2015 Kansas City Royals season

2015 Kansas City Royals
World Series Champions American League Champions American League Central Champions
The Royals celebrate at Citi Field in Queens, New York City, New York after winning the 2015 World Series, in which they defeated the New York Mets four games to one.
League	American League
Division	Central
Ballpark	Kauffman Stadium
City	Kansas City, Missouri
Record	95–67 (.586)
Divisional place	1st
Owners	David Glass
General managers	Dayton Moore
Managers	Ned Yost
Television	Fox Sports Kansas City (Ryan Lefebvre, Jeff Montgomery, Joel Goldberg, Rex Hudler, Steve Physioc)
Radio	KCSP 610 AM (Denny Matthews, Steve Stewart, Ryan Lefebvre, Steve Physioc)
Seasons

The 2015 Kansas City Royals season was the 47th for the franchise, and their 43rd at Kauffman Stadium. The Royals made their second consecutive World Series appearance in 2015, after winning the American League in 2014. They won the series for the first time since 1985. The team won their first AL Central title on September 24, 2015, the first time the Royals won their division since 1985. They opened the playoffs by defeating the Houston Astros in five games in the ALDS and then defeated the Toronto Blue Jays in six games in the ALCS. They defeated the New York Mets in five games in the World Series, the second World Series championship in franchise history. The 2015 Royals were the first team since the 1989 Oakland Athletics to win the World Series after having lost the series in the previous season. This would not happen again until the 2022 Houston Astros would accomplish this feat. This would be the last season the Royals would make the playoffs until 2024.

Offseason

October 30: Josh Willingham, James Shields, Raúl Ibañez, Luke Hochevar, Jason Frasor, Scott Downs, and Norichika Aoki become free agents.

• Hochevar and Frasor re-signed with the Royals.
• Downs signed with the Cleveland Indians.
• Aoki signed with the San Francisco Giants.
• Shields signed with the San Diego Padres.
• Willingham retired at age 34.
• Ibañez retired at age 42.

November 1: Billy Butler becomes a free agent. He would sign with the Oakland Athletics.

November 3: Promoted Paulo Orlando.

Week of November 5: Signed 4 players to a minor league contract, and invited 2 of them to spring training.

November 20: Received Reymond Fuentes from the San Diego Padres for Kyle Bartsch and promoted 2 other players.

November 24: Jayson Nix becomes a free agent while Juan Flores signs a minor league contract.

November 26: Received Ryan Jackson from the Los Angeles Dodgers for cash.

• Jackson would be sent to the minors.

November 28: Received Bryan Flynn and Reid Redman from the Miami Marlins for Aaron Crow. Signed Jason Frasor and also gave Ismaldo Rodriguez to a minor league contract.

December 2: Francisley Bueno becomes a free agent as Dany Geraldo signs a minor league contract.

December 8: Signed Gabriel Noriega to a minor league contract and invited him to spring training.

December 11: Received Jandel Gustave from the Boston Red Sox for cash.

December 14: Signed Angel Franco to a minor league contract.

Week of December 15:

• Signed 3 players to a minor league contract.
• Sent 3 players to the minors.
• Released Carlos Peguero.
• Signed Kendrys Morales, Alex Ríos, Kris Medlen, and Yohan Pino.
• Received Brian Broderick from the Los Angeles Angels for Johnny Giavotella.

December 28: Signed 3 players to a minor league contract.

December 29: Signed Edinson Vólquez.

January 4: Signed Ryan Madson to a minor league contract and invited him to spring training.

January 16: Signed 2 players to a minor league contract and invited them to spring training.

January 26: Invited 16 players to spring training and signed J. C. Boscán to a minor league contract and also invited him to spring training. Brian Bocock also signs a minor league contract.

Season standings

American League Central

AL Central

Team	W	L	Pct.	GB	Home	Road
Kansas City Royals	95	67	.586	—	51‍–‍30	44‍–‍37
Minnesota Twins	83	79	.512	12	46‍–‍35	37‍–‍44
Cleveland Indians	81	80	.503	13½	39‍–‍41	42‍–‍39
Chicago White Sox	76	86	.469	19	40‍–‍41	36‍–‍45
Detroit Tigers	74	87	.460	20½	38‍–‍43	36‍–‍44

American League Wild Card

Division Leaders

Team	W	L	Pct.
Kansas City Royals	95	67	.586
Toronto Blue Jays	93	69	.574
Texas Rangers	88	74	.543

Wild Card teams
(Top 2 teams qualify for postseason)

Team	W	L	Pct.	GB
New York Yankees	87	75	.537	+1
Houston Astros	86	76	.531	—
Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim	85	77	.525	1
Minnesota Twins	83	79	.512	3
Cleveland Indians	81	80	.503	4½
Baltimore Orioles	81	81	.500	5
Tampa Bay Rays	80	82	.494	6
Boston Red Sox	78	84	.481	8
Chicago White Sox	76	86	.469	10
Seattle Mariners	76	86	.469	10
Detroit Tigers	74	87	.460	11½
Oakland Athletics	68	94	.420	18

