Travis d’Arnaud started the game in an offensive funk, and his World Series didn’t get any better when he couldn’t handle a low Noah Syndergaard pitch in the second.
The passed ball allowed Alex Rios to score from third and gave the Royals a one-run lead, as the Mets seemed to be on the verge of letting another World Series game slip away.
Instead, the Mets and d’Arnaud suddenly settled down and the catcher was instrumental in turning around Syndergaard’s night — framing pitches and helping the right-hander retire a dozen batters in a row from the end of the second until there were two outs in the sixth of the Mets’ 9-3 win in Game 3 Friday night at Citi Field.