Kansas City @ New York preview

Last Meeting ( Oct 30, 2015 ) Kansas City 3, NY Mets 9

David Wright broke out of an offensive funk Friday to lead the New York Mets to a crucial victory and give them the opportunity to even the World Series at two wins apiece when they host the Kansas City Royals in Game 4 on Saturday. Wright slammed his first homer of the postseason and finished with four RBIs - one shy of Rusty Staub's franchise World Series mark set in 1973 - as New York rolled to a 9-3 victory.

New York's captain was batting just .171 in the postseason entering Game 3 and also made a key error in the 14th inning of the Mets' Game 1 loss before turning around his fortunes. "I don't think I've swung the bat as well as I can this postseason," Wright said after Game 3. "But it's been nice to be able to contribute. I've had a couple RBIs. The name of the game is just forget about yesterday and worry about today." Kansas City may be doing some fretting after its shaky effort on Friday. The Royals held a similar 2-1 lead after three games of last year's World Series before Madison Bumgarner and the San Francisco Giants won three of the next four games to capture the crown.

TV: 8:07 p.m. ET, FOX

PITCHING MATCHUP: Royals RH Chris Young (1-0, 2.31 ERA) vs. Mets LH Steven Matz (0-1, 3.72)

Young won the opener when he worked three frames of hitless relief in a 14-inning victory. He went 5-9 with a 3.76 ERA in 24 starts with the Mets over two injury-riddled seasons (2011-12) before reviving his career in 2014 and appreciates competing against his former organization on the biggest stage in baseball. "No matter who you play in the World Series, it's special," Young said at a press conference. "It's what every player should play for, and it's certainly what I've aspired to participate in my entire career."

New York opted against bringing back Game 1 starter Matt Harvey on short rest, so Matz is making his third start of the postseason after taking six regular-season turns. The 24-year-old is starting a World Series game much sooner than he ever imagined. "I didn't know it was actually going to come to truth or whatever," Matz said at a press conference. "It's actually amazing. It's a pretty big blessing being here, especially my first year being a part of this team."

WALK-OFFS

1. Mets RF Curtis Granderson went 2-for-5 with his second homer of the series in Game 3.

2. Kansas City SS Alcides Escobar went 1-for-4 in Game 3 to stretch his playoff hitting streak to 13 games, matching the club record established earlier this postseason by CF Lorenzo Cain.

3. New York OF Michael Conforto had a run-scoring infield hit on Friday to improve to 2-for-22 in the postseason.

PREDICTION: Royals 6, Mets 5