Record against opponents

2015 American League record Source: MLB Standings Grid – 2015
Team	BAL	BOS	CWS	CLE	DET	HOU	KC	LAA	MIN	NYY	OAK	SEA	TB	TEX	TOR	NL
Baltimore	—	11–8	3–3	5–1	4–3	3–4	3–4	2–4	0–7	10–9	6–1	3–3	10–9	1–6	8–11	12–8
Boston	8–11	—	3–4	2–4	4–2	2–4	4–3	2–5	2–5	8–11	5–1	4–3	9–10	2–5	10–9	13–7
Chicago	3–3	4–3	—	10–9	9–10	5–1	7–12	4–3	6–13	2–5	5–2	4–3	1–5	3–3	4–3	9–11
Cleveland	1–5	4–2	9–10	—	7–11	5–2	9–10	4–2	7–12	5–2	3–4	4–3	5–2	3–3	3–4	12–8
Detroit	3–4	2–4	10–9	11–7	—	3–4	9–10	1–6	11–8	2–5	2–4	4–3	3–3	2–5	2–4	9–11
Houston	4–3	4–2	1–5	2–5	4–3	—	4–2	10–9	3–3	4–3	10–9	12–7	2–5	6–13	4–3	16–4
Kansas City	4–3	3–4	12–7	10–9	10–9	2–4	—	6–1	12–7	2–4	5–1	4–2	6–1	3–4	3–4	13–7
Los Angeles	4–2	5–2	3–4	2–4	6–1	9–10	1–6	—	5–2	2–4	11–8	12–7	3–3	12–7	2–5	8–12
Minnesota	7–0	5–2	13–6	12–7	8–11	3–3	7–12	2–5	—	1–5	4–3	4–3	4–2	3–3	2–5	8–12
New York	9–10	11–8	5–2	2–5	5–2	3–4	4–2	4–2	5–1	—	3–4	5–1	12–7	2–5	6–13	11–9
Oakland	1–6	1–5	2–5	4–3	4–2	9–10	1–5	8–11	3–4	4–3	—	6–13	3–4	10–9	1–5	11–9
Seattle	3–3	3–4	3–4	3–4	3–4	7–12	2–4	7–12	3–4	1–5	13–6	—	4–3	12–7	4–2	8–12
Tampa Bay	9–10	10–9	5–1	2–5	3–3	5–2	1–6	3–3	2–4	7–12	4–3	3–4	—	2–5	10–9	14–6
Texas	6–1	5–2	3–3	3–3	5–2	13–6	4–3	7–12	3–3	5–2	9–10	7–12	5–2	—	2–4	11–9
Toronto	11–8	9–10	3–4	4–3	4–2	3–4	4–3	5–2	5–2	13–6	5–1	2–4	9–10	4–2	—	12–8

Detailed records

American League
Opponent	Home	Away	Total	Pct.	Runs scored	Runs allowed
AL East
Baltimore Orioles	3–1	1–2	4–3	.571	45	44
Boston Red Sox	1–2	2–2	3–4	.429	29	44
New York Yankees	2–1	0–3	2–4	.333	23	29
Tampa Bay Rays	4–0	2–1	6–1	.857	44	24
Toronto Blue Jays	2–1	1–3	3–4	.429	33	39
	12–5	6–11	18–16	.529	174	180
AL Central
Chicago White Sox	6–3	6–4	12–7	.632	81	74
Cleveland Indians	4–5	6–4	10–9	.526	78	90
Detroit Tigers	6–4	4–5	10–9	.526	107	66
Kansas City Royals	–	–	–	–	–	–
Minnesota Twins	5–5	7–2	12–7	.632	74	51
	21–17	23–15	44–32	.579	340	281
AL West
Houston Astros	2–1	0–3	2–4	.333	13	22
Los Angeles Angels	3–1	3–0	6–1	.857	42	23
Oakland Athletics	2–1	3–0	5–1	.833	23	18
Seattle Mariners	2–1	2–1	4–2	.667	28	28
Texas Rangers	1–2	2–2	3–4	.429	23	33
	10–6	10–6	20–12	.625	129	124

National League
Opponent	Home	Away	Total	Pct.	Runs scored	Runs allowed
Chicago Cubs	0–0	1–2	1–2	.333	9	7
Cincinnati Reds	2–0	2–0	4–0	1.000	17	5
Milwaukee Brewers	2–0	2–0	4–0	1.000	28	11
Pittsburgh Pirates	2–1	0–0	2–1	.667	15	12
St. Louis Cardinals	2–1	0–3	2–4	.333	14	19
	8–2	5–5	13–7	.650	83	54

