Mets hit their way to first win

New York — Two balls launched over the wall, one fired over an opponent's head and just like that, David Wright and the New York Mets are right back in this World Series.

Wright homered and drove in four runs, Curtis Granderson also connected and rookie Noah Syndergaard set a nasty tone at the start of a 9-3 victory against the Kansas City Royals that trimmed New York's deficit to 2-1 Friday night.

Shut down at the plate in Kansas City, the Mets broke loose with 12 hits from nine different players as they chased Yordano Ventura early during the first Series game at Citi Field.

Pitching on Halloween eve, Syndergaard recovered from a scary start and went six innings, giving the Mets the winning performance they didn't get from fellow young starters Matt Harvey and Jacob deGrom at Kauffman Stadium.

Hometown rookie Steven Matz will try to pull New York even Saturday night in Game 4 when he faces 36-year-old Chris Young and the Royals.

After the Mets fell behind in the first inning, Granderson started the bottom half with a single and Wright hit his first World Series home run, recharging a packed crowd of 44,781 that included Jerry Seinfeld, Chris Rock and Dennis Miller.

The captain, who entered batting .182 without an RBI in his first World Series, added a two-run single on Kelvin Herrera's first pitch during a four-run sixth that broke it open. Pinch-hitter Juan Uribe, just back from a chest injury, had an RBI single in his first plate appearance since Sept. 25. Slumping slugger Yoenis Cespedes added a sacrifice fly.

Hoping to rekindle the comeback spirit of 1986, when the Mets rallied from an 0-2 World Series hole to beat Boston for their most recent championship, the team played its highlight video from that year on the large scoreboard during batting practice.

Syndergaard caught everyone's attention with his first delivery to aggressive leadoff hitter Alcides Escobar.

Well aware of Escobar's penchant for attacking the first pitch — the ALCS MVP opened Game 1 against New York with an inside-the-park homer — Syndergaard promised Thursday he had "a few tricks" up his sleeve for Escobar.

That turned out to be a 97 mph fastball fired just off the inside corner and way over Escobar's head, eliciting a huge cheer from fans.