Bryan Hoch of MLB.com reports that Mets utility infielder, Kelly Johnson will be the DH for the Game 1 of the 2015 World Series against the Kansas City Royals at Kauffman Stadium. Johnson will look to provide some pop to the DH position where the Mets have had trouble finding the right guy.
“Kelly is going to DH tomorrow,” manager Terry Collins said. “We’ll worry about Wednesday when it comes.”
Johnson, who has some history against game one starter, Edinson Volquez could be part of the reason for that decision. He has gone 4-for-14 against the Royals right hander with a double and two RBI’s. Johnson has had sparse postseason play thus far, in a pinch hitting role only appearing six times while hitting one single. Kelly sees no qualms though of getting dialed in for the biggest game of his career.
“I think the adrenaline of this World Series is going to be enough,” Johnson said. “I’ll obviously be able to have an at-bat to build on to the next one, rather than just to pinch-hit where you have to just throw it away. We’ll see what happens. The game will play out, whether there’s guys on when I come up or a situation to be had, I’ll be ready.”
He had had considerable time as a DH in his career as he played for every AL East team sans the Boston Red Sox. He is 19-for-91 with three home-runs as a designated hitter. The experience against Volquez may have contributed a bit to the decision to use him in this spot, but Johnson doesn’t see that as having a huge impact.
“To me, that makes it a little bit irrelevant,” he said. “I guess if there’s anything, there’s going to be some comfort there in having seen him if I look at some video. At least I’ll be able to see how he throws and how he attacked me. It’s been a while, but there will be something there.”
Many had thought that the Mets may look to fortify the outfield defense in a series where errors could mean a ball game by utilizing both Yoenis Cespedes and Juan Lagares. But the Mets and Terry Collins are content with how things shake out with their lineup and defense.
“We’re pretty happy with our outfield defense,” Collins said. “This is a big park, like ours. I think Yoenis has shown that he can play center field. And if we need to make moves, we’ll make moves later in the game.”
Tonight’s the night. Game one of the World Series starts at 8:07 PM EST with Matt Harvey taking the mound for the New York Mets as they look for their first championship since 1986.