Game log

2015 Game Log (95–67)
April: 15–7 (Home: 8–2 ; Away: 7–5) # Date Opponent Score Win Loss Save Attendance Record 1 April 6 White Sox 10–1 Ventura (1–0) Samardzija (0–1) — 40,085 1–0 2 April 8 White Sox 7–5 Davis (1–0) Putnam (0–1) Holland (1) 23,385 2–0 3 April 9 White Sox 4–1 Vólquez (1–0) Danks (0–1) Holland (2) 20,236 3–0 4 April 10 @ Angels 4–2 Vargas (1–0) Santiago (0–1) Davis (1) 44,489 4–0 5 April 11 @ Angels 6–4 Guthrie (1–0) Weaver (0–2) Holland (3) 44,154 5–0 6 April 12 @ Angels 9–2 Ventura (2–0) Wilson (1–1) — 37,060 6–0 7 April 13 @ Twins 12–3 Duffy (1–0) May (0–1) — 40,123 7–0 8 April 15 @ Twins 1–3 Gibson (1–1) Vólquez (1–1) Perkins (1) 21,362 7–1 9 April 16 @ Twins 5–8 Milone (2–0) Vargas (1–1) Perkins (2) 17,449 7–2 10 April 17 Athletics 6–4 Davis (2–0) Otero (0–1) Holland (4) 39,228 8–2 11 April 18 Athletics 0–5 Hahn (1–1) Ventura (2–1) Chavez (1) 33,151 8–3 12 April 19 Athletics 4–2 Morales (1–0) O'Flaherty (0–1) Davis (2) 36,755 9–3 13 April 20 Twins 7–1 Vólquez (2–1) Gibson (1–2) — 20,393 10–3 14 April 21 Twins 6–5 Young (1–0) Fien (0–1) Davis (3) 20,990 11–3 15 April 22 Twins 0–3 Pelfrey (1–0) Guthrie (1–1) Perkins (3) 24,721 11–4 16 April 23 @ White Sox 3–2 (13) Morales (2–0) Petricka (0–1) Davis (4) 14,218 12–4 — April 24 @ White Sox 2–2 (8) *Suspended (rain) (Resumed: April 26) 20,350 12–4 — April 25 @ White Sox Postponed (rain) (Resceduled: July 17) 17 April 26 @ White Sox 2–3* Robertson (2–0) Herrera (0–1) — 20,350 12–5 18 April 26 @ White Sox 3–5 Danks (1–2) Vólquez (2–2) Robertson (3) 23,317 12–6 19 April 27 @ Indians 6–2 Vargas (2–1) Kluber (0–3) — 9,668 13–6 20 April 28 @ Indians 11–5 Finnegan (1–0) Atchison (0–1) — 10,698 14–6 21 April 29 @ Indians 5–7 Salazar (3–0) Ventura (2–2) Allen (4) 10,284 14–7 22 April 30 Tigers 8–1 Duffy (2–0) Simón (4–1) — 28,405 15–7
May: 14–12 (Home: 9–5 ; Away: 5–7) # Date Opponent Score Win Loss Save Attendance Record 23 May 1 Tigers 4–1 Young (2–0) Lobstein (2–2) Davis (5) 38,186 16–7 24 May 2 Tigers 1–2 Price (3–1) Vólquez (2–3) — 38,692 16–8 25 May 3 Tigers 4–6 Sánchez (2–3) Guthrie (1–2) Soria (10) 38,326 16–9 26 May 5 Indians 5–3 Vargas (3–1) Salazar (3–1) Davis (6) 29,099 17–9 27 May 6 Indians 3–10 Carrasco (4–2) Duffy (2–1) — 23,316 17–10 28 May 7 Indians 7–4 Morales (3–0) Kluber (0–5) Holland (5) 38,271 18–10 29 May 8 @ Tigers 5–6 Soria (2–0) Pino (0–1) — 39,434 18–11 30 May 9 @ Tigers 6–2 Guthrie (2–2) Sánchez (2–4) 41,456 19–11 31 May 10 @ Tigers 2–1 Frasor (1–0) Nesbitt (0–1) Holland (6) 29,852 20–11 32 May 11 @ Rangers 2–8 Lewis (3–2) Duffy (2–2) — 21,206 20–12 33 May 12 @ Rangers 7–6 (10) Holland (1–0) Pimentel (0–1) — 23,659 21–12 34 May 13 @ Rangers 2–5 Gallardo (3–5) Ventura (2–3) Feliz (6) 26,258 21–13 35 May 14 @ Rangers 6–3 Guthrie (3–2) Detwiler (0–5) Holland (7) 33,818 22–13 36 May 15 Yankees 12–1 Young (3–0) Pineda (5–1) — 34,584 23–13 37 May 16 Yankees 1–5 Sabathia (2–5) Duffy (2–3) — 31,871 23–14 38 May 17 Yankees 6–0 Vólquez (3–3) Capuano (0–1) — 31,251 24–14 39 May 19 Reds 3–0 Ventura (3–3) Cueto (3–4) Davis (7) 29,767 25–14 40 May 20 Reds 7–1 Guthrie (4–2) Marquis (3–4) — 30,450 26–14 41 May 22 Cardinals 5–0 Young (4–0) Lynn (3–4) — 37,379 27–14 42 May 23 Cardinals 3–2 (6) Vólquez (4–3) Lackey (2–3) — 38,676 28–14 43 May 24 Cardinals 1–6 Wacha (7–0) Ventura (3–4) — 36,342 28–15 44 May 25 @ Yankees 1–14 Eovaldi (4–1) Guthrie (4–3) — 36,031 28–16 45 May 26 @ Yankees 1–5 Warren (3–3) Vargas (3–2) — 33,414 28–17 46 May 27 @ Yankees 2–4 Pineda (6–2) Young (4–1) Miller (14) 32,734 28–18 47 May 29 @ Cubs 8–4 Herrera (1–1) Strop (1–3) — 34,273 29–18 May 30 @ Cubs Postponed (rain): Makeup date on September 28 48 May 31 @ Cubs 1–2 (11) Rosscup (2–1) Madson (0–1) — 37,766 29–19
