–4 4–2 2–4 4–3 2–5 2–5 8–11 5–1 4–3 9–10 2–5 10–9 13–7
Chicago 3–3 4–3 — 10–9 9–10 5–1 7–12 4–3 6–13 2–5 5–2 4–3 1–5 3–3 4–3 9–11
Cleveland 1–5 4–2 9–10 — 7–11 5–2 9–10 4–2 7–12 5–2 3–4 4–3 5–2 3–3 3–4 12–8
Detroit 3–4 2–4 10–9 11–7 — 3–4 9–10 1–6 11–8 2–5 2–4 4–3 3–3 2–5 2–4 9–11
Houston 4–3 4–2 1–5 2–5 4–3 — 4–2 10–9 3–3 4–3 10–9 12–7 2–5 6–13 4–3 16–4
Kansas City 4–3 3–4 12–7 10–9 10–9 2–4 — 6–1 12–7 2–4 5–1 4–2 6–1 3–4 3–4 13–7
Los Angeles 4–2 5–2 3–4 2–4 6–1 9–10 1–6 — 5–2 2–4 11–8 12–7 3–3 12–7 2–5 8–12
Minnesota 7–0 5–2 13–6 12–7 8–11 3–3 7–12 2–5 — 1–5 4–3 4–3 4–2 3–3 2–5 8–12
New York 9–10 11–8 5–2 2–5 5–2 3–4 4–2 4–2 5–1 — 3–4 5–1 12–7 2–5 6–13 11–9
Oakland 1–6 1–5 2–5 4–3 4–2 9–10 1–5 8–11 3–4 4–3 — 6–13 3–4 10–9 1–5 11–9
Seattle 3–3 3–4 3–4 3–4 3–4 7–12 2–4 7–12 3–4 1–5 13–6 — 4–3 12–7 4–2 8–12
Tampa Bay 9–10 10–9 5–1 2–5 3–3 5–2 1–6 3–3 2–4 7–12 4–3 3–4 — 2–5 10–9 14–6
Texas 6–1 5–2 3–3 3–3 5–2 13–6 4–3 7–12 3–3 5–2 9–10 7–12 5–2 — 2–4 11–9
Toronto 11–8 9–10 3–4 4–3 4–2 3–4 4–3 5–2 5–2 13–6 5–1 2–4 9–10 4–2 — 12–8

Detailed records

American League
Opponent Home Away Total Pct. Runs scored Runs allowed
AL East
Baltimore Orioles 3–1 1–2 4–3 .571 45 44
Boston Red Sox 1–2 2–2 3–4 .429 29 44
New York Yankees 2–1 0–3 2–4 .333 23 29
Tampa Bay Rays 4–0 2–1 6–1 .857 44 24
Toronto Blue Jays 2–1 1–3 3–4 .429 33 39
12–5 6–11 18–16 .529 174 180
AL Central
Chicago White Sox 6–3 6–4 12–7 .632 81 74
Cleveland Indians 4–5 6–4 10–9 .526 78 90
Detroit Tigers 6–4 4–5 10–9 .526 107 66
Kansas City Royals – – – – – –
Minnesota Twins 5–5 7–2 12–7 .632 74 51
21–17 23–15 44–32 .579 340 281
AL West
Houston Astros 2–1 0–3 2–4 .333 13 22
Los Angeles Angels 3–1 3–0 6–1 .857 42 23
Oakland Athletics 2–1 3–0 5–1 .833 23 18
Seattle Mariners 2–1 2–1 4–2 .667 28 28
Texas Rangers 1–2 2–2 3–4 .429 23 33
10–6 10–6 20–12 .625 129 124
National League
Opponent Home Away Total Pct. Runs scored Runs allowed
Chicago Cubs 0–0 1–2 1–2 .333 9 7
Cincinnati Reds 2–0 2–0 4–0 1.000 17 5
Milwaukee Brewers 2–0 2–0 4–0 1.000 28 11
Pittsburgh Pirates 2–1 0–0 2–1 .667 15 12
St. Louis Cardinals 2–1 0–3 2–4 .333 14 19
8–2 5–5 13–7 .650 83 54

Game log

2015 Game Log (95–67)[1]
Legend:           = Win           = Loss           = Postponement
Bold = Royals team member

Post-season

American League Division Series vs. Houston Astros

The Houston Astros defeated the New York Yankees 3–0 in the 2015 American League Wild Card Game on Tuesday, October 6, earning them the right to play the Royals in the ALDS.

Game 1, October 8

6:37 p.m. CDT at Kauffman Stadium in Kansas City, Missouri

Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E
Houston 2 1 0 0 1 0 0 1 0 5 11 0
Kansas City 0 1 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 2 6 0
WP: Collin McHugh (1–0)   LP: Yordano Ventura (0–1)   Sv: Luke Gregerson (1)
Home runs:
HOU: George Springer, Colby Rasmus
KC: Kendrys Morales (2)
Royals Pitchers IP H R ER BB SO HR ERA
Yordano Ventura (L, 0–1) 2.0 4 3 3 1 2 0 13.50
Chris Young 4.0 3 1 1 2 7 1 2.25
Kelvin Herrera 1.0 1 0 0 0 2 0 0.00
Ryan Madson 1.0 2 1 1 0 3 1 9.00
Luke Hochevar 1.0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0.00

