2015 Major League Baseball postseason

2015 Major League Baseball playoffs July 2022 Major League Baseball postseason 2015MLBPostseasonLogo.png 2015 October 6 – November 1, 20152015 Major Leagues Schedule https://www.baseball-reference.com/leagues/majors/2015-schedule.shtml Baseball-Reference.com 14 July 2022 10 Kansas City Royals(2nd title) New York Mets Salvador Pérez (KC) 2014 2016 1,634,763 36 Daniel Murphy (NYM) 7 Lorenzo Cain (KC) 6 Jacob deGrom (NYM) 29 The 2015 Major League Baseball postseason was the playoff tournament of Major League Baseball for the 2015 season. The winners of the Division Series would move on to the League Championship Series to determine the pennant winners that face each other in the World Series. In the American League, the Kansas City Royals made their second straight appearance, the New York Yankees returned for the first time since 2012, the Texas Rangers returned for the fourth time in six years, the Houston Astros made their first postseason appearance since 2005 (their first as a member of the American League), and the Toronto Blue Jays ended over two decades of futility by clinching their first postseason appearance since 1993, ending what was the longest postseason appearance drought in Major League Baseball and all four major North American sports leagues. https://www.espn.com/mlb/story/_/id/13744066/toronto-blue-jays-headed-playoffs-first-1993 Blue Jays guaranteed at least wild-card spot, ending 22-year playoff drought ESPN September 26, 2015 March 11, 2025 This was Kansas City’s last postseason appearance until 2024. In the National League, the St. Louis Cardinals made their fifth straight postseason appearance, the Los Angeles Dodgers and Pittsburgh Pirates made their third straight appearances, the Chicago Cubs returned for the first time since 2008, and the New York Mets made their first appearance since 2006. As of , this remains Pittsburgh’s most recent appearance in the postseason, as they now hold the second longest postseason drought in the majors behind only the Los Angeles Angels. The postseason began on October 6, and ended on November 1, with the Royals defeating the Mets in five games in the 2015 World Series. It was the first title in thirty years for the Royals. Playoff seeds right 10px American League Teams 10px National League Teams 480 430 260 30 10 USA 450 USA 43.64 -79.39 Red pog.svg 80 top Blue Jays USA 39.05 -94.48 Red pog.svg 80 left Royals USA 32.75 -97.08 Red pog.svg 80 bottom Rangers USA 40.83 -73.93 Red pog.svg 80 top Yankees USA 29.76 -95.36 Red pog.svg 80 bottom Astros USA 40.76 -73.85 Blue pog.svg 80 right Mets USA 38.62 -90.19 Blue pog.svg 80 bottom Cardinals USA 34.07 -118.24 Blue pog.svg 80 bottom Dodgers USA 40.45 -80.01 Blue pog.svg 80 bottom Pirates USA 41.95 -87.66 Blue pog.svg 80 bottom Cubs The following teams qualified for the postseason: American League Kansas City Royals – 95–67, AL Central champions2015 Kansas City Royals Statistics https://www.baseball-reference.com/teams/KCR/2015.shtml Baseball-Reference.com 14 July 2022 Toronto Blue Jays – 93–69, AL East champions2015 Toronto Blue Jays Statistics https://www.baseball-reference.com/teams/TOR/2015.shtml Baseball-Reference.com 14 July 2022 Texas Rangers – 88–74, AL West champions2015 Texas Rangers Statistics https://www.baseball-reference.com/teams/TEX/2015.shtml Baseball-Reference.com 14 July 2022 New York Yankees – 87–752015 New York Yankees Statistics https://www.baseball-reference.com/teams/NYY/2015.shtml Baseball-Reference.com 14 July 2022 Houston Astros – 86–762015 Houston Astros Statistics