June: 15–11 (Home: 5–5 ; Away: 7–4) # Date Opponent Score Win Loss Save Attendance Record 49 June 2 Indians 1–2 Carrasco (7–4) Davis (2–1) Allen (12) 30,361 29–20 50 June 3 Indians 4–2 Vargas (4–2) Kluber (3–6) Holland (8) 29,899 30–20 51 June 4 Indians 2–6 (8) Bauer (5–2) Young (4–2) — 29,552 30–21 52 June 5 Rangers 0–4 Gonzalez (2–0) Vólquez (4–4) — 38,159 30–22 53 June 6 Rangers 2–4 Rodríguez (3–2) Ventura (3–5) Tolleson (7) 37,924 30–23 54 June 7 Rangers 4–3 Davis (3–1) Kela (4–2) Holland (9) 38,202 31–23 55 June 8 @ Twins 3–1 Vargas (5–2) Hughes (4–6) Holland (10) 22,796 32–23 56 June 9 @ Twins 2–0 Young (5–2) May (4–4) Holland (11) 22,497 33–23 57 June 10 @ Twins 7–2 Vólquez (5–4) Gibson (4–4) — 28,434 34–23 58 June 12 @ Cardinals 0–4 García (2-3) Ventura (3–6) — 45,909 34–24 59 June 13 @ Cardinals 3–2 Lyons (1–0) Guthrie (4–4) Rosenthal (21) 45,981 34–25 60 June 14 @ Cardinals Postponed (rain): Rescheduled July 23 61 June 15 @ Brewers 8–5 Vólquez (6–4) Lohse (3–8) Davis (8) 23,007 35–25 62 June 16 @ Brewers 7–2 Young (6–2) Garza (4–8) – 27,740 36–25 63 June 17 Brewers 10–2 Blanton (1–0) Fiers (3–7) – 33,420 37–25 64 June 18 Brewers 3–2 Guthrie (5–4) Nelson (3–8) Holland (12) 36,318 38–25 65 June 19 Red Sox 3–7 Rodríguez (3-1) Pino (0-2) — 38,190 38–26 66 June 20 Red Sox 7–4 Vólquez (7-4) Porcello (4-8) Holland (13) 39,115 39–26 67 June 21 Red Sox 2–13 Miley (7–6) Young (6–3) — 37,975 39–27 68 June 22 @ Mariners 4–1 Blanton (2–0) Hernández (10–4) Holland (14) 23,588 40–27 69 June 23 @ Mariners 0–7 Montgomery (2–2) Guthrie (5–5) 17,460 40–28 70 June 24 @ Mariners 8–2 Madson (1–1) Elias (4–5) — 23,392 41–28 71 June 26 @ Athletics 5–2 Vólquez (8–4) Hahn (5–6) Holland (15) 27,365 42–28 72 June 27 @ Athletics 3–2 Young (7–3) Kazmir (4–5) Holland (16) 28,619 43–28 73 June 28 @ Athletics 5–3 Guthrie (6–5) Chavez (4–7) Davis (9) 22,477 44–28 74 June 29 @ Astros 1–6 McCullers (4–2) Blanton (2–1) – 20,419 44–29 75 June 30 @ Astros 0–4 Keuchel (10–3) Duffy (2–4) — 24,642 44–30
July: 17–11 (Home: 12–5 ; Away: 5–6) # Date Opponent Score Win Loss Save Attendance Record 76 July 1 @ Astros 5–6 Gregerson (3–1) Herrera (1–2) — 25,848 44–31 77 July 2 Twins 0–2 Gibson (6–6) Young (7–4) Perkins (26) 37,196 44–32 78 July 3 Twins 3–2 Davis (4–1) Thompson (1–3) — 38,868 45–32 79 July 4 Twins 3–5 Duensing (3–0) Blanton (2–2) Perkins (27) 37,917 45–33 80 July 5 Twins 3–2 Holland (2–0) Boyer (2–4) — 29,427 46–33 – July 6 Rays Postponed (rain) to July 7 as part of a doubleheader. 81 July 7 Rays 9–5 Holland (3–0) Boxberger (4–5) – 22,386 47–33 82 July 7 Rays 7–1 Finnegan (2–0) Gomes (1–4) – 28,119 48–33 83 July 8 Rays 9–7 Guthrie (7–5) Archer (9–6) Holland (17) 28,204 49–33 84 July 9 Rays 8–3 Ventura (4–6) Karns (4–5) 32,308 50–33 85 July 10 Blue Jays 3–0 Duffy (3–4) Estrada (6–5) Holland (18) 31,558 51–33 86 July 11 Blue Jays 2–6 Buehrle (10–5) Young (7–5) — 30,790 51–34 87 July 12 Blue Jays 11–10 Davis (5–1) Schultz (0–1) Holland (19) 31,962 52–34 – July 14 86th All-Star Game AL 6–3 NL Price (AL, DET) Kershaw (NL, LAD) National League vs. American League (Great American Ball Park, Cincinnati) 88 July 17 @ White Sox 4–2 Young (8–5) Samardzija (6–5) Holland (20) 25,807 53–34 89 July 17 @ White Sox 0–2 Danks (5–8) Vólquez (8–5) Robertson (20) 25,701 53–35 90 July 18 @ White Sox 7–6 (13) Finnegan (3–0) Jennings (1–3) Madson (1) 33,559 54–35 91 July 19 @ White Sox 4–1 Duffy (4–4) Sale (8–5) Blanton (1) 32,175 55–35 92 July 20 Pirates 7–10 Burnett (8–3) Ventura (4–7) Melancon (30) 38,169 55–36 93 July 21 Pirates 3–1 Davis (6–1) Cole (13–4) Holland (21) 38,163 56–36 94 July 22 Pirates 5–1 Vólquez (9–5) Morton (6–4) — 39,105 57–36 95 July 23 @ Cardinals 3–4 Lackey (9–5) Young (8–6) Rosenthal (30) 46,003 57–37 96 July 24 Astros 0–4 Kazmir (6–5) Guthrie (7–6) Gregerson (21) 36,965 57–38 97 July 25 Astros 2–1 (10) Herrera (2–2) Harris (4–2) — 38,893 58–38 98 July 26 Astros 5–1 Ventura (5–7) Keuchel (12–5) — 33,638 59–38 99 July 27 @ Indians 9–4 Vólquez (10–5) Anderson (2–2) Blanton (2) 13,611 60–38 100 July 28 @ Indians 2–1 Davis (7–1) Bauer (8–8) Holland (22) 18,064 61–38 101 July 29 @ Indians 1–12 Kluber (6–11) Guthrie (7–7) — 19,767 61–39 102 July 30 @ Blue Jays 2–5 Estrada (8–6) Duffy (4–5) Osuna (6) 30,057 61–40 103 July 31 @ Blue Jays 6–7 Hendriks (3–0) Morales (3–1) — 29,389 61–41
