KC Royals take longest opener

KANSAS CITY, Missouri – Alcides Escobar started the World Series with a jolt. Five hours later, he ended the longest opener ever with a jump – into the arms of his joyous Kansas City Royals teammates.

Saved by Alex Gordon’s tying home run in the ninth inning off Mets closer Jeurys Familia, the Royals won in the 14th when Eric Hosmer’s sacrifice fly scored Escobar for a 5-4 win over New York late Tuesday night.

This tied for the longest Series game in history, and it had a little bit of everything. A lot of everything, actually.

Escobar hit an inside-the-park homer on the very first pitch from Matt Harvey. Later, a power failure caused the national TV audience and the team’s replay rooms to go dark.

The nearer it got to midnight – and beyond – the more oddly the ball bounced.

In the 11th, Salvador Perez grounded a single that hit the third-base bag and caromed high in the air. In the 12th, Daniel Murphy struck out on a pitch that got past Perez - it ricocheted off the backstop to the Royals catcher, who threw out Murphy at first.

About the only thing missing? A home run by Murphy, who had connected in a record six straight postseason games. The MVP of the NL Championship Series did contribute a pair of singles.

Then in the 14th, Escobar reached on an error by third baseman David Wright. Ben Zobrist’s single put runners at the corners and an intentional walk to Lorenzo Cain loaded the bases.

Hosmer atoned for a key error by lifting a flyball to medium-deep right field, and Escobar barely beat Curtis Granderson’s throw home.

Escobar streaked home standing up, and the Royals rushed from the dugout to meet him.

It was 12:18 a.m. at Kauffman Stadium, and Game 2 is Wednesday night.

Jacob deGrom starts for the Mets against Johnny Cueto. It’s a hairy matchup: DeGrom’s flowing tresses vs Cueto’s mop of dreadlocks.

Anyone who’s ever seen the Royals play – especially in October – knows they’re called resilient for a reason. Once again, they reinforced their reputation.

Gordon shook the ballpark when he tagged Jeurys Familia, hitting a solo drive with one out over the center field wall. The star closer hadn’t blown a save since July 30 and had been nearly perfect this postseason.

Known more for his glove than his bat, Gordon got a huge hug in the dugout from Eric Hosmer. A two-time Gold Glove first baseman, Hosmer’s error gave the Mets a 4-3 lead in the eighth.