World Series 2015: Royals set rotation, Edinson Volquez to start Game 1

Marc Lancaster

World Series 2015: Royals set rotation, Edinson Volquez to start Game 1 image

Ned Yost waited as long as he could to reveal the Royals' World Series rotation, but it contains no surprises.

Edinson Volquez will get the ball Tuesday for Game 1 against the Mets, followed by Johnny Cueto for Game 2, Yordano Ventura for Game 3 and Chris Young for Game 4.

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Yost unveiled his starters Monday in Kansas City. Mets manager Terry Collins had announced Saturday that he would start Matt Harvey in Game 1, followed by Jacob deGrom, Noah Syndergaard and Steven Matz.

The Royals' rotation is driven by their desire to keep Cueto comfortable at home. After a brilliant AL Division Series Game 5 performance against the Astros at Kauffman Stadium (eight innings, two runs), the right-hander was battered by the Blue Jays in Toronto in the ALCS (two innings, eight runs).

The World Series rotation means Cueto would pitch in Kansas City in Game 2 and in Game 6, if necessary. It should be noted that Cueto, who spent most of his career in the National League, has a 3.60 ERA in five starts at Citi Field and a 3.88 ERA in eight starts at Kauffman Stadium.

Volquez's career postseason numbers are uninspiring (1-4, 6.56 ERA in five starts), but the Royals will hope he can build on his last home outing, six shutout innings against the Blue Jays in the ALCS opener.

"It's another game," Volquez said Monday of his Game 1 start. "I don't have to do anything different than what I've been doing. I've got to stay focused in what you're doing, especially this game, because this is a World Series game. You don't have too many chance to make a lot of mistakes in those games. So I've got to stay under control and pitch your game."

Marc Lancaster

Marc Lancaster Photo

Marc Lancaster joined The Sporting News in 2022 after working closely with TSN for five years as an editor for the company now known as Stats Perform. He previously worked as an editor at The Washington Times, AOL’s FanHouse.com and the old CNNSportsIllustrated.com, and as a beat writer covering the Tampa Bay Rays, Cincinnati Reds, and University of Georgia football and women’s basketball. A Georgia graduate, he has been a Baseball Hall of Fame voter since 2013.