One season after the Royals blazed through the 2014 ALDS and ALCS with sweeps, they fell to the Astros in their first postseason game of 2015, struggling to manufacture offense against Houston's Collin McHugh. McHugh pitched six innings, holding the Royals to two runs and six hits. The only Kansas City hitter to produce runs was Kendrys Morales, who cracked a pair of solo shots off McHugh in the second and fourth innings. Morales had been the leadoff batter in the second; and in the fourth, the Royals could not put any men on base prior to Morales' second blast. Kansas City's own starter, Yordano Ventura, seemed dazed early, giving up a walk and two hits to the Astros before he recorded the game's first out. Houston then utilized sacrifice ground outs to bring home their first two runs of the game. After surrendering a third run in the second inning, Ventura, having amassed only two innings of work and having struck out two, was replaced by Chris Young following a rain delay. Young would go on to pitch four innings, the most of any Royal in the game. Young put three zeroes on the board against Houston, but the Astros did strike once against him in the fifth, taking a 4–2 lead, as George Springer hit a solo home run to left field. Houston's offense was nightcapped, appropriately, by a Colby Rasmus home run in the eighth; Rasmus had crushed a home run in the wild card game against New York to help the Astros earn a series against the Royals. A loyal crowd in Kansas City tried to unnerve Houston closer Luke Gregerson in the ninth, especially after he hit Mike Moustakas with a pitch, but the final inning was otherwise uneventful, and the Astros sealed their 5–2 Game 1 victory over the Royals with relative ease.

Game 2, October 9

2:47 p.m. CDT at Kauffman Stadium in Kansas City, Missouri

Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E
Houston 1 2 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 4 8 0
Kansas City 0 1 1 0 0 2 1 0 – 5 11 0
WP: Kelvin Herrera (1–0)   LP: Will Harris (0–1)   Sv: Wade Davis (1)
Home runs:
HOU: Colby Rasmus
KC: Salvador Pérez
Royals Pitchers IP H R ER BB SO HR ERA
Johnny Cueto 6.0 7 4 4 3 5 1 6.00
Kelvin Herrera (W, 1–0) 1.0 1 0 0 0 1 0 0.00
Ryan Madson 1.0 0 0 0 0 2 0 0.00
Wade Davis (S, 1) 1.0 0 0 0 1 1 0 0.00

The Royals struck back in Game 2 to force a Game 4 in Houston, but it wasn't easy. They again fell behind early as starter Johnny Cueto's struggles continued, Colby Rasmus doubling to bring in George Springer to give the Astros a 1–0 lead. They would pad it in the second with two more runs off of Cueto, courtesy of a Springer line drive that brought home Chris Carter and Jason Castro, who had previously reached on a single and walk, respectively.

The Royals' offense rolled out of bed in the bottom of the second, with Salvador Pérez cracking a solo shot off of Houston's Scott Kazmir. The Astros negated the effect of the Kansas City run in the top of the third as Rasmus homered for his third consecutive postseason game. Kansas City remained resilient, however, with Alex Ríos doubling, Alcides Escobar singling on an overturned video-review call, and Ben Zobrist hitting a sacrifice ground out to bring Rios home. At the end of the third inning, Houston led 4–2. The Astros' scoring for the evening was over.

Neither team posted a run in the fourth or fifth innings, but the Royals hung their first two-spot in the bottom of the sixth. After Lorenzo Cain doubled with one out, Kazmir was relieved by Óliver Pérez, who was shaky, allowing Eric Hosmer to score Cain. Kendrys Morales then singled and Mike Moustakas drew a walk. Josh Fields entered the game as Houston's third pitcher of the inning. Fields walked yet another batter, bringing home the tying run in Hosmer, before ending the inning with two consecutive strikeouts. Kansas City then took the lead in the bottom of the seventh, Escobar tripling and then being brought home by a Zobrist single. Ryan Madson was effective in relief for Kansas City in the eighth. In the ninth, closer Wade Davis struck out Jed Lowrie, but then walked Preston Tucker. However, in their second challenge victory of the night, a Davis pickoff throw in which Tucker was originally ruled to be safe was overturned, retiring Tucker for the second out of the inning. José Altuve then grounded out to end the game.

Game 3, October 11

3:07 p.m. CDT at Minute Maid Park in Houston, Texas

Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E
Kansas City 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 1 2 7 0
Houston 0 0 0 0 2 1 1 0 – 4 8 1
WP: Dallas Keuchel (1–0)   LP: Edinson Vólquez (0–1)   Sv: Luke Gregerson (2)
Home runs:
KC: Lorenzo Cain, Alex Gordon
HOU: Chris Carter
Royals Pitchers IP H R ER BB SO HR ERA
Edinson Vólquez (L, 0–1) 5.2 5 3 3 4 8 0 4.76
Danny Duffy 0.2 1 1 1 0 0 1 13.50
Luke Hochevar 1.2 2 0 0 0 2 0 0.00

The Kansas City Royals' Edinson Vólquez pitched valiantly, only allowing three of four runs from Houston's power-hitting lineup, but the Astros surged ahead 2–1 in the series anyway on the back of another strong pitching performance from their own starter, Dallas Keuchel, who struck out seven Royal batters and surrendered only a solo home run, a fourth inning blast off the bat of Lorenzo Cain. Kansas City's only other run would come off of Houston relief pitching. Houston's own offense struck in the bottom of the fifth inning, the Astros posting a two-run frame to negate the Cain blast. Volquez, after striking out Carlos Gómez, walked Luis Valbuena, who was then moved over to third base by virtue of a Chris Carter double. Jason Castro then manufactured a ground ball single to score both Carter and Gomez. The Astros then hung two more runs on the Royals, one each in the sixth and seventh. Alex Gordon homered for Kansas City in the top of the ninth, a solo shot off closer Luke Gregerson, but Gregerson then gathered himself and retired the remainder of the Royals' ninth without suffering any further damage, sealing the Houston victory. The Royals now must win in Game 4 on the road to extend the series, and their season, to a Game 5.