https://www.baseball-reference.com/teams/HOU/2015.shtml Baseball-Reference.com 14 July 2022 National League St. Louis Cardinals – 100–62, NL Central champions2015 St. Louis Cardinals Statistics https://www.baseball-reference.com/teams/STL/2015.shtml Baseball-Reference.com 14 July 2022 Los Angeles Dodgers – 92–70, NL West champions2015 Los Angeles Dodgers Statistics https://www.baseball-reference.com/teams/LAD/2015.shtml Baseball-Reference.com 14 July 2022 New York Mets – 90–72, NL East champions2015 New York Mets Statistics https://www.baseball-reference.com/teams/NYM/2015.shtml Baseball-Reference.com 14 July 2022 Pittsburgh Pirates – 98–642015 Pittsburgh Pirates statistics https://www.baseball-reference.com/teams/PIT/2015.shtml Baseball-Reference.com 14 July 2022 Chicago Cubs – 97–652015 Chicago Cubs statistics https://www.baseball-reference.com/teams/CHC/2015.shtml Baseball-Reference.com 14 July 2022 Playoff bracket Wild Card Game(ALWC, NLWC) Division Series(ALDS, NLDS) League Championship Series(ALCS, NLCS) World Series American League National League 4 NY Yankees 0 5 Houston 1 4 Pittsburgh 0 5 Chicago Cubs 1 1 Kansas City 3 5 Houston 2 2 Toronto 3 3 Texas 2 1 St. Louis 1 5 Chicago Cubs 3 2 LA Dodgers 2 3 NY Mets 3 1 Kansas City 4 2 Toronto 2 5 Chicago Cubs 0 3 NY Mets 4 AL1 Kansas City 4 NL3 NY Mets 1 American League Wild Card 2015 American League Wild Card Game (4) New York Yankees vs. (5) Houston Astros October 6, 2015 8:10pm (EDT) Yankee Stadium in Bronx, New York, 67 F C, partly cloudy Houston HOU 0 1 0 1 0 0 1 0 0 3 5 0 New York NYY 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 3 0 Dallas Keuchel (1–0) Masahiro Tanaka (0–1) Luke Gregerson (1) Colby Rasmus (1), Carlos Gómez (1) 50,113 https://www.mlb.com/gameday/astros-vs-yankees/2015/10/06/446237#game_state=final,lock_state=final,game_tab=box,game=446237 This was the first postseason meeting between the Astros and Yankees. Dallas Keuchel pitched six innings of shutout ball as the Astros shut out the Yankees 3–0 to advance to the ALDS. This was the first postseason series win by the Astros since winning the National League pennant in 2005. This would ultimately be Alex Rodriguez’s final postseason game. The Astros’ 2015 Wild Card victory continued a streak of playoff success for Houston-based teams over their New York City counterparts, as the NBA’s Houston Rockets previously defeated the New York Knicks in the 1994 NBA Finals, and then the Astros would defeat the Yankees again in the ALCS in 2017, 2019, and 2022. National League Wild Card 2015 National League Wild Card Game (4) Pittsburgh Pirates vs. (5) Chicago Cubs October 7, 2015 8:08pm (EDT) PNC Park, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, 68 F C, clear Chicago CHC 1 0 2 0 1 0 0 0 0 4 7 1 Pittsburgh PIT 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 5 1 Jake Arrieta (1–0) Gerrit Cole (0–1) Kyle Schwarber (1), Dexter Fowler (1) 40,889 https://www.mlb.com/gameday/cubs-vs-pirates/2015/10/07/446238#game_state=final,lock_state=final,game_tab=box,game=446238 The Cubs shut out the Pirates 4–0 to advance to the NLDS. This was the second straight year the Pirates were shutout in the Wild Card Game. To date, this is the last postseason appearance by the Pirates, who now have the longest active postseason drought amongst National League teams, and the second longest postseason drought in the majors. American League Division Series 2015 American League Division Series (1) Kansas City Royals vs. (5) Houston Astros Kansas City 3–2 Houston Astros – 5, Kansas City Royals – 2 October 8 Kauffman Stadium 3:14 (:49 delay) 40,146 