August: 19–9 (Home: 11–3 ; Away: 9–6) # Date Opponent Score Win Loss Save Attendance Record 104 August 1 @ Blue Jays 7–6 Ventura (6–7) Lowe (0–2) Holland (23) 37,932 62–41 105 August 2 @ Blue Jays 2–5 Dickey (6–10) Vólquez (10–6) Osuna (7) 45,736 62–42 106 August 4 @ Tigers 5–1 Duffy (5–5) Verlander (1–4) 35,039 63–42 107 August 5 @ Tigers 1–2 Boyd (1–2) Cueto (7–7) Wilson (2) 34,628 63–43 108 August 6 @ Tigers 6–8 Wilson (2–3) Madson (1–2) — 38,919 63–44 109 August 7 White Sox 3–2 Vólquez (11–6) Danks (6–9) Holland (24) 36,211 64–44 110 August 8 White Sox 7–6 Guthrie (8–7) Samardzija (8–7) Holland (25) 39,302 65–44 111 August 9 White Sox 5–4 Herrera (3–2) Petricka (3–3) Madson (2) 35,785 66–44 112 August 10 Tigers 4–0 Cueto (8–7) Boyd (1–3) 36,672 67–44 113 August 11 Tigers 6–1 Ventura (7–7) Sánchez (10–10) Hochevar (1) 34,068 68–44 114 August 12 Tigers 4–7 Feliz (2–3) Vólquez (11–7) Rondón (2) 30,732 68–45 115 August 13 Angels 6–7 Álvarez (3–3) Holland (3–1) Street (27) 32,098 68–46 116 August 14 Angels 4–1 Duffy (6–5) Weaver (4–9) Holland (26) 36,926 69–46 117 August 15 Angels 9–4 Cueto (9–8) Shoemaker (5–9) — 39,251 70–46 118 August 16 Angels 4–3 (10) Herrera (4–2) Gott (2–1) — 36,845 71–46 119 August 18 @ Reds 3–1 (13) Medlen (1–0) Mattheus (1–4) Holland (27) 28,719 72–46 120 August 19 @ Reds 4–3 Hochevar (1–0) Sampson (2–2) Davis (10) 18,078 73–46 121 August 20 @ Red Sox 1–4 Miley (10–9) Duffy (6–6) Tazawa (2) 35,458 73–47 122 August 21 @ Red Sox 2–7 Owens (2–1) Cueto (9–8) 35,203 73–48 123 August 22 @ Red Sox 6–3 Ventura (8–7) Barnes (3–4) Holland (28) 37,135 74–48 124 August 23 @ Red Sox 8–6 Young (9–6) Tazawa (2–6) Davis (11) 36,151 75–48 125 August 24 Orioles 8–3 Medlen (2–0) Jiménez (9–8) — 27,797 76–48 126 August 25 Orioles 3–2 Duffy (7–6) González (9–10) Davis (12) 29,734 77–48 127 August 26 Orioles 5–8 Chen (8–6) Cueto (9–9) Britton (30) 33,003 77–49 128 August 27 Orioles 5–3 Ventura (9–7) Tillman (9–9) — 31,155 78–49 129 August 28 @ Rays 3–2 Vólquez (12–7) Ramírez (10–5) Holland (29) 13,622 79–49 130 August 29 @ Rays 6–3 Medlen (3–0) Odorizzi (6–7) Davis (13) 24,372 80–49 131 August 30 @ Rays 2–3 Cedeño (3–1) Hochevar (1–1) Boxberger (32) 18,634 80–50
September: 11–17 (Home: 6–9 ; Away: 5–8) # Date Opponent Score Win Loss Save Attendance Record 132 September 1 Tigers 5–6 Verlander (3–6) Cueto (9–10) Rondón (3) 30,665 80–51 133 September 2 Tigers 12–1 Ventura (10–7) Wolf (0–3) — 26,789 81–51 134 September 3 Tigers 15–7 Young (10–6) Ryan (1–3) — 29,409 82–51 135 September 4 White Sox 1–12 Danks (7–12) Medlen (3–1) — 36,953 82–52 136 September 5 White Sox 1–6 Quintana (6–10) Duffy (7–7) — 37,287 82–53 137 September 6 White Sox 5–7 Johnson (1–0) Cueto (9–11) — 38,902 82–54 138 September 7 Twins 2–6 Milone (8–4) Ventura (10–8) — 36,825 82–55 139 September 8 Twins 4–2 Vólquez (13–7) Gibson (9–10) — 31,834 83–55 140 September 9 Twins 2–3 (12) Boyer (3–4) Morales (3–2) Jepsen (12) 32,286 83–56 141 September 11 @ Orioles 8–14 Givens (2–0) Herrera (4–3) — 45,420 83–57 142 September 12 @ Orioles 14–6 Ventura (11–8) Matusz (1–4) — 35,439 84–57 143 September 13 @ Orioles 2–8 Chen (9–7) Cueto (9–12) — 22,496 84–58 144 September 14 @ Indians 3–8 Carrasco (13–10) Vólquez (13–8) — 10,356 84–59 145 September 15 @ Indians 2–0 Medlen (4–1) Tomlin (5–2) Holland (31) 10,516 85–59 146 September 16 @ Indians 1–5 Salazar (13–8) Duffy (7–8) — 11,103 85–60 147 September 17 @ Indians 8–4 Ventura (12–8) Kluber (8–14) Holland (32) 13,125 86–60 148 September 18 @ Tigers 4–5 (12) VerHagen (2–0) Holland (3–2) — 32,926 86–61 149 September 19 @ Tigers 5–6 (11) Gorzelanny (2–2) Almonte (0–1) — 36,007 86–62 150 September 20 @ Tigers 10–3 Medlen (5–1) Simón (13–10) Duffy (1) 32,788 87–62 151 September 22 Mariners 2–11 Iwakuma (9–4) Guthrie (8–8) — 29,081 87–63 152 September 23 Mariners 4–3 (10) Davis (8–1) Rollins (0–2) — 28,756 88–63 153 September 24 Mariners 10–4 Cueto (10–12) Kensing (1–1) — 32,244 89–63 154 September 25 Indians 0–6 Carrasco (14–11) Vólquez (13–9) — 37,049 89–64 155 September 26 Indians 5–9 Medlen (5–2) McAllister (4–4) — 36,167 89–65 156 September 27 Indians 3–0 Young (11–6) Salazar (13–10) Davis (14) 36,339 90–65 157 September 28 @ Cubs 0–1 (11) Rodney (7–5) Almonte (0–2) — 40,552 90–66 158 September 29 @ White Sox 2–4 Samardzija (11–13) Cueto (10–13) Robertson (33) 13,024 90–67 159 September 30 @ White Sox 5–3 Morales (4–2) Robertson (6–5) Davis (15) 12,818 91–67
October: 4–0 (Home: 0–0 ; Away: 4–0) # Date Opponent Score Win Loss Save Attendance Record 160 October 1 @ White Sox 6–4 Medlen (6–2) Danks (7–15) Madson (3) 12,825 92–67 160 October 2 @ Twins 3–1 Coleman (1–0) Santana (7–5) Davis (16) 31,534 93–67 161 October 3 @ Twins 5–1 Ventura (13–8) Boyer (3–6) Davis (17) 30,181 94–67 162 October 4 @ Twins 6–1 Cueto (11–13) Nolasco (5–2) — 24,108 95–67
Legend:        = Win        = Loss        = Postponement Bold = Royals team member

