KANSAS CITY, Mo. — — Wearing a pained expression, Jeurys Familia turned and watched the ball he had just thrown soar back over his head toward center field. The Mets had ridden Familia, their closer, all season, all postseason, using him to essentially strangle hope out of their opponents. They had come to expect that when he pitched, the game was over.
But Alex Gordon had just turned on one of Familia’s signature 97 mile-per-hour fastball and sent it screaming over the center-field wall. Last year, as the Royals made a frantic run through the playoffs, before losing Game 7 of the World Series, Gordon thought it went by in a blur.