http://gd2.mlb.com/content/game/mlb/year_2015/month_10/day_08/gid_2015_10_08_houmlb_kcamlb_1/boxscore_col.html Boxscore: Houston vs. Kansas City, Game 1 MLB.com October 8, 2015 14 July 2022 Houston Astros – 4, Kansas City Royals – 5 October 9 Kauffman Stadium 3:27 40,008 http://gd2.mlb.com/content/game/mlb/year_2015/month_10/day_09/gid_2015_10_09_houmlb_kcamlb_1/boxscore_col.html Boxscore: Houston vs. Kansas City, Game 2 MLB.com October 9, 2015 14 July 2022 Kansas City Royals – 2, Houston Astros – 4 October 11 Minute Maid Park 3:20 42,674 http://gd2.mlb.com/content/game/mlb/year_2015/month_10/day_11/gid_2015_10_11_kcamlb_houmlb_1/boxscore_col.html Boxscore: Kansas City vs. Houston, Game 3 MLB.com October 11, 2015 14 July 2022 Kansas City Royals – 9, Houston Astros – 6 October 12 Minute Maid Park 4:05 42,387 http://gd2.mlb.com/content/game/mlb/year_2015/month_10/day_12/gid_2015_10_12_kcamlb_houmlb_1/boxscore_col.html Boxscore: Kansas City vs. Houston, Game 4 MLB.com October 12, 2015 14 July 2022 Houston Astros – 2, Kansas City Royals – 7 October 14 Kauffman Stadium 2:42 40,566 http://gd2.mlb.com/content/game/mlb/year_2015/month_10/day_14/gid_2015_10_14_houmlb_kcamlb_1/boxscore_col.html Boxscore: Houston vs. Kansas City, Game 5 MLB.com October 14, 2015 14 July 2022 The Royals defeated the Astros in five games to return to the ALCS for the second straight year. Collin McHugh pitched six solid innings as the Astros shockingly stole Game 1 on the road. In Game 2, the Astros led 4-2 after five and looked poised to go up 2–0 in the series, but the Royals put up three unanswered runs across the sixth and seventh to even the series headed to Houston. Dallas Keuchel pitched seven solid innings and the Astros’ bullpen shut down a late rally by the Royals as they regained the series lead and were one game away from their first ALCS. Game 4 was the most memorable contest of the series - the Astros held a 6–2 lead after seven innings and looked poised to close out the series. Then, the Royals offense took apart the Astros bullpen, as they scored five unanswered runs to regain the lead. Eric Hosmer hit a two-run home run to increase the Royals' lead in the top of the ninth, and then the Royals' bullpen closed out the game in the bottom of the inning. This was the second straight year where the Royals, down four runs and six outs away from elimination, were victorious. In Game 5, Johnny Cueto pitched eight strong innings as the Royals blew out the Astros to close out the series, surviving an upset scare. (2) Toronto Blue Jays vs. (3) Texas Rangers Toronto 3–2 Texas Rangers – 5, Toronto Blue Jays – 3 October 8 Rogers Centre 2:53 49,834 http://gd2.mlb.com/content/game/mlb/year_2015/month_10/day_08/gid_2015_10_08_texmlb_tormlb_1/boxscore_col.html Boxscore: Texas vs. Toronto, Game 1 MLB.com October 8, 2015 14 July 2022 Texas Rangers – 6, Toronto Blue Jays – 4 (14) October 9 Rogers Centre 4:57 49,716 http://gd2.mlb.com/content/game/mlb/year_2015/month_10/day_09/gid_2015_10_09_texmlb_tormlb_1/boxscore_col.html Boxscore: Texas vs. Toronto, Game 2 MLB.com October 9, 2015 14 July 2022 Toronto Blue Jays − 5, Texas Rangers − 1 October 11 Globe Life Park 3:08 50,941 http://gd2.mlb.com/content/game/mlb/year_2015/month_10/day_11/gid_2015_10_11_tormlb_texmlb_1/boxscore_col.html Boxscore: Toronto vs. Texas, Game 3 MLB.com October 11, 2015 14 July 2022 Toronto Blue Jays − 8, Texas Rangers − 4 October 12 Globe Life Park 3:18 47,679 http://gd2.mlb.com/content/game/mlb/year_2015/month_10/day_12/gid_2015_10_12_tormlb_texmlb_1/boxscore_col.html Boxscore: Toronto vs. Texas, Game 4 MLB.com