Post-season

American League Division Series vs. Houston Astros

The Houston Astros defeated the New York Yankees 3–0 in the 2015 American League Wild Card Game on Tuesday, October 6, earning them the right to play the Royals in the ALDS.

Game 1, October 8

6:37 p.m. CDT at Kauffman Stadium in Kansas City, Missouri

Team	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	R	H	E
Houston	2	1	0	0	1	0	0	1	0	5	11	0
Kansas City	0	1	0	1	0	0	0	0	0	2	6	0
WP: Collin McHugh (1–0)   LP: Yordano Ventura (0–1)   Sv: Luke Gregerson (1) Home runs: HOU: George Springer, Colby Rasmus KC: Kendrys Morales (2)

Royals Pitchers	IP	H	R	ER	BB	SO	HR	ERA
Yordano Ventura (L, 0–1)	25.0	4	3	3	1	2	0	13.50
Chris Young	4.0	3	1	1	2	7	1	2.25
Kelvin Herrera	1.0	1	0	0	0	2	0	0.00
Ryan Madson	1.0	2	1	1	0	3	1	9.00
Luke Hochevar	1.0	1	0	0	0	0	0	0.00

One season after the Royals blazed through the 2014 ALDS and ALCS with sweeps, they fell to the Astros in their first postseason game of 2015, struggling to manufacture offense against Houston's Collin McHugh. McHugh pitched six innings, holding the Royals to two runs and six hits. The only Kansas City hitter to produce runs was Kendrys Morales, who cracked a pair of solo shots off McHugh in the second and fourth innings. Morales had been the leadoff batter in the second; and in the fourth, the Royals could not put any men on base prior to Morales' second blast. Kansas City's own starter, Yordano Ventura, seemed dazed early, giving up a walk and two hits to the Astros before he recorded the game's first out. Houston then utilized sacrifice ground outs to bring home their first two runs of the game. After surrendering a third run in the second inning, Ventura, having amassed only two innings of work and having struck out two, was replaced by Chris Young following a rain delay. Young would go on to pitch four innings, the most of any Royal in the game. Young put three zeroes on the board against Houston, but the Astros did strike once against him in the fifth, taking a 4–2 lead, as George Springer hit a solo home run to left field. Houston's offense was nightcapped, appropriately, by a Colby Rasmus home run in the eighth; Rasmus had crushed a home run in the wild card game against New York to help the Astros earn a series against the Royals. A loyal crowd in Kansas City tried to unnerve Houston closer Luke Gregerson in the ninth, especially after he hit Mike Moustakas with a pitch, but the final inning was otherwise uneventful, and the Astros sealed their 5–2 Game 1 victory over the Royals with relative ease.

Game 2, October 9

2:47 p.m. CDT at Kauffman Stadium in Kansas City, Missouri

Team	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	R	H	E
Houston	1	2	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	4	8	0
Kansas City	0	1	1	0	0	2	1	0	x	5	11	0
WP: Kelvin Herrera (1–0)   LP: Will Harris (0–1)   Sv: Wade Davis (1) Home runs: HOU: Colby Rasmus KC: Salvador Pérez

Royals Pitchers	IP	H	R	ER	BB	SO	HR	ERA
Johnny Cueto	6.0	7	4	4	3	5	1	6.00
Kelvin Herrera (W, 1–0)	1.0	1	0	0	0	1	0	0.00
Ryan Madson	1.0	0	0	0	0	2	0	0.00
Wade Davis (S, 1)	1.0	0	0	0	1	1	0	0.00

The Royals struck back in Game 2 to force a Game 4 in Houston, but it wasn't easy. They again fell behind early as starter Johnny Cueto's struggles continued, Colby Rasmus doubling to bring in George Springer to give the Astros a 1–0 lead. They would pad it in the second with two more runs off of Cueto, courtesy of a Springer line drive that brought home Chris Carter and Jason Castro, who had previously reached on a single and walk, respectively.

The Royals' offense rolled out of bed in the bottom of the second, with Salvador Pérez cracking a solo shot off of Houston's Scott Kazmir. The Astros negated the effect of the Kansas City run in the top of the third as Rasmus homered for his third consecutive postseason game. Kansas City remained resilient, however, with Alex Ríos doubling, Alcides Escobar singling on an overturned video-review call, and Ben Zobrist hitting a sacrifice ground out to bring Rios home. At the end of the third inning, Houston led 4–2. The Astros' scoring for the evening was over.

Neither team posted a run in the fourth or fifth innings, but the Royals hung their first two-spot in the bottom of the sixth. After Lorenzo Cain doubled with one out, Kazmir was relieved by Óliver Pérez, who was shaky, allowing Eric Hosmer to score Cain. Kendrys Morales then singled and Mike Moustakas drew a walk. Josh Fields entered the game as Houston's third pitcher of the inning. Fields walked yet another batter, bringing home the tying run in Hosmer, before ending the inning with two consecutive strikeouts. Kansas City then took the lead in the bottom of the seventh, Escobar tripling and then being brought home by a Zobrist single. Ryan Madson was effective in relief for Kansas City in the eighth. In the ninth, closer Wade Davis struck out Jed Lowrie, but then walked Preston Tucker. Carlos Gomez entered the game as a pinch-runner for Tucker. However, in their second challenge victory of the night, a Davis pickoff throw in which Gomez was originally ruled to be safe was overturned, retiring him for the second out of the inning. Jose Altuve then grounded out to end the game.

Game 3, October 11

3:07 p.m. CDT at Minute Maid Park in Houston, Texas

Team	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	R	H	E
Kansas City	0	0	0	1	0	0	0	0	1	2	7	0
Houston	0	0	0	0	2	1	1	0	x	4	8	1
WP: Dallas Keuchel (1–0)   LP: Edinson Vólquez (0–1)   Sv: Luke Gregerson (2) Home runs: KC: Lorenzo Cain, Alex Gordon HOU: Chris Carter

Royals Pitchers	IP	H	R	ER	BB	SO	HR	ERA
Edinson Vólquez (L, 0–1)	5.2	5	3	3	4	8	0	4.76
Danny Duffy	0.2	1	1	1	0	0	1	13.50
Luke Hochevar	1.2	2	0	0	0	2	0	0.00

The Kansas City Royals' Edinson Vólquez pitched valiantly, only allowing three of four runs from Houston's power-hitting lineup, but the Astros surged ahead 2–1 in the series anyway on the back of another strong pitching performance from their own starter, Dallas Keuchel, who struck out seven Royal batters and surrendered only a solo home run, a fourth inning blast off the bat of Lorenzo Cain. Kansas City's only other run would come off of Houston relief pitching. Houston's own offense struck in the bottom of the fifth inning, the Astros posting a two-run frame to negate the Cain blast. Volquez, after striking out Carlos Gómez, walked Luis Valbuena, who was then moved over to third base by virtue of a Chris Carter double. Jason Castro then manufactured a ground ball single to score both Carter and Gomez. The Astros then hung two more runs on the Royals, one each in the sixth and seventh. Alex Gordon homered for Kansas City in the top of the ninth, a solo shot off closer Luke Gregerson, but Gregerson then gathered himself and retired the remainder of the Royals' ninth without suffering any further damage, sealing the Houston victory. The Royals now must win in Game 4 on the road to extend the series, and their season, to a Game 5.