Game 4, October 12

October 12, 2015 1:07 p.m. (EDT) at Minute Maid Park in Houston, Texas
Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E
Kansas City 0 2 0 0 0 0 0 5 2 9 8 0
Houston 0 1 1 0 1 0 3 0 0 6 9 1
WP: Ryan Madson (1–0)   LP: Tony Sipp (0–1)   Sv: Wade Davis (2)
Home runs:
KC: Salvador Pérez (2), Eric Hosmer (1)
HOU: Carlos Gómez (1), Carlos Correa 2 (2), Colby Rasmus (3)
Royals Pitchers IP H R ER BB SO HR ERA
Yordano Ventura 5 4 3 3 3 8 2 7.71
Kelvin Herrera 1 0 1 1 2 3 0 3.00
Ryan Madson (W, 1-0) 1 4 2 2 0 2 2 9.00
Wade Davis (S, 2) 2 1 0 0 0 3 0 3.00

The Royals' string of clutch hits in the top of the eighth against a frazzled Houston bullpen restored life to a team that had been pushed to the brink of elimination by Astro starter Lance McCullers. Reliever Ryan Madson was credited with the win for Kansas City in spite of giving up back to back home runs in the bottom of the seventh that had a raucous Minute Maid Park crowd thinking that an Astros seat in the ALCS was all but assured. Houston's Will Harris was charged with four earned runs and Tony Sipp with one during Kansas City's eighth inning comeback.

Game 5, October 14

October 14, 2015 8:07 p.m. (EDT) at Kauffman Stadium in Kansas City, Missouri
Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E
Houston 0 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 2 0
Kansas City 0 0 0 1 3 0 0 3 - 7 8 0
Starting pitchers:
HOU: Collin McHugh
KC: Johnny Cueto
WP: Johnny Cueto (1-0)   LP: Collin McHugh (1-1)   Sv: Wade Davis (3)
Home runs:
HOU: Luis Valbuena
KC: Kendrys Morales
Attendance: 40,566
Royals Pitchers IP H R ER BB SO HR ERA
Johnny Cueto (W, 1–0) 8 2 2 2 0 8 1 3.86
Wade Davis (S, 3) 1 0 0 0 0 1 0 0.00

American League Championship Series vs. Toronto Blue Jays

The Blue Jays had defeated the Texas Rangers three games to two in the 2015 American League Division Series.

Game 1, October 16

October 16, 2015 7:30 p.m. (CDT) at Kauffman Stadium in Kansas City, Missouri
Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E
Toronto 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 3 1
Kansas City 0 0 2 1 0 0 0 2 x 5 8 1
WP: Edinson Vólquez (1–0)   LP: Marco Estrada (0–1)
Home runs:
TOR: None
KC: Salvador Pérez
Attendance: 39,753
Royals Pitchers IP H R ER BB SO HR ERA
Edinson Vólquez (W, 1–0) 6.0 2 0 0 4 5 0 0.00
Kelvin Herrera 1.0 0 0 0 0 2 0 0.00
Ryan Madson 1.0 1 0 0 1 0 0 0.00
Luke Hochevar 1.0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0.00

Game 2, October 17

October 17, 2015 3:30 p.m. (CDT) at Kauffman Stadium in Kansas City, Missouri
Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E
Toronto 0 0 1 0 0 2 0 0 0 3 10 0
Kansas City 0 0 0 0 0 0 5 1 x 6 8 0
WP: Danny Duffy (1–0)   LP: David Price (0–1)   Sv: Wade Davis (1)
Home runs:
TOR: None
KC: None
Attendance: 40,357
Royals Pitchers IP H R ER BB SO HR ERA
Yordano Ventura (0–1) 5.1 8 3 3 2 6 0 5.06
Luke Hochevar 0.2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0.00
Danny Duffy (W, 1-0) 1.0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0.00
Kelvin Herrera 1.0 1 0 0 0 2 0 0.00
Wade Davis (S, 1) 1.0 0 0 0 1 2 0 0.00

This game marked the fourth time the Royals had rallied back from a multi-run deficit to win in this post-season.[2] With the Royals trailing 3–0, Ben Zobrist led off the seventh inning with a pop-up to shallow right field. Second baseman Ryan Goins had a lead on the ball and waived off charging right fielder José Bautista only to duck out of the way at the last moment, allowing the ball to drop for what was ruled a single. The Royals went on to score five runs in the inning.[3] This marked David Price's seventh consecutive playoff loss, tying him with Randy Johnson for the record.[4]

Game 3, October 19

October 19, 2015 7:00 p.m. (CDT) at Rogers Centre in Toronto
Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E
Kansas City 1 0 1 0 2 0 0 0 4 8 15 0
Toronto 0 3 6 0 1 0 0 1 x 11 11 0
WP: Marcus Stroman (1–0)   LP: Johnny Cueto (0–1)
Home runs:
KC: Kendrys Morales
TOR: Troy Tulowitzki, Josh Donaldson, Ryan Goins
Attendance: 49,751
Royals Pitchers IP H R ER BB SO HR ERA
Johnny Cueto (L, 0–1) 2.0* 6 8 8 4 2 1 36.00
Kris Medlen 5.0 3 2 2 1 6 2 3.60
Franklin Morales 1.0 2 1 1 1 1 0 9.00
* Cueto pitched to five batters in the third.