October 12, 2015 14 July 2022 Texas Rangers − 3, Toronto Blue Jays − 6 October 14 Rogers Centre 3:37 49,742 http://gd2.mlb.com/content/game/mlb/year_2015/month_10/day_14/gid_2015_10_14_texmlb_tormlb_1/boxscore_col.html Boxscore: Texas vs. Toronto, Game 5 MLB.com October 14, 2015 14 July 2022 This was the first postseason meeting between the Rangers and Blue Jays. The Blue Jays overcame a two-games-to-none series deficit to defeat the Rangers in five games, returning to the ALCS for the first time since 1993. In the first postseason game in Toronto in 22 years, Rougned Odor sealed a Rangers victory in Game 1 with a solo homer in the top of the seventh. Game 2 was a long extra-innings grind which was also won by the Rangers, as they took the lead for good in the top of the fourteenth off of back-to-back RBI singles from Hanser Alberto and Delino DeShields, giving them a 2–0 series lead headed to Arlington. Then, the Blue Jays responded. In Game 3, Marco Estrada pitched six innings of shutout ball as the Blue Jays got on the board in the series. In Game 4, Josh Donaldson, Chris Colabello, and Kevin Pillar all homered for the Blue Jays as they routed the Rangers to force a decisive fifth game back in Toronto. Game 5 of the series was notable for the events that transpired in the seventh inning - the Rangers made three consecutive errors, allowing the Blue Jays to tie the game at 3 runs each. Then José Bautista hit a game-sealing three-run home run, and before running the bases, flipped his bat in celebration. Both benches cleared for a brief scuffle between the teams, but it was resolved shortly thereafter. The Blue Jays closed out the series in the top of the ninth to advance. This was the third time a team won a best-of-five series after losing the first two games at home, and the second time in the 2–2–1 format. This was the first playoff series won by the Blue Jays since the 1993 World Series. These same two teams would meet again in the ALDS the next year, which the Blue Jays won in a sweep. National League Division Series 2015 National League Division Series (1) St. Louis Cardinals vs. (5) Chicago Cubs Cardinals–Cubs rivalry Chicago 3–1 Chicago Cubs – 0, St. Louis Cardinals – 4 October 9 Busch Stadium 2:47 47,830 http://gd2.mlb.com/content/game/mlb/year_2015/month_10/day_09/gid_2015_10_09_chnmlb_slnmlb_1/boxscore_col.html Boxscore: Chicago vs. St. Louis, Game 1 MLB.com October 9, 2015 14 July 2022 Chicago Cubs – 6, St. Louis Cardinals – 3 October 10 Busch Stadium 2:57 47,859 http://gd2.mlb.com/content/game/mlb/year_2015/month_10/day_10/gid_2015_10_10_chnmlb_slnmlb_1/boxscore_col.html Boxscore: Chicago vs. St. Louis, Game 2 MLB.com October 10, 2015 14 July 2022 St. Louis Cardinals – 6, Chicago Cubs – 8 October 12 Wrigley Field 3:28 42,411 http://gd2.mlb.com/content/game/mlb/year_2015/month_10/day_12/gid_2015_10_12_slnmlb_chnmlb_1/boxscore_col.html Boxscore: St. Louis vs. Chicago, Game 3 MLB.com October 12, 2015 14 July 2022 St. Louis Cardinals – 4, Chicago Cubs – 6 October 13 Wrigley Field 3:16 42,411 http://gd2.mlb.com/content/game/mlb/year_2015/month_10/day_13/gid_2015_10_13_slnmlb_chnmlb_1/boxscore_col.html Boxscore: St. Louis vs. Chicago, Game 4 MLB.com October 13, 2015 14 July 2022 This was the first postseason meeting in the history of the Cardinals–Cubs rivalry, also known as the I-55 or Route 66 Rivalry. The Cubs upset the top-seeded Cardinals in four games to return to the NLCS for the first time since 2003. John Lackey pitched seven innings of shutout ball as the Cardinals took Game 1. In Game 2, the Cardinals struck first with one run