Game 4, October 12

October 12, 2015 1:07 p.m. (EDT) at Minute Maid Park in Houston, Texas

Team	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	R	H	E
Kansas City	0	2	0	0	0	0	0	5	2	9	8	0
Houston	0	1	1	0	1	0	3	0	0	6	9	1
WP: Ryan Madson (1–0)   LP: Tony Sipp (0–1)   Sv: Wade Davis (2) Home runs: KC: Salvador Pérez (2), Eric Hosmer (1) HOU: Carlos Gómez (1), Carlos Correa 2 (2), Colby Rasmus (3)

Royals Pitchers	IP	H	R	ER	BB	SO	HR	ERA
Yordano Ventura	5	4	3	3	3	8	2	7.71
Kelvin Herrera	1	0	1	1	2	3	0	3.00
Ryan Madson (W, 1-0)	1	4	2	2	0	2	2	9.00
Wade Davis (S, 2)	2	1	0	0	0	3	0	3.00

The Royals' string of clutch hits in the top of the eighth against a frazzled Houston bullpen restored life to a team that had been pushed to the brink of elimination by Astro starter Lance McCullers. Reliever Ryan Madson was credited with the win for Kansas City in spite of giving up back to back home runs in the bottom of the seventh that had a raucous Minute Maid Park crowd thinking that an Astros seat in the ALCS was all but assured. Houston's Will Harris was charged with four earned runs and Tony Sipp with one during Kansas City's eighth inning comeback.

Game 5, October 14

October 14, 2015 8:07 p.m. (EDT) at Kauffman Stadium in Kansas City, Missouri

Team	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	R	H	E
Houston	0	2	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	2	2	0
Kansas City	0	0	0	1	3	0	0	3	x	7	8	0
Starting pitchers: HOU: Collin McHugh KC: Johnny Cueto WP: Johnny Cueto (1-0)   LP: Collin McHugh (1-1)   Sv: Wade Davis (3) Home runs: HOU: Luis Valbuena KC: Kendrys Morales Attendance: 40,566

Royals Pitchers	IP	H	R	ER	BB	SO	HR	ERA
Johnny Cueto (W, 1–0)	8	2	2	2	0	8	1	3.86
Wade Davis (S, 3)	1	0	0	0	0	1	0	0.00

American League Championship Series vs. Toronto Blue Jays

The Blue Jays had defeated the Texas Rangers three games to two in the 2015 American League Division Series.

Game 1, October 16

October 16, 2015 7:30 p.m. (CDT) at Kauffman Stadium in Kansas City, Missouri

Team	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	R	H	E
Toronto	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	3	1
Kansas City	0	0	2	1	0	0	0	2	x	5	8	1
WP: Edinson Vólquez (1–0)   LP: Marco Estrada (0–1) Home runs: TOR: None KC: Salvador Pérez Attendance: 39,753

Royals Pitchers	IP	H	R	ER	BB	SO	HR	ERA
Edinson Vólquez (W, 1–0)	6.0	2	0	0	4	5	0	0.00
Kelvin Herrera	1.0	0	0	0	0	2	0	0.00
Ryan Madson	1.0	1	0	0	1	0	0	0.00
Luke Hochevar	1.0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0.00

Game 2, October 17

October 17, 2015 3:30 p.m. (CDT) at Kauffman Stadium in Kansas City, Missouri

Team	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	R	H	E
Toronto	0	0	1	0	0	2	0	0	0	3	10	0
Kansas City	0	0	0	0	0	0	5	1	x	6	8	0
WP: Danny Duffy (1–0)   LP: David Price (0–1)   Sv: Wade Davis (1) Home runs: TOR: None KC: None Attendance: 40,357

Royals Pitchers	IP	H	R	ER	BB	SO	HR	ERA
Yordano Ventura (0–1)	5.1	8	3	3	2	6	0	5.06
Luke Hochevar	0.2	0	0	0	0	0	0	0.00
Danny Duffy (W, 1-0)	1.0	0	0	0	0	1	0	0.00
Kelvin Herrera	1.0	1	0	0	0	2	0	0.00
Wade Davis (S, 1)	1.0	0	0	0	1	2	0	0.00

This game marked the fourth time the Royals had rallied back from a multi-run deficit to win in this post-season. With the Royals trailing 3–0, Ben Zobrist led off the seventh inning with a pop-up to shallow right field. Second baseman Ryan Goins had a lead on the ball and waved off charging right fielder José Bautista only to duck out of the way at the last moment, allowing the ball to drop for what was ruled a single. The Royals went on to score five runs in the inning. This marked David Price's seventh consecutive playoff loss, tying him with Randy Johnson for the record.

Game 3, October 19

October 19, 2015 7:00 p.m. (CDT) at Rogers Centre in Toronto

Team	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	R	H	E
Kansas City	1	0	1	0	2	0	0	0	4	8	15	0
Toronto	0	3	6	0	1	0	0	1	x	11	11	0
WP: Marcus Stroman (1–0)   LP: Johnny Cueto (0–1) Home runs: KC: Kendrys Morales TOR: Troy Tulowitzki, Josh Donaldson, Ryan Goins Attendance: 49,751

Royals Pitchers	IP	H	R	ER	BB	SO	HR	ERA
Johnny Cueto (L, 0–1)	2.0*	6	8	8	4	2	1	36.00
Kris Medlen	5.0	3	2	2	1	6	2	3.60
Franklin Morales	1.0	2	1	1	1	1	0	9.00
* Cueto pitched to five batters in the third.

Game 4, October 20

October 20, 2015 3:00 p.m. (CDT) at Rogers Centre in Toronto

Team	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	R	H	E
Kansas City	4	1	0	0	0	0	4	3	2	14	15	0
Toronto	0	0	2	0	0	0	0	0	0	2	7	0
WP: Luke Hochevar (1–0)   LP: R. A. Dickey (0–1) Home runs: KC: Ben Zobrist (1), Alex Ríos (1) TOR: None Attendance: 49,501

Royals Pitchers	IP	H	R	ER	BB	SO	HR	ERA
Chris Young	4.2	3	2	2	2	4	0	3.86
Luke Hochevar (W, 1–0)	1.1	1	0	0	0	0	0	0.00
Ryan Madson	1.0	1	0	0	0	2	0	0.00
Kelvin Herrera	1.0	1	0	0	0	1	0	0.00
Franklin Morales	1.0	1	0	0	0	1	0	4.50

This game marked the first time in postseason history that a position player was brought in to pitch. Cliff Pennington of the Blue Jays was brought in during the 9th inning as Toronto's bullpen became increasingly thin after the Royals scoring refused to cease after numerous pitching changes. The players in the dugout and the few remaining fans left found this very amusing. Pennington gave up two unearned runs before retiring the side.

