KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — The latest on the World Series, which opens Tuesday night with the Kansas City Royals hosting the New York Mets (all times local):
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6:35 p.m.
The tarp is off the field at Kauffman Stadium, and the Royals and Mets are starting to warm up for a dreary Game 1 of the World Series.
Rain has fallen all day in Kansas City, at times quite heavily. But meteorologists expect it to taper off shortly after the 7:07 p.m. first pitch, and there is only a 20 percent of light showers by 10 p.m.
The rain hasn’t put a damper on the enthusiasm of Royals fans. Many of them sat in the rain when there was nothing to see but the tarp, just happy to be in the stadium for the Royals’ second consecutive World Series appearance.
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5:20 p.m.
Johnny Cueto is scheduled to start Game 2 for Kansas City and potentially Game 6 — both at home.
Cueto appeared to get a bit rattled in Toronto during one of the worst starts of his career in the AL Championship Series, but manager Ned Yost says that had no impact on the order of the World Series rotation.
“No, I feel like he’s pitched great games here. He really draws on the energy of our fans. And again, I felt like you try to put everybody in a position where they can be successful,” Yost said. “We just felt it was the best move.”
Jacob deGrom will pitch Game 2 for the Mets. He is 3-0 with a 1.80 ERA in three postseason outings — all away from home.
“I just like pitching,” deGrom said. “On the road, it doesn’t really matter. I’ve actually enjoyed pitching on the road in the postseason. You go out there and you’re getting booed and it’s fun to try to silence the crowd.”
New York has seen plenty of Cueto from his days in the National League with Cincinnati. The right-hander is 3-4 with a 4.02 ERA in 11 starts against the Mets
“Seems like every time we played the Reds he was pitching,” Mets manager Terry Collins said. “Now with his new delivery alterations he’s made, you better get your feet on the ground. Because this guy can quick-pitch you. He can make you wait. So you better get ready to hit as soon as you get in the batter’s box. That certainly is something unique to him.”
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4:45 p.m.
Terry Collins was selected NL Manager of the Year by Sporting News.
The New York Mets’ skipper beat out St. Louis’ Mike Matheny in voting conducted before the postseason by a panel of 13 National League managers
“It’s a tremendous honor. I’m humbled by that, because there are some great managers in this league,” Collins said. “But I like to sit where I’m sitting. I like where I’m at, not where some of those guys are. I’m thrilled by it.”
The only other Mets manager to win the award was Gil Hodges in 1969, Sporting News said.
Collins, in his fifth season with the Mets, received seven votes to five for Matheny. Joe Maddon of the Chicago Cubs got one.
“The only reason why I’m sitting here is I have good players. And I owe them everything,” Collins said. “Very special coming from the managers, and I’m honored.”
Hall of Famer Paul Molitor was the AL winner in his first year with the Minnesota Twins.
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4:05 p.m.
Before the World Series opener, Royals manager Ned Yost was asked about his time as a taxidermist.
“My uncle ran a bowling alley there in Jackson, Mississippi. And they had a storage room out back. And that was my winter job,” he said. “We’d go deer hunting and we’d do taxidermy in the back of the bowling alley back there. It was a lot of fun. The bowling alley is still there, but there’s nothing in the back but old bowling balls and old pins there, I think.”
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4 p.m.
Royals manager Ned Yost is in favor of trying to play through light rain.
“MLB keeps saying that they think we’re going to be OK,” he said. “There will be periods of mist and maybe some light rain. Hopefully not. But I think it’s a much better alternative than playing five straight. So we just go out and play our game.”
In the event of a rainout, the Royals would host the first two games Wednesday and Thursday, and the Series would resume Friday in New York, without an off day.
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3:35 p.m.
Batting practice has been canceled because of rain ahead of the World Series opener, and players will hit in indoor cages.