in the bottom of the first, but the Cubs went on a 6-2 run across the next four innings, capped off by a two-run homer from Jorge Soler and an RBI from Miguel Montero to even the series headed to Chicago. Game 3 was a record-setting back-and-forth offensive slugfest that was won by the Cubs, who set an MLB record with six home runs. Game 4 remained tied until the bottom of the sixth, when Anthony Rizzo hit a solo homer that put the Cubs ahead for good, denying their biggest rivals a fifth consecutive NLCS appearance. (2) Los Angeles Dodgers vs. (3) New York Mets New York 3–2 New York Mets – 3, Los Angeles Dodgers – 1 October 9 Dodger Stadium 3:14 54,428 http://gd2.mlb.com/content/game/mlb/year_2015/month_10/day_09/gid_2015_10_09_nynmlb_lanmlb_1/boxscore_col.html Boxscore: New York vs. Los Angeles, Game 1 MLB.com October 9, 2015 October 9, 2015 New York Mets – 2, Los Angeles Dodgers – 5 October 10 Dodger Stadium 3:24 54,455 http://gd2.mlb.com/content/game/mlb/year_2015/month_10/day_10/gid_2015_10_10_nynmlb_lanmlb_1/boxscore_col.html Boxscore: New York vs. Los Angeles, Game 2 MLB.com October 10, 2015 October 10, 2015 Los Angeles Dodgers – 7, New York Mets – 13 October 12 Citi Field 3:42 44,276 http://gd2.mlb.com/content/game/mlb/year_2015/month_10/day_12/gid_2015_10_12_lanmlb_nynmlb_1/boxscore_col.html Boxscore: Los Angeles vs. New York, Game 3 MLB.com October 12, 2015 October 12, 2015 Los Angeles Dodgers – 3, New York Mets – 1 October 13 Citi Field 2:50 44,183 http://gd2.mlb.com/content/game/mlb/year_2015/month_10/day_13/gid_2015_10_13_lanmlb_nynmlb_1/boxscore_col.html Boxscore: Los Angeles vs. New York, Game 4 MLB.com October 13, 2015 October 13, 2015 New York Mets – 3, Los Angeles Dodgers – 2 October 15 Dodger Stadium 3:13 54,602 http://gd2.mlb.com/content/game/mlb/year_2015/month_10/day_15/gid_2015_10_15_nynmlb_lanmlb_1/boxscore_col.html Boxscore: New York vs. Los Angeles, Game 5 MLB.com October 15, 2015 October 15, 2015 This was the third postseason meeting between the Dodgers and Mets (1988, 2006). The Mets defeated the Dodgers in five games to advance to the NLCS for the first time since 2006. In his postseason debut, Jacob deGrom outdueled Clayton Kershaw on the mound as the Mets stole Game 1 on the road. In Game 2, the Mets jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the top of the second, but the Dodgers put up five unanswered runs to even the series headed to Queens. Game 2 was marred by controversy as the Dodgers’ Chase Utley slid into the Mets’ Rubén Tejada, which resulted in Tejada suffering a fractured fibula, which caused him to miss the rest of the postseason. The Mets blew out the Dodgers in Game 3 to regain the series lead. In Game 4, despite being on only three days rest, Kershaw redeemed himself on the mound with a solid seven-inning performance as he and the Dodgers’ bullpen shut down the Mets offense to force a decisive fifth game back in Los Angeles. In Game 5, the Dodgers took a 2-1 lead after the first, but deGrom bounced back and shutout the Dodgers’ offense the next five innings, and the Mets’ bullpen finished what he started as they won 3-2 to advance. Both teams would meet again in the NLCS in 2024, which was won by the Dodgers in six games en route to a World Series title. American League Championship Series 2015 American League Championship Series (1) Kansas City Royals vs. (2) Toronto Blue Jays Kansas City 4–2 Toronto Blue Jays – 0, Kansas City Royals – 5 October 16 Kauffman Stadium 3:15 39,753 http://gd2.mlb.com/content/game/mlb/year_2015/month_10/day_16/gid_2015_10_16_tormlb_kcamlb_1/boxscore_col.html