Game 4, October 20

October 20, 2015 3:00 p.m. (CDT) at Rogers Centre in Toronto
Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E
Kansas City 4 1 0 0 0 0 4 3 2 14 15 0
Toronto 0 0 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 7 0
WP: Luke Hochevar (1–0)   LP: R.A. Dickey (0–1)
Home runs:
KC: Ben Zobrist (1), Alex Ríos (1)
TOR: None
Attendance: 49,501
Royals Pitchers IP H R ER BB SO HR ERA
Chris Young 4.2 3 2 2 2 4 0 3.86
Luke Hochevar (W, 1–0) 1.1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0.00
Ryan Madson 1.0 1 0 0 0 2 0 0.00
Kelvin Herrera 1.0 1 0 0 0 1 0 0.00
Franklin Morales 1.0 1 0 0 0 1 0 4.50

This game marked the first time in postseason history that a position player was brought in to pitch. Cliff Pennington of the Blue Jays was brought in during the 9th inning as Toronto's bullpen became increasingly thin after the Royals scoring refused to cease after numerous pitching changes. The players in the dugout and the few remaining fans left found this very amusing. Pennington gave up two unearned runs before retiring the side.[5]

Game 5, October 21

October 21, 2015 3:00 p.m. (CDT) at Rogers Centre in Toronto
Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E
Kansas City 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 1 4 0
Toronto 0 1 0 0 0 4 1 1 x 7 8 0
WP: Marco Estrada (1–1)   LP: Edinson Vólquez (1–1)
Home runs:
KC: Salvador Pérez (2)
TOR: Chris Colabello (1)
Attendance: 49,325
Royals Pitchers IP H R ER BB SO HR ERA
Edison Volquez (L, 1–1) 5.0 3 5 5 4 2 1 4.09
Kelvin Herrera 1.0 1 0 0 0 3 0 0.00
Danny Duffy 2.0 4 2 2 0 5 0 6.00

Game 6, October 23

October 23, 2015 7:07 p.m. (CDT) at Kauffman Stadium in Kansas City, Missouri
Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E
Toronto 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 2 0 3 7 0
Kansas City 1 1 0 0 0 0 1 1 x 4 9 0
WP: Wade Davis (1–0)   LP: Roberto Osuna (0–1)
Home runs:
TOR: José Bautista 2 (2)
KC: Ben Zobrist (2), Mike Moustakas (1)
Attendance: 40,494
Royals Pitchers IP H R ER BB SO HR ERA
Yordano Ventura 5.1 4 1 1 2 5 1 3.38
Kelvin Herrera 1.2 0 0 0 0 2 0 0.00
Ryan Madson 0.1 2 2 2 1 1 1 7.71
Wade Davis (W, 1–0) 1.2 1 0 0 1 3 0 0.00

World Series vs. New York Mets

The New York Mets had defeated the Chicago Cubs four games to zero in the 2015 National League Championship Series.

Game 1, October 27

Tuesday, October 27, 2015 7:07 p.m. (CDT) at Kauffman Stadium in Kansas City, Missouri
Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 R H E
New York 0 0 0 1 1 1 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 4 11 1
Kansas City 1 0 0 0 0 2 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 1 5 11 1
WP: Chris Young (1–0)   LP: Bartolo Colón (0–1)
Home runs:
NYM: Curtis Granderson (1)
KC: Alcides Escobar (1), Alex Gordon (1)
Attendance: 40,320
Royals Pitchers IP H R ER BB SO HR ERA
Edinson Vólquez 6.0 6 3 3 1 3 1 4.50
Danny Duffy 0.2 0 0 0 0 1 0 0.00
Kelvin Herrera 1.13 1 0 0 2 0 0.00
Luke Hochevar 1.0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0.00
Wade Davis 1.0 0 0 00 3 0 0.00
Ryan Madson 1.0 1 0 0 1 2 0 0.00
Chris Young (W, 1–0) 3.00 0 014 0 0.00

The ceremonial first pitch was thrown out by George Brett.[6] Matt Harvey started Game 1 for the Mets, while Edinson Vólquez started for the Royals.[7] Volquez's father died earlier in the day.[8] He was not aware of his father's death until after he left the game.[9]

On the first pitch thrown by Harvey, Alcides Escobar hit an inside-the-park home run, the first in a World Series game since Mule Haas in the 1929 World Series[10][11] (and the first hit by a leadoff batter since Patsy Dougherty did it for the Boston Americans (now Red Sox) in 1903).[12] In the fourth inning, Daniel Murphy recorded the Mets' first hit, and later scored their first run on a hit by Travis d'Arnaud.[13] Curtis Granderson hit a home run in the fifth inning to give the Mets a 2–1 lead.[14] Eric Hosmer reduced the lead to 3–2 with a sacrifice fly, and set a new Royals' postseason run batted in (RBI) record in the process.[15][16] A single by Mike Moustakas tied the game at three, but in the top of the eighth, Wilmer Flores reached on an fielding error by Hosmer, allowing Juan Lagares to score the go-ahead run and give the Mets a 4–3 lead. Alex Gordon tied the game for the Royals with a home run in the bottom of the ninth inning, as Jeurys Familia blew his first save in six opportunities this postseason.[17][18]

