KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Alex Gordon hit a tying home run with one out in the ninth inning, Eric Hosmer hit a sacrifice fly against Bartolo Colon in the 14th and the Kansas City Royals beat the New York Mets, 5-4, on Tuesday night in the longest opener in World Series history.
Making his World Series debut at age 42, Colon escaped a bases-loaded jam in the 12th, then got out of trouble again after allowing a leadoff hit in the 13th.
Alcides Escobar, who hit an inside-the-park home run on Matt Harvey’s first pitch of the night, reached leading off the 14th on an error by third baseman David Wright, who bobbled his grounder and then made a wide throw that pulled Lucas Duda off first base.
Ben Zobrist singled him to third and Lorenzo Cain was intentionally walked, loading the bases. Hosmer flied to right, and Escobar scored standing up ahead of Curtis Granderson’s throw.
Chris Young, the Royals’ presumptive Game 4 starter, pitched three hitless innings to earn the win.
Gordon hit a soaring home run to center field with one out in the ninth off Mets closer Jeurys Familia, tying the score at 4-4.
It was the first blown save for Familia since July 30, and the second home run this postseason for Gordon, the Royals’ popular left-fielder.
The game was delayed for about seven minutes with one out in the bottom of the fourth inning when Fox’s video feed failed, causing both teams to lose access to their replay rooms.
Umpires spoke with managers of both teams and also put on headsets, presumably to speak with Major League Baseball’s replay center in New York. When play resumed, the U.S. telecast switched to the international feed.
The U.S. broadcast returned at the start of the bottom of the fifth inning, after Curtis Granderson put the Mets ahead, 2-1, with a home run off Edinson Volquez with one out in the top half.
Volquez lasted six innings, allowing six hits on three runs with three strikeouts, and pitched hours after finding out his father had died of complications of heart disease in his native Dominican Republic.
Harvey also lasted six innings, giving up five hits with three runs awhile striking out two batters.
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