Boxscore: Toronto vs. Kansas City, Game 1 MLB.com October 16, 2015 14 July 2022 Toronto Blue Jays – 3, Kansas City Royals – 6 October 17 Kauffman Stadium 3:19 40,357 http://gd2.mlb.com/content/game/mlb/year_2015/month_10/day_17/gid_2015_10_17_tormlb_kcamlb_1/boxscore_col.html Boxscore: Toronto vs. Kansas City, Game 2 MLB.com October 17, 2015 14 July 2022 Kansas City Royals – 8, Toronto Blue Jays – 11 October 19 Rogers Centre 3:13 49,751 http://gd2.mlb.com/content/game/mlb/year_2015/month_10/day_19/gid_2015_10_19_kcamlb_tormlb_1/boxscore_col.html Boxscore: Kansas City vs. Toronto, Game 3 MLB.com October 18, 2015 14 July 2022 Kansas City Royals – 14, Toronto Blue Jays – 2 October 20 Rogers Centre 3:39 49,501 http://gd2.mlb.com/content/game/mlb/year_2015/month_10/day_20/gid_2015_10_20_kcamlb_tormlb_1/boxscore_col.html Boxscore: Kansas City vs. Toronto, Game 4 MLB.com October 18, 2015 14 July 2022 Kansas City Royals – 1, Toronto Blue Jays – 7 October 21 Rogers Centre 2:56 49,325 http://gd2.mlb.com/content/game/mlb/year_2015/month_10/day_21/gid_2015_10_21_kcamlb_tormlb_1/boxscore_col.html Boxscore: Kansas City vs. Toronto, Game 5 MLB.com October 18, 2015 14 July 2022 Toronto Blue Jays – 3, Kansas City Royals – 4 October 23 Kauffman Stadium 3:42 (:45 delay) 40,494 http://gd2.mlb.com/content/game/mlb/year_2015/month_10/day_23/gid_2015_10_23_tormlb_kcamlb_1/boxscore_col.html Boxscore: Kansas City vs. Toronto, Game 6 MLB.com October 21, 2015 14 July 2022 This was a rematch of the 1985 ALCS, which the Royals won in seven games en route to a World Series title after trailing 3–1 in the series. On the 30th anniversary of their previous postseason meeting, the Royals again defeated the Blue Jays, this time in six games, to advance to the World Series for the second year in a row. In Kansas City, the Royals controlled the first two games - Edinson Vólquez and the Royals’ bullpen silenced the Jays’ offense in a 5-0 shutout in Game 1. In Game 2, the Blue Jays led 3-0 after six innings, but the Royals put up six unanswered runs across the seventh and eighth innings respectively to take a 2–0 series lead headed to Toronto. Game 3 was an offensive shootout between both teams, which was won by the Blue Jays as Troy Tulowitzki, Josh Donaldson, and Ryan Goins all homered for the Jays. In Game 4, the Royals blew out the Blue Jays to take a commanding 3–1 series lead, handing Toronto their worst playoff loss ever. Marco Estrada pitched 7 2 3 solid innings in Game 5 as the Blue Jays blew out the Royals to send the series back to Kansas City. The Royals’ bullpen stopped a late rally by the Blue Jays in Game 6 to clinch the pennant. The Blue Jays returned to the ALCS the next year, but fell to the Cleveland Indians in five games. They would eventually win the pennant again in 2025 over the Seattle Mariners in seven games after being eight outs away from elimination in Game 7, but would fall in the World Series. As of , this is the last time the Royals won the AL pennant, and the last time that either Missouri team won a league pennant. National League Championship Series 2015 National League Championship Series (3) New York Mets vs. (5) Chicago Cubs New York 4–0 Chicago Cubs – 2, New York Mets – 4 October 17 Citi Field 2:55 44,287 http://gd2.mlb.com/content/game/mlb/year_2015/month_10/day_17/gid_2015_10_17_chnmlb_nynmlb_1/boxscore_col.html Boxscore: Chicago vs. New York, Game 1 MLB.com October 17, 2015 14 July 2022 Chicago Cubs – 1, New York Mets – 4 October 18 Citi Field 3:07 44,502 http://gd2.mlb.com/content/game/mlb/year_2015/month_10/day_18/gid_2015_10_18_chnmlb_nynmlb_1/boxscore_col.html