In the bottom of the 14th inning, Escobar reached first base on a throwing error by David Wright, and Bartolo Colón gave up a base hit to Ben Zobrist, allowing Escobar to reach third base. Hosmer hit a sacrifice fly to Granderson in right field to drive in the winning run. The game ended at 1:18 AM EDT, lasting five hours and nine minutes.[19] The game tied the record for the longest game by innings in World Series history, shared with Game 2 in 1916 and Game 3 in 2005.[20] The loss made Colón the oldest man ever to lose a World Series game.[21]

Game 2, October 28

Wednesday, October 28, 2015 7:07 p.m. (CDT) at Kauffman Stadium in Kansas City, Missouri
Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E
New York 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 2 1
Kansas City 0 0 0 0 4 0 0 3 x 7 10 0
WP: Johnny Cueto (1–0)   LP: Jacob deGrom (0–1)
Attendance: 40,410
Royals Pitchers IP H R ER BB SO HR ERA
Johnny Cueto (W, 1–0) 9 2 1 1 3 4 0 1.04

In Game 2, Jacob deGrom started for the Mets, and Johnny Cueto started for the Royals.[22] The Mets scored the first run of the game with a Lucas Duda single that scored Murphy in the fourth inning. In the fifth inning, the Royals scored four runs on RBI singles by Alcides Escobar, Eric Hosmer, and Mike Moustakas. The Royals scored three more runs in the eighth inning.[23] Cueto pitched a complete game, the first by an AL pitcher in the World Series since Jack Morris in Game 7 in 1991, as the Royals defeated the Mets and took a two games to zero lead in the series.[24][25]

Game 3, October 30

Friday, October 30, 2015 7:07 p.m. (CDT) at Citi Field in Queens, New York
Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E
Kansas City 1 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 3 7 0
New York 2 0 2 1 0 4 0 0 x 9 12 0
WP: Noah Syndergaard (1–0)   LP: Yordano Ventura (0–1)
Home runs:
KC: None
NYM: David Wright (1), Curtis Granderson (2)
Attendance: 44,781
Royals Pitchers IP H R ER BB SO HR ERA
Yordano Ventura (L, 0–1) 3.1 7 5 5 0 1 2 13.50
Danny Duffy 0.2 0 0 0 0 1 0 0.00
Luke Hochevar 1.0 1 0 0 0 2 00.00
Franklin Morales 0.1 2 4 2 0 0 0 81.00
Kelvin Herrera 0.2 1 0 0 1 1 0 0.00
Ryan Madson 1.0 1 0 0 1 0 0 0.00
Kris Medlen 1.0 0 0 0 0 2 0 0.00

At Citi Field, Game 3 was started by Yordano Ventura of the Royals and Noah Syndergaard of the Mets.[26] The ceremonial 1st pitch was thrown by Mike Piazza.[27] With no designated hitter (DH) in NL parks, the Mets started Michael Conforto, their DH for Game 2, in the outfield instead of Juan Lagares, and the Royals did not start Kendrys Morales, their regular DH.[28] Ben Zobrist scored the Royals' first run in the first inning on a force play. The first pitch thrown by Syndergaard was over the head of Royals shortstop Alcides Escobar causing the Royals to complain. In the bottom of the first inning, David Wright responded with a two-run home run that also scored Curtis Granderson. For the Royals, Alex Ríos drove Salvador Pérez home in the second inning, and scored on a passed ball by Travis d'Arnaud, giving the Royals a 3–2 lead. Granderson hit a two-run home run in the third inning, and the Mets took a 4–3 lead. The Mets added a run in the fourth inning on an RBI single by Conforto, and four more in the sixth inning. The Royals made a few uncharacteristic mistakes in this game, the first coming in the fourth inning when pitcher Yordano Ventura forgot to cover the base on a ground ball to the first baseman, and the second in the sixth inning when Royals pitcher Franklin Morales triple-clutched Granderson's ground ball, allowing all runners to be safe, which led to a 2-run single by David Wright.

In the 5th inning, Royals player Raúl Adalberto Mondesí made his Major League Baseball debut, pinch hitting for Danny Duffy, becoming the first player to ever make their MLB debut in the World Series.[29]

Game 4, October 31

Saturday, October 31, 2015 7:07 p.m. (CDT) at Citi Field in Queens, New York
Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E
Kansas City 0 0 0 0 1 1 0 3 0 5 9 0
New York 0 0 2 0 1 0 0 0 0 3 6 1
WP: Ryan Madson (1–0)   LP: Tyler Clippard (0–1)   Sv: Wade Davis (1)
Home runs:
KC: None
NYM: Michael Conforto 2 (2)
Attendance: 44,815
Royals Pitchers IP H R ER BB SO HR ERA
Chris Young 4.0 2 2 2 1 3 1 2.57
Danny Duffy 1.0 2 1 1 0 1 1 3.86
Luke Hochevar 1.0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0.00
Ryan Madson (W, 1–0) 1.0 0 0 0 0 2 0 0.00
Wade Davis (S, 1) 2.02 0 0 0 2 0 0.00

The ceremonial first pitch was thrown out by country singer Tim McGraw, son of the late Mets relief pitcher Tug McGraw.[30] The starting pitchers for Game 4 are Chris Young of the Royals and Steven Matz of the Mets.[31] Conforto scored the game's first run with a home run in the third inning, and Wilmer Flores scored later in the inning.[32] Conforto hit another home run in the fifth inning, becoming the first rookie to hit two home runs in a World Series game since Andruw Jones in the 1996 World Series.[33] In the sixth inning, Zobrist hit his eighth double of the postseason, tying a postseason record previously set by Albert Pujols and David Freese of the 2011 St. Louis Cardinals.[34] The Royals took the lead in the eighth inning off of Tyler Clippard and Familia, who had his second blown save of the series.

