With Game 3 of New York Mets vs Kansas City Royals MLB World Series shifting in New York's Citi Field on Friday, 8 p.m. ET (7:30 p.m. ET air time on FOX, 8 p.m. game time), pressure is on for the New York Mets if they can make a comeback from a 0-2 deficit following their 7-1 loss against the Kansas City Royals during Wednesday's Game 2.
Statistics are not on the side of the Mets. Historically, team who were up 2-0 in the World Series have gone on to win the championship in 42 of 53 times (79.2 percent), while teams that have won the first two games of a World Series at home have gone on to win 31 of 38 times (81.6 percent). Only 13 teams in the World Series history were able to comeback from a 2-0 deficit, but 10 of those teams lost Games 1 and 2 on the road.
Only ten teams in the Major League Baseball (MLB) have returned from a 0-2 hole and Mets will have their chance on Friday if they will be able to duplicate their feat 29 years ago when they clawed back and won the championship in 1986 after being down 0-2 against the Boston Red Sox.
"We know we're a good team," captain David Wright said. "We're playing in the World Series. We don't need to be reminded that we're a good team. You've just got to look on your shoulder and see that patch. That should give you all the confidence that you need."
But the Royals have so far managed to shake the Mets' starting staff more than staff expected. Indeed Manager Terry Collins admits some concerns that his young starters might hit a wall in the coming games.
Collins confides, "That certainly is a possibility. I'm not going to say it's not. But I'm not going to sit here and say that. It's the World Series. We've got to make pitches, and we're not making them."
On Friday, the Mets will be relying on 23-year-old Noah Syndergaard, the 6-foot-6, 240-pound pitcher they call "Thor."
"Obviously, we didn't plan this to happen, to be down 0-2," said Syndergaard, who will become the third-youngest Met (behind Dwight Gooden in 1986 and Gary Gentry in 1969) to start a World Series game. "Coming back home is a big thing for us. Having the Mets faithful behind us and the greatest fans in baseball. Part of the reason our team has had so much success this year is being able to handle the resiliency and come together as a team, overcome and win some ballgames."
The Royals still have two more ballgames to win -- a situation they found themselves in when they took a 2-1 lead on the Giants in last year's World Series. In 2014, an 11-4 drubbing in Game 4 kept them in check, and then Madison Bumgarner dominated Game 5 to swing the Series back in San Francisco's favor. So while the Royals have been confident all year in their ability to nail this down, they also know well not to assume anything at this stage.
"That's a great ball club over there," third baseman Mike Moustakas said. "We've still got to find a way to beat a great team. The way they can play, we've got to keep battling and keep putting pressure on them."
TV Channel: All games will be televised on FOX.
Online: You can watch a live stream of every game on Fox Sports GO