Boxscore: Chicago vs. New York, Game 2 MLB.com October 18, 2015 14 July 2022 New York Mets – 5, Chicago Cubs – 2 October 20 Wrigley Field 3:01 42,231 http://gd2.mlb.com/content/game/mlb/year_2015/month_10/day_20/gid_2015_10_20_nynmlb_chnmlb_1/boxscore_col.html Boxscore: New York vs. Chicago, Game 3 MLB.com October 18, 2015 14 July 2022 New York Mets – 8, Chicago Cubs – 3 October 21 Wrigley Field 3:32 42,227 http://gd2.mlb.com/content/game/mlb/year_2015/month_10/day_21/gid_2015_10_21_nynmlb_chnmlb_1/boxscore_col.html Boxscore: New York vs. Chicago, Game 4 MLB.com October 21, 2015 14 July 2022 This was the first of three straight NLCS appearances for the Cubs. The Mets swept the Cubs to return to the World Series for the first time since 2000. Matt Harvey pitched seven solid innings as the Mets took Game 1. Noah Syndergaard pitched five shutout innings and Daniel Murphy’s two-run home run in the bottom of the first helped secure a Mets win in Game 2 as they went up 2–0 in the series headed to Chicago. In Game 3, Jacob deGrom pitched seven strong innings and Murphy hit his third home run of the series as the Mets took a commanding three games to none series lead. In Game 4, Lucas Duda ignited the Mets’ offense as they blew out the Cubs to complete the sweep and secure the pennant. This was the first NLCS which the team who swept the series did not trail in any of the games. By coincidence, the Cubs' 2015 season ended on the same day as the 2015 World Series that was depicted in Back to the Future Part II. In the film, the Cubs swept a fictitious Miami team. However, the prediction in Back to the Future Part II was only off by one year. The next season, the Cubs finished with the best record in the majors and clinched the overall #1 seed in the 2016 postseason. Then, they finally ended their long pennant drought in the NLCS against the Los Angeles Dodgers in six games, and then went on to win the World Series over the Cleveland Indians in seven games after trailing 3–1 in the series. As of , this is the last time the Mets won the NL pennant, and was the only pennant won by a New York City-based team during the 2010s decade. The Mets returned to the NLCS in 2024, but lost to the eventual World Series champion Los Angeles Dodgers in six games. 2015 World Series 2015 World Series (AL1) Kansas City Royals vs. (NL3) New York Mets Kansas City 4–1 New York Mets – 4, Kansas City Royals – 5 (14) October 27 Kauffman Stadium 5:09 40,320 http://gd2.mlb.com/content/game/mlb/year_2015/month_10/day_27/gid_2015_10_27_nynmlb_kcamlb_1/boxscore_col.html Boxscore: New York vs. Kansas City, Game 1 MLB.com October 24, 2015 14 July 2022 New York Mets – 1, Kansas City Royals – 7 October 28 Kauffman Stadium 2:54 40,410 http://gd2.mlb.com/content/game/mlb/year_2015/month_10/day_28/gid_2015_10_28_nynmlb_kcamlb_1/boxscore_col.html Boxscore: New York vs. Kansas City, Game 2 MLB.com October 24, 2015 14 July 2022 Kansas City Royals – 3, New York Mets – 9 October 30 Citi Field 3:22 44,781 http://gd2.mlb.com/content/game/mlb/year_2015/month_10/day_30/gid_2015_10_30_kcamlb_nynmlb_1/boxscore_col.html Boxscore: Kansas City vs. New York, Game 3 MLB.com October 24, 2015 14 July 2022 Kansas City Royals – 5, New York Mets – 3 October 31 Citi Field 3:29 44,815 http://gd2.mlb.com/content/game/mlb/year_2015/month_10/day_31/gid_2015_10_31_kcamlb_nynmlb_1/boxscore_col.html Boxscore: Kansas City vs. New York, Game 4 MLB.com October 24, 2015 14 July 2022 Kansas City Royals – 7, New York Mets – 2 (12) November 1 Citi Field 4:15 44,859 