On a crisp and cool October night, and in front of a filled to capacity Citi Field, the New York Mets treated their fans to an unforgettable night of pulse-pounding baseball as they beat the Kansas City Royals 9-3 in Game 3 of the World Series.
It all began with beautifully produced pre-game ceremony highlighted by Billy Joel singing the National Anthem and Mets Hall of Famer Mike Piazza throwing out the first pitch.
Beautiful Citi Field was decked out in all her glory, hosting its first ever World Series game since opening in 2009.
Rookie right-hander Noah Syndergaard set the tone with a first pitch fastball that buzzed Alcides Escobar and sent him sprawling to the ground. Right fielder Curtis Granderson provided the early fireworks with a two-run blast.
“I feel like it really made a statement to start the game off,” Syndergaard said. “That you guys can’t dig in and get too aggressive because I’ll come in there.” He finished the night by retiring 12 straight Royals, allowing three early runs in six mostly dominant innings.
The bullpen did a fantastic job and the offense cam alive with nine different players each collecting at least one hit. Two of those hits were big ones for Juan Uribe, Yoenis Cespedes, Michael Conforto and Juan Lagares.
Third baseman David Wright had the best performance of the evening, crushing two-run homer the first and slashing a two-run single late in the game. “This is what you dream about as a kid,’’ said Wright. “You can’t describe the excitement of hitting the home run, and crossing home plate, high-fiving your teammates and looking up into the stands and just seeing people going absolutely nuts.”
The wild and delirious fans also stole the show with their loud and thunderous support for their hometown heroes. It was a magical evening that none of us will soon forget. Put it in the books, keep it in your hearts, and don’t stop believing!
