In the era of interleague play, there is less mystery in World Series matchups than there was when American and National League players only ever saw each other in the All-Star Game and Fall Classic. The meeting of the Mets and Royals is about as fresh as we can get.
The Mets and Royals have played only nine games against each other, with only a three-game series in 2013 between them in the past 10 years. The last time they met was August 4, 2013, in Queens – a 6-2 win for the Royals behind six strong innings from Ervin Santana and a home run by Mike Moustakas. That victory gave the Royals the lead in the all-time series between the clubs, at a whopping 5-4. The next meeting between the teams had been scheduled for opening day of next season, a day in Kansas City that gets a little more interesting now.
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There also is not a lot of trade history between the teams — they have not made a deal since Dec. 6, 2006, when the Mets sent Brian Bannister to Kansas City for Ambiorix Burgos. The best-known trades between the Mets and Royals happened long ago, the Mets' acquistions of David Cone in 1987 and Bret Saberhagen in 1991, though on an interesting note, New York traded Justin Huber to Kansas City for Jose Bautista in 2004, long before Bautista was the player whose two home runs on Friday night nearly kept the Royals from getting to their second straight World Series.
The last time they played, the Royals were much closer to their current form than the Mets, with Moustakas joined in that Sunday afternoon lineup by Eric Hosmer, Alex Gordon, Lorenzo Cain and Alcides Escobar, with Jarrod Dyson pinch-running.
Greg Holland worked the final inning that day, in a non-save situation, joining Mets starter Zack Wheeler as pitchers from that game who are still part of their teams but will miss the World Series because of Tommy John surgery.
The only New York players who played in the last Mets-Royals game are Daniel Murphy, Juan Lagares and the departed-and-returned Eric Young. If you’re wondering about David Wright, he was on the disabled list with a hamstring injury.
Of the Mets’ four starters for the World Series, only Matt Harvey had even made his major league debut. Jacob deGrom was in Triple-A, Noah Syndergaard was in Double-A and Steven Matz was in Single-A.
Here are the lineups from the last time the Royals played the Mets. Think back and remember a world where Kansas City won to go to 56-52 while New York slipped to 49-60.
Royals
RF David Lough
2B Miguel Tejada
1B Eric Hosmer
LF Alex Gordon
CF Lorenzo Cain
3B Mike Moustakas
SS Alcides Escobar
C George Kottaras
P Ervin Santana
Subs used: Jarrod Dyson, Elliot Johnson, Billy Butler
Relief pitchers: Tim Collins, Louis Coleman, Greg Holland
Mets
LF Eric Young
2B Daniel Murphy
3B Josh Satin
RF Marlon Byrd
1B Ike Davis
CF Juan Lagares
C John Buck
SS Omar Quintanilla
P Zack Wheeler
Subs used: Mike Baxter, Andrew Brown, Justin Turner
Relief pitchers: Gonzalez Germen, Scott Rice, Carlos Torres, LaTroy Hawkins