KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Following the final out, after Johnny Cueto completed his two-hitter, several hundred fans remained in Kauffman Stadium, wanting one more look at the Kansas City Royals.
The next time they see Eric Hosmer and his teammates may be in a parade.
After smothering the Mets 7-1 Wednesday night with Cueto and their pesky offense, the Royals have a 2-0 World Series lead and can capture their first title since 1985 when play resumes at New York’s Citi Field this weekend.
“As a hitter, it’s all about timing, and he disrupted it tonight for sure,” Mets captain David Wright said after an 0-for-4 night.
Rather than look ahead and anticipate a celebration, Hosmer thought back to Kansas City’s crushing seven-game loss to the Giants in 2014.
“There’s still a lot of work yet to do,” he said. “Last year we took a 2-1 lead in San Francisco and were feeling pretty good about ourselves.”
After Thursday’s off day, Citi Field hosts its first World Series game Friday. Forty-one of the 51 teams to take 2-0 leads in best-of-seven World Series have gone on to win the title, including nine straight since Atlanta stumbled against the New York Yankees in 1996.
“I don’t want it coming back here,” Alcides Escobar said. “I want to finish it there.”