“I talked to MLB and they pretty much asked, Is it a big factor if we start in a slight drizzle? And I said no,” Mets manager Terry Collins said. “Obviously the thing we can’t have is some big front moving in where we stop this thing in the middle of the game. That’s the issue it comes to.”
Matt Harvey was scheduled to start for the Mets and Edinson Volquez for the Royals.
“It’s supposed to stop in the middle of the game sometime,” Collins said. “But if it doesn’t and we get some heavy rain or something has to stop the game, that would be a situation that both teams would have a tough time with.”
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3:10 p.m.
The weather update 4 hours from first pitch at the World Series: Still raining.
The white tarp is still covering the infield, blue tarps are still covering the nicely painted World Series logos. Every television set and camera inside Kauffman Stadium is covered in some sort of tarp to protect against a persistent drizzle.
Meteorologist Mike July in Pleasant Hill, Missouri, says some drizzle might remain at first pitch, but the system should move away about the time the game begins.
Temperatures are expected to dip below 50 degrees once the sun sets — as if anybody will be able to tell when it happens through the thick blankets of gray clouds.
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2:25 p.m.
George Brett will throw out the ceremonial first pitch before the Royals and Mets open the World Series, reprising his role from Game 2 of last year’s Fall Classic.
The Hall of Fame third baseman is a special assistant in the Royals’ front office.
Singer-songwriter Andy Grammer, who topped the pop charts with his song “Honey, I’m Good,” will perform the national anthem. At the conclusion of his performance, a group of F-18 fighter jets from the U.S. Navy will fly over Kauffman Stadium.
Air Force Technical Sergeant Keisha Gwin will perform “God Bless America” during the seventh-inning stretch. Gwin is a vocalist with the U.S. Air Force Band of Mid-America.
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2 p.m.
The Negro Leagues Baseball Museum in Kansas City, not far from where the Royals and Mets will open the World Series, will celebrate its 25th anniversary next week.
Founded by the late Kansas City Monarchs star Buck O’Neil, the museum has become a popular destination for baseball fans. But perhaps more importantly, it has continued to raise awareness of the role black players have had in shaping the game.
“This is a rare opportunity to pause and reflect on what has been an amazing journey for a little museum that few gave any chance of succeeding,” museum president Bob Kendrick said.
The White Sox and U.S. Rep. Emanuel Cleaver II (D-MO) will be presented the Buck O’Neil Legacy Award during a gala on Nov. 6. Also expected to attend are Hank Aaron, who began his career in the Negro Leagues, Ferguson Jenkins, Joe Carter and Jim “Mudcat” Grant.
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1:10 p.m.
Rain could be an issue for Game 1 of the World Series between the Royals and Mets.
There was a steady drizzle falling at Kauffman Stadium about 6 hours before the scheduled first pitch Tuesday. And there was a 40 percent chance, depending on the forecast, that rain would be around when the Royals’ Edinson Volquez is supposed to take the mound.
The rain is supposed to taper off later in the night.
“I would be reluctant to begin a game or even more reluctant to begin the warmup process if I didn’t think we could play a substantial portion of that game,” baseball Commissioner Rob Manfred said Monday.
The Royals already endured two rain delays this postseason. They lost the opener of the divisional round to Houston before beating Toronto in Game 6 of the AL Championship Series to secure a spot in their second straight World Series.
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11 a.m.
It will be 20-year-old Royals infielder Raul Mondesi Jr. rather than Mets shortstop Matt Reynolds who has the chance to make history in the World Series.
Mondesi was added to Kansas City’s roster and Reynolds was dropped from New York’s ahead of Game 1 on Tuesday night. That means Mondesi will have a chance to become the first player in big league history to make his debut in the World Series.
Reynolds has never played in a major league game, either. But he was left off the Mets’ 25-man roster to create space for infielder Juan Uribe, who has been out with a chest injury.
One of the Royals’ top prospects, Mondesi is the son of former big leaguer Raul Mondesi. He spent this season at Double-A Northwest Arkansas, hitting .243 with six homers and 33 RBIs.
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