http://gd2.mlb.com/content/game/mlb/year_2015/month_11/day_01/gid_2015_11_01_kcamlb_nynmlb_1/boxscore_col.html Boxscore: Kansas City vs. New York, Game 5 MLB.com October 24, 2015 14 July 2022 This was the first World Series to feature two expansion teams - the Mets were the first expansion team to win the World Series overall in 1969, while the Royals became the first American League expansion team to win the World Series, doing so in 1985. The Royals defeated the Mets in five games to win their first World Series title since 1985, ending a three-decade long championship drought for not just the Royals, but Kansas City in general. In Game 1, the Mets held a 4–3 lead in the bottom of the ninth, however the Royals' Alex Gordon hit a solo home run to tie the game, handing New York's Jeurys Familia his first blown save in six postseason opportunities. Eric Hosmer won Game 1 for the Royals in the bottom of the fourteenth with a sacrifice fly. Johnny Cueto pitched a two-hit complete game as the Royals blew out the Mets to go up 2–0 in the series headed to Queens. Cueto became the first American League pitcher to throw a complete game in the World Series since Jack Morris’ ten-inning shutout in Game 7 of the 1991 World Series, and was the last pitcher to throw a complete game in the World Series overall until Yoshinobu Yamamoto in 2025. In Game 3, Noah Syndergaard pitched seven solid innings as the Mets blew out the Royals to get on the board in the series. In Game 4, the Mets took a 3-1 lead early in part because of two home runs from Michael Conforto, who became the first rookie to hit two runs in a World Series game since Andruw Jones in 1996. However, the Royals rallied with four unanswered runs across innings six through eight to take a 3-1 series lead. In Game 5, New York's Matt Harvey helped keep the Royals' offense at bay and maintained a 2–0 lead for the Mets going into the bottom of the ninth. However, the Royals' Eric Hosmer cut the Mets lead to one with an RBI double which scored Lorenzo Cain, which prompted Mets manager Terry Collins to relive Harvey with Jeurys Familia. This decision proved to be fatal for the Mets, as Familia had yet another blown save as Hosmer stole home plate to tie the game. The game went scoreless throughout the tenth and eleventh innings, until the Royals broke the game open in the top of the twelfth, scoring five runs to take the lead for good, effectively securing the title. This was the second time in a row that the Mets lost the World Series at their home stadium (2000). As of , this is the last postseason appearance outside of the divisional round by the Royals, and the last time that a team from Missouri made and won the World Series. As of , this is the most recent World Series appearance for the Mets and only World Series appearance by a team from New York City during the 2010s decade, making it the first since the 1910s decade that a team from New York City did not win a World Series. Broadcasting This was second year of eight-year U.S. TV contracts with ESPN, Fox Sports, and TBS. ESPN aired the American League Wild Card Game, Fox Sports 1 and MLB Network split the American League Division Series, and the Fox broadcast network and Fox Sports 1 split the American League Championship Series. TBS had the National League Wild Card Game, Division Series, and Championship Series, with sister network TNT used as an overflow channel. The World Series then aired on the Fox broadcast network for the sixteenth consecutive year. References External links League Baseball Standings & Expanded Standings - 2015 collapsed Category:Major League Baseball postseason