Kansas City @ New York preview

Last Meeting ( Oct 31, 2015 ) Kansas City 5, NY Mets 3

Edinson Volquez takes the mound on Sunday while still grieving the death of his father as the Kansas City Royals try to win their first World Series title since 1985. The host New York Mets have their backs against the wall after the Royals scored three runs in the eighth inning on Saturday to post a 5-3 victory and take a 3-1 series lead.

Volquez started Game 1 on the same day his father died of heart failure and returned to the team shortly before Saturday's contest, pronouncing himself ready to start Game 5. "I just want to thank God for my opportunity to be on the mound and show the world what I have to compete with the other team and give our team a chance to win," Volquez said in a press conference held after Game 4. "I'm pretty sure my dad is going to be proud of me when I pitch." Second baseman Daniel Murphy has been a postseason hero for the Mets, but his error aided Kansas City's comeback win in Game 4 as the Royals capped the three-run uprising with run-scoring singles by Mike Moustakas and Salvador Perez. "In the postseason, you can't give away outs," New York manager Terry Collins said afterward. "You've got to make outs. You can't give good teams opportunities to score extra runs, because they can do it."

TV: 8:15 p.m. ET, FOX

PITCHING MATCHUP: Royals RH Edinson Volquez (1-2, 4.37 ERA) vs. Mets RH Matt Harvey (2-0, 3.38)

Volquez received a no-decision in Game 1, when he gave up three runs and six hits in six innings. He was away from the team for the better part of four days, but manager Ned Yost wasn't concerned about the possibility that Volquez hadn't done his typical between-start throwing. "It's not a bad thing this time of year," Yost said at a press conference. "Eddie has logged over 200 innings in the regular season. It's not going to affect him a bit."

Harvey gave up three runs and five hits over six innings in Game 1. He didn't throw his usual amount of fastballs as he dissected how to handle Kansas City's lineup. "I felt like I didn't really have the greatest control with my fastball and greatest life," Harvey explained at Saturday's press conference. "So with a team who's known to hit the fastball well, I think when you lose a little bit of confidence in that, you kind of have to try to pitch a little bit differently."

WALK-OFFS

1. New York LF Michael Conforto hit two homers in Game 4, joining Gary Carter (1986) as the only Mets to accomplish the feat in a World Series game.

2. Royals SS Alcides Escobar went 1-for-5 on Saturday to extend his postseason hitting streak to 14 games, breaking the franchise mark recently set by CF Lorenzo Cain.

3. Murphy has belted seven homers in the postseason but is 3-for-17 with no extra-base hits in the World Series.

PREDICTION: Mets 4, Royals 3