Game 5, November 1

Sunday, November 1, 2015 7:07 p.m. (CST) at Citi Field in Queens, New York
Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 R H E
Kansas City 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 0 0 5 7 10 1
New York 1 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 4 2
WP: Luke Hochevar (1–0)   LP: Addison Reed (0–1)
Home runs:
KC: None
NYM: Curtis Granderson (3)
Attendance: 44,859
Royals Pitchers IP H R ER BB SO HR ERA
Edinson Vólquez 6.0 2 2 1 5 5 1 3.00
Kelvin Herrera 3.0 0 0 0 0 3 0 0.00
Luke Hochevar (W, 1–0) 2.0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0.00
Wade Davis 1.0 1 0 0 0 3 0 0.00

Volquez returned to the Dominican Republic for his father's funeral the day after Game 1, but returned to the Royals in time to start Game 5.[35][36] Harvey started for the Mets.[37] Tony Bennett performed America the Beautiful, and the first pitch was thrown by Cleon Jones, Mookie Wilson, and Darryl Strawberry.[38]

Granderson led off the first inning with a home run for the Mets,[39] and scored the Mets' second run in the sixth inning. Harvey pitched eight shutout innings for the Mets. It appeared manager Terry Collins would go to Familia, his closer, for the ninth inning, but Harvey convinced Collins to keep him in the game. He then gave up a leadoff walk to Lorenzo Cain in the ninth inning, and the Royals got a run when Hosmer drove Cain in with a double, prompting Collins to go get Familia. Hosmer scored the tying run, and Familia blew his third save of the postseason and series; his eight save opportunities tied the postseason record set in 2002 by Robb Nen.[40]

In the top of the twelfth inning, with Addison Reed pitching for the Mets, Pérez hit a single for the Royals. Pinch running for Pérez, Jarrod Dyson stole a base and scored on a single by pinch hitter Christian Colón. Colón scored on a hit by Paulo Orlando, who had substituted into the game earlier. The Royals loaded the bases, and Cain drove home three more runs with a double off Bartolo Colón. Davis pitched a shutout inning for the Royals to complete the series and win the championship; he struck out Wilmer Flores looking to end the game, series, and baseball season.[41][42]

This marked the second consecutive year (and the fourth time in the last six years) that the home team did not win the World Series, thus the trophy presentation was done in the locker room.

Postseason game log

2015 Kansas City Royals Postseason Game Log (11–5)

Bracket

  Wild Card Game
(ALWCG, NLWCG)		 Division Series
(ALDS, NLDS)		 League Championship Series
(ALCS, NLCS)		 World Series
                                     
    1  Kansas City Royals 3  
4  New York Yankees 0     5  Houston Astros 2    
  1  Kansas City Royals 4  
5  Houston Astros 1     American League
  2  Toronto Blue Jays 2    
2  Toronto Blue Jays 3
   
  3  Texas Rangers 2  
    AL  Kansas City Royals 4
  NL  New York Mets 1
    1  St. Louis Cardinals 1    
4  Pittsburgh Pirates 0     5  Chicago Cubs 3    
  5  Chicago Cubs 0
5  Chicago Cubs 1     National League
  3  New York Mets 4  
2  Los Angeles Dodgers 2
   
  3  New York Mets 3  

Roster

2015 Kansas City Royals
Roster
Pitchers Catchers

Infielders

Outfielders

 Manager

Coaches

Statistics

Batting

Note: G = Games played; AB = At bats; R = Runs scored; H = Hits; 2B = Doubles; 3B = Triples; HR = Home runs; RBI = Runs batted in; BB = Base on balls; SO = Strikeouts; AVG = Batting average; SB = Stolen bases

Player G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB SO AVG SB
Joe Blanton, P 15 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 0
Drew Butera, C 45 86 6 17 3 0 1 5 6 24 .198 0
Lorenzo Cain, CF 140 551 101 169 34 6 16 72 37 98 .307 28
Orlando Calixte, SS 2 3 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 0
Dusty Coleman, 3B 4 5 5 0 0 0 0 0 0 3 .000 0
Christian Colón, SS,2B,3B 43 107 8 31 5 0 0 6 11 17 .290 3
Cheslor Cuthbert, 3B 19 46 6 10 2 1 1 8 4 9 .217 0
Jarrod Dyson, OF 90 200 31 50 8 6 2 18 14 37 .250 26
Alcides Escobar, SS 148 612 76 157 20 5 3 47 26 75 .257 17
Jonny Gomes, RF,DH 12 30 2 5 2 0 0 4 3 14 .167 0
Alex Gordon, LF 104 354 40 96 18 0 13 48 49 92 .271 2
Terrance Gore, OF 9 3 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 .000 3
Jeremy Guthrie, P 30 4 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 .250 0
Eric Hosmer, 1B 158 599 98 178 33 5 18 93 61 108 .297 7
Omar Infante, 2B 124 440 39 97 23 7 2 44 9 69 .220 2
Erik Kratz, C 4 4 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 2 .000 0
Kris Medlen, P 15 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 0
Kendrys Morales, DH 158 569 81 165 41 2 22 106 58 103 .290 0
Mike Moustakas, 3B 147 549 73 156 34 1 22 82 43 76 .284 1
Paulo Orlando, RF 86 241 31 60 14 6 7 27 5 53 .249 3
Francisco Peña, C 8 7 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 3 .143 0
Salvador Pérez, C 142 531 52 138 25 0 21 70 13 82 .260 1
Alex Ríos, RF 105 385 40 98 22 2 4 32 15 67 .255 9
Yordano Ventura, P 28 6 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 5 .000 0
Edinson Vólquez, P 34 6 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 4 .000 0
Chris Young, P 34 4 0 2 0 0 0 3 0 1 .500 0
Ben Zobrist, 2B,LF,3B 59 232 37 66 16 1 7 23 29 30 .284 2

