Royals doomed by fielding mistakes in Game 3 loss to Mets

In the span of three seconds — a spinning, indecisive, manic three seconds — reliever Franklin Morales let Game 3 of this World Series slip through his unsure fingers.

The end result was a fielding gaffe that would blow open the game in the bottom of the sixth, the death-knell sequence in the Royals’ 9-3 loss to the Mets at Citi Field on Friday night. The lapse would define a night of shaky defense from the Royals’ hurlers, and leave Morales explaining a bizarre sequence.

Here was the scene: In the bottom of the sixth inning, with the Royals still within striking distance, Morales worked with runners at the corners, coaxing a comebacker from Mets outfielder Curtis Granderson. Morales, a left-hander, immediately spun to second, where a strong throw could have started an inning-ending double play. But then Morales inexplicably turned back toward home plate, looking Wilmer Flores back to third. By the time Morales, turned back toward second, peaking at third in the process, Juan Uribe was bearing down toward second. Morales could only uncork an off-balance throw that spiked into the dirt wide of second and found a surprised Ben Zobrist, who was backing up the play.

Morales said he thought catcher Salvador Perez called out “home”, asking for a throw.

“I tried to throw [to] second,” Morales said. “And I heard ‘home’.”

Just like that, the Mets had the bases loaded, Morales’ night was done, and the Mets would soon bust open the game on a two-run single from third baseman David Wright. Morales, who recorded just one out, was charged with four runs and two hits, exacerbating the damage after a shaky start from Yordano Ventura, who allowed five earned runs in 3 1/3 innings and had his own defensive wobble in the fourth.

After allowing a single and a double to open the inning, Ventura got Michael Conforto to hit a chopper to the hole at second. First baseman Eric Hosmer ranged to his right, fielding the ball, but Ventura did not cover first base, and Conforto was safe with an RBI infield single.

“My instinct was to watch the ball right there and kind of just look at Hos and see if he was going to go home or something,” Ventura said through translator Christian Colon. “And [I} just got caught watching the play.”

The miscue did not add to the damage. The run would have scored anyway, and Ventura came back to retire Flores on a popper to first. Next, left-hander Danny Duffy came on, recording two outs to end the threat.

But the moment set the theme for Friday night. Here was Ventura, forgetting to cover first base. There was Morales, losing his head at the worst possible moment. Here were the Royals, looking mortal after a rough night in New York.

“I don't feel good at all,” Ventura said. “I had a chance to put the team 3-0, and I didn't do that. But I'll wake up tomorrow ready to cheer on my guys … and it's just part of it. We're still up 2-1.”

This story was originally published October 30, 2015 at 10:54 PM with the headline "Royals doomed by fielding mistakes in Game 3 loss to Mets."