Story highlights
NEW: Royals pitcher Johnny Cueto pitches complete game
Royals came alive in the fifth, scoring four times
Going into Game 2, baseball experts expected great pitching from New York Mets starter Jacob deGrom.
They weren’t sure what fans would see from Kansas City hurler Johnny Cueto.
Cueto was terrible in his most recent postseason start before Wednesday, giving up eight runs to the Blue Jays in the ALCS. He had mixed results in two games in the division series.
But he apparently loves the mound at Kansas City’s Kauffman Stadium.
In Game 2, he was far better than deGrom, and the Royals took a commanding 2-0 lead in the Series with a 7-1 victory.
Cueto pitched a complete game, giving up just two hits, both to Lucas Duda.
DeGrom was sterling through four innings then faltered in the bottom of the fifth, giving up four runs on five singles. He also walked the leadoff batter, a huge baseball no-no.
It was the first time deGrom, who was replaced by Hansel Robles in the sixth, had given up more than two runs in a playoff game.
The Royals picked up three insurance runs in the eighth.
For more on Game 2, follow Bleacher Report’s live blog
Volquez mourns father
When Edinson Volquez slipped into the clubhouse after being taken out of Game 1 he was greeted by his wife, kids, brother and Royals General Manager Dayton Moore. They took him into the manager’s office and closed the door.
His father, the man who prodded him to take up baseball, was dead. Daniel Volquez, 63, died in the Dominican Republic from complications of a heart condition, MLB.com reported.
The pitcher and his family flew to the Dominican Republic for the funeral, but Volquez told Royals Manager Ned Yost that he would see the team in New York. Yost said he fully expects to see Volquez on the mound in Game 5, which would be Sunday, if necessary.
Royal cover
Little Beckett Parrigon was born with torticollis, a condition in which neck muscles cause his head to turn. Now his head is misshapen, his mother, Ebony Parrigon tells CNN affiliate WDAF.
Parrigon designed a molding helmet that looks like a baseball and has the Kansas City Royals’ logos on it.
Her son will have to wear it 23 hours a day, possibly for as long as six months.
But he’ll be looking cool.
“I think it made a bad situation a very exciting and fun situation. It’s super cute, super cute,” Parrigon told WDAF.
Sleep? O-ver-ra-ted!
“It’s the World Series. Nobody gets much sleep,” Yost said after getting just two-and-half hours rest following Tuesday’s 14-inning game. “It’s kind of exhausting, but it’s exhilarating at the same time.”