Pitching

Note: W = Wins; L = Losses; ERA = Earned run average; G = Games pitched; GS = Games started; SV = Saves; IP = Innings pitched; H = Hits allowed; R = Runs allowed; ER = Earned runs allowed; HR = Home runs allowed; BB = Walks allowed; K = Strikeouts

Player W L ERA G GS SV IP H R ER HR BB K
Scott Alexander 0 0 4.50 4 0 0 6.0 5 3 3 0 3 3
Miguel Almonte 0 2 6.23 9 0 0 8.2 7 6 6 4 7 10
Joe Blanton 2 2 3.89 15 4 2 41.2 43 19 18 6 7 40
Aaron Brooks 0 0 6.23 2 0 0 4.1 6 3 3 0 0 3
Joba Chamberlain 0 0 7.94 6 0 0 5.2 6 5 5 1 4 8
Louis Coleman 1 0 0.00 4 0 0 3.0 1 0 0 0 2 1
Johnny Cueto 4 7 4.76 13 13 0 81.1 101 45 43 10 17 56
Wade Davis 8 1 0.94 69 0 17 67.1 33 8 7 3 20 78
Danny Duffy 7 8 4.08 30 24 1 136.2 137 64 62 15 53 102
Brandon Finnegan 3 0 2.96 14 0 0 24.1 16 8 8 3 13 21
Jason Frasor 1 0 1.54 26 0 0 23.1 24 5 4 1 15 18
Jeremy Guthrie 8 8 5.95 30 24 0 148.1 186 101 98 29 44 84
Kelvin Herrera 4 3 2.71 72 0 0 69.2 52 23 21 5 26 64
Luke Hochevar 1 1 3.73 49 0 1 50.2 49 23 21 7 16 49
Greg Holland 3 2 3.83 48 0 32 44.2 39 20 19 2 26 49
Ryan Madson 1 2 2.13 68 0 3 63.1 47 17 15 5 14 58
Michael Mariot 0 0 3.00 2 0 0 3.0 2 1 1 1 2 1
Kris Medlen 6 2 4.01 15 8 0 58.1 56 30 26 6 18 40
Franklin Morales 4 2 3.18 67 0 0 62.1 58 24 22 4 14 41
Yohan Pino 0 2 3.26 7 1 0 19.1 23 8 7 2 3 13
Jason Vargas 5 2 3.98 9 9 0 43.0 46 20 19 5 12 27
Yordano Ventura 13 8 4.08 28 28 0 163.1 154 75 74 14 58 156
Edinson Vólquez 13 9 3.55 34 33 0 200.1 190 89 79 16 72 155
Chris Young 11 6 3.06 34 18 0 123.1 91 44 42 16 43 83

Farm system

Level Team League Manager
AAA Omaha Storm Chasers Pacific Coast League Brian Poldberg
AA Northwest Arkansas Naturals Texas League Vance Wilson
A-Advanced Wilmington Blue Rocks Carolina League Brian Buchanan
A Lexington Legends South Atlantic League Omar Ramirez
Rookie Burlington Royals Appalachian League Scott Thorman
Rookie Idaho Falls Chukars Pioneer League Justin Gemoll
Rookie DSL Royals Dominican Summer League Jose Gualdron

References

  1. ↑ "2015 Kansas City Royals Sortable Schedule". Kansas City Royals.
  2. ↑ Chisholm, Gregor; Flanagan, Jeffrey (October 17, 2015). "KC pops Price's bubble in 7th for 2-0 lead". mlb.com. Kansas City, Missouri. Retrieved October 20, 2015.
  3. ↑ Corcoran, Cliff (October 17, 2015). "Royals come from behind to defeat Blue Jays in Game 2 of ALCS". Sports Illustrated (Kansas City, Missouri). Retrieved October 18, 2015.
  4. ↑ "Five-run rally against David Price sparks Royals to 2-0 advantage". ESPN News Services (Kansas City, Missouri: ESPN Internet Ventures). Associated Press. October 17, 2015. Retrieved October 20, 2015.
  5. ↑ "Jays’ Pennington becomes first position player to pitch in playoffs". Sports Illustrated. Retrieved 1 November 2015.
  6. ↑ SI Wire. "World Series Game 1: George Brett to throw out first pitch – MLB". SI.com. Retrieved October 31, 2015.
  7. ↑ Normandin, Marc. "It's Matt Harvey vs. Edinson Vólquez in World Series Game 1". SBNation.com. Vox Media. Retrieved October 28, 2015.
  8. ↑ Snyder, Matt (October 27, 2015). "Edinson Vólquez's father dies on day of World Series Game 1". cbssports.com. Kansas City, Missouri: CBS Interactive. Retrieved October 28, 2015.
  9. ↑ Gonzalez, Alden (October 28, 2015). "Volquez learns of father's death after start". MLB.com. Kansas City, Missouri. Retrieved October 28, 2015.
  10. ↑ Gonzalez, Alden (October 28, 2015). "Escobar's inside-the-park HR one for the ages". mlb.com. Kansas City, Missouri. Retrieved October 28, 2015.
  11. ↑ Snyder, Matt (October 28, 2015). "Alcides Escobar hits 1st World Series inside-the-park HR since 1929". cbssports.com. Kansas City, Missouri: CBS Interactive. Retrieved October 27, 2015.
  12. ↑ Berg, Ted (October 27, 2015). "Alcides Escobar hits leadoff inside-the-park home run in World Series Game 1". USA Today (Kansas City, Missouri). Retrieved October 28, 2015.
  13. ↑ Bloom, Barry (October 28, 2015). "No HR, but Murphy has 10-game hit streak". MLB. Kansas City, Missouri. Retrieved October 28, 2015.
  14. ↑ Hoch, Bryan (October 28, 2015). "Granderson goes deep, robs hit in Series return". mlb.com. Kansas City, Missouri. Retrieved October 28, 2015.
  15. ↑ Flanagan, Jeffrey (October 28, 2015). "Hosmer gets redemption with walk-off RBI". mlb.com. Kansas City, Missouri: MLB Advanced Media, LP. Retrieved October 28, 2015.
  16. ↑ "World Series 2015: Mets 4–5 Royals — as it happened". The Guardian. October 28, 2015. Retrieved October 28, 2015.
  17. ↑ Hagen, Paul (October 28, 2015). "Gordon's heroics rewrite Game 1 ending". mlb.com. Kansas City, Missouri. Retrieved October 28, 2015.
  18. ↑ Crasnick, Jerry (October 28, 2015). "Eric Hosmer's sac fly in 14th gives Royals dramatic Game 1 win". ESPN.com. Kansas City, Missouri. Retrieved October 28, 2015.
  19. ↑ Burke, Matt (October 28, 2015). "Mets fall to Royals in a 14-inning Game 1 World Series classic". Metro.us. Retrieved October 28, 2015.
  20. ↑ McCalvy, Adam (October 27, 2015). "Fall Classic opener longest Game 1 in WS history". Major League Baseball Advanced Media, LP. Retrieved October 28, 2015.
  21. ↑ Verducci, Tom. "Life and death provided backdrop for wild, historic World Series opener". Sports Illustrated. Retrieved 1 November 2015.
  22. ↑ Schoenfield, David (October 28, 2015). "Game 2 pitching preview: Jacob deGrom versus Johnny Cueto". ESPN.com. Retrieved October 28, 2015.
  23. ↑ "Royals go up 2-0 on Mets in World Series behind Johnny Cueto's 2-hitter". ESPN News Services (Kansas City, Missouri). Associated Press. October 29, 2015. Retrieved October 29, 2015.
  24. ↑ "Johnny Cueto outpitches Jacob deGrom as Royals take 2-0 World Series lead". The Guardian. October 29, 2015. Retrieved October 29, 2015.
  25. ↑ Lacques, Gabe (October 29, 2015). "Royals' Johnny Cueto makes history with World Series complete game". USA Today (Kansas City, Missouri). Retrieved October 29, 2015.
  26. ↑ Justice, Richard. "Ventura vs. Thor a showdown of MLB's hardest throwers". MLB.com. Retrieved 31 October 2015.
  27. ↑ Kerber, Fred. "Mike Piazza kicks off Game 3 with ‘doo-doo’ 1st pitch". New York Post. Retrieved 31 October 2015.
  28. ↑ Simon, Andrew. "Conforto in LF for Mets; Morales out for KC". MLB.com. Retrieved 31 October 2015.
  29. ↑ "Royals' Raul A. Mondesi, 20, makes World Series history with debut". ESPN. Retrieved 31 October 2015.
  30. ↑ "World Series 2015: Demi Lovato to sing Game 4 national anthem, Tim McGraw gets 1st pitch". NJ.com.
  31. ↑ "Blogs - Sports Blogs - ESPN". ESPN.com. Retrieved October 31, 2015.
  32. ↑ "Royals Alex Rios loses track of outs in Game 4". Major League Baseball.
  33. ↑ "Mets Michael Conforto homers twice in Game 4". Major League Baseball.
  34. ↑ "Alcides Escobar, Ben Zobrist notch records". Major League Baseball.
  35. ↑ Flanagan, Jeffrey. "Royals expect Volquez to return today". MLB.com. Retrieved October 31, 2015.
  36. ↑ Waldstein, David (November 1, 2015). "For Royals’ Edinson Volquez, a Bittersweet Start in His Father’s Memory". The New York Times. Retrieved November 1, 2015.
  37. ↑ "In Game 5, Matt Harvey looks to make his own statement". lohud.com. October 31, 2015. Retrieved November 2, 2015.
  38. ↑ "Mets announce that a music legend will sing before Game 5". NJ.com. Retrieved November 2, 2015.
  39. ↑ "Granderson homers to give Mets early le". Major League Baseball. Retrieved November 2, 2015.
  40. ↑ Perry, Dayn (November 1, 2015). "2015 World Series: Mets' Matt Harvey talks his way in, and it backfires". CBS Sports. Retrieved November 1, 2015.
  41. ↑ "Watch: Christian Colon delivers 12th-inning game-winning RBI for Royals". Sports Illustrated. November 2, 2015. Retrieved November 1, 2015.
  42. ↑ Keh, Andrew (November 2, 2015). "Royals Battle Back Against Mets Then Win World Series With an Outburst". The New York Times. Retrieved November 1, 2015.

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