Game 5, October 21

October 21, 2015 3:00 p.m. (CDT) at Rogers Centre in Toronto

Team	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	R	H	E
Kansas City	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	0	1	4	0
Toronto	0	1	0	0	0	4	1	1	x	7	8	0
WP: Marco Estrada (1–1)   LP: Edinson Vólquez (1–1) Home runs: KC: Salvador Pérez (2) TOR: Chris Colabello (1) Attendance: 49,325

Royals Pitchers	IP	H	R	ER	BB	SO	HR	ERA
Edison Volquez (L, 1–1)	5.0	3	5	5	4	2	1	4.09
Kelvin Herrera	1.0	1	0	0	0	3	0	0.00
Danny Duffy	2.0	4	2	2	0	5	0	6.00

Game 6, October 23

October 23, 2015 7:07 p.m. (CDT) at Kauffman Stadium in Kansas City, Missouri

Team	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	R	H	E
Toronto	0	0	0	1	0	0	0	2	0	3	7	0
Kansas City	1	1	0	0	0	0	1	1	x	4	9	0
WP: Wade Davis (1–0)   LP: Roberto Osuna (0–1) Home runs: TOR: José Bautista 2 (2) KC: Ben Zobrist (2), Mike Moustakas (1) Attendance: 40,494

Royals Pitchers	IP	H	R	ER	BB	SO	HR	ERA
Yordano Ventura	5.1	4	1	1	2	5	1	3.38
Kelvin Herrera	1.2	0	0	0	0	2	0	0.00
Ryan Madson	0.1	2	2	2	1	1	1	7.71
Wade Davis (W, 1–0)	1.2	1	0	0	1	3	0	0.00

World Series vs. New York Mets

The New York Mets had defeated the Chicago Cubs four games to zero in the 2015 National League Championship Series.

Game 1, October 27

Tuesday, October 27, 2015 7:07 p.m. (CDT) at Kauffman Stadium in Kansas City, Missouri

Team	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	R	H	E
New York	0	0	0	1	1	1	0	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	4	11	1
Kansas City	1	0	0	0	0	2	0	0	1	0	0	0	0	1	5	11	1
WP: Chris Young (1–0)   LP: Bartolo Colón (0–1) Home runs: NYM: Curtis Granderson (1) KC: Alcides Escobar (1), Alex Gordon (1) Attendance: 40,320

Royals Pitchers	IP	H	R	ER	BB	SO	HR	ERA
Edinson Vólquez	6.0	6	3	3	1	3	1	4.50
Danny Duffy	0.2	0	0	0	0	1	0	0.00
Kelvin Herrera	1.1	3	1	0	0	2	0	0.00
Luke Hochevar	1.0	1	0	0	0	0	0	0.00
Wade Davis	1.0	0	0	0	0	3	0	0.00
Ryan Madson	1.0	1	0	0	1	2	0	0.00
Chris Young (W, 1–0)	3.0	0	0	0	1	4	0	0.00

The ceremonial first pitch was thrown out by George Brett. Matt Harvey started Game 1 for the Mets, while Edinson Vólquez started for the Royals. Volquez's father died earlier in the day. He was not aware of his father's death until after he left the game.

On the first pitch thrown by Harvey, Alcides Escobar hit an inside-the-park home run, the first in a World Series game since Mule Haas in the 1929 World Series (and the first hit by a leadoff batter since Patsy Dougherty did it for the Boston Americans (now Red Sox) in 1903). In the fourth inning, Daniel Murphy recorded the Mets' first hit, and later scored their first run on a hit by Travis d'Arnaud. Curtis Granderson hit a home run in the fifth inning to give the Mets a 2–1 lead. Eric Hosmer reduced the lead to 3–2 with a sacrifice fly, and set a new Royals' postseason run batted in (RBI) record in the process. A single by Mike Moustakas tied the game at three, but in the top of the eighth, Wilmer Flores reached on an fielding error by Hosmer, allowing Juan Lagares to score the go-ahead run and give the Mets a 4–3 lead. Alex Gordon tied the game for the Royals with a home run in the bottom of the ninth inning, as Jeurys Familia blew his first save in six opportunities this postseason.

In the bottom of the 14th inning, Escobar reached first base on a throwing error by David Wright, and Bartolo Colón gave up a base hit to Ben Zobrist, allowing Escobar to reach third base. Hosmer hit a sacrifice fly to Granderson in right field to drive in the winning run. The game ended at 1:18 AM EDT, lasting five hours and nine minutes. The game tied the record for the longest game by innings in World Series history, shared with Game 2 in 1916 and Game 3 in 2005. The loss made Colón the oldest man ever to lose a World Series game.

Game 2, October 28

Wednesday, October 28, 2015 7:07 p.m. (CDT) at Kauffman Stadium in Kansas City, Missouri

Team	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	R	H	E
New York	0	0	0	1	0	0	0	0	0	1	2	1
Kansas City	0	0	0	0	4	0	0	3	x	7	10	0
WP: Johnny Cueto (1–0)   LP: Jacob deGrom (0–1) Attendance: 40,410

Royals Pitchers	IP	H	R	ER	BB	SO	HR	ERA
Johnny Cueto (W, 1–0)	9	2	1	1	3	4	0	1.04

In Game 2, Jacob deGrom started for the Mets, and Johnny Cueto started for the Royals. The Mets scored the first run of the game with a Lucas Duda single that scored Murphy in the fourth inning. In the fifth inning, the Royals scored four runs on RBI singles by Alcides Escobar, Eric Hosmer, and Mike Moustakas. The Royals scored three more runs in the eighth inning. Cueto pitched a complete game, the first by an AL pitcher in the World Series since Jack Morris in Game 7 in 1991, as the Royals defeated the Mets and took a two games to zero lead in the series.

Game 3, October 30

Friday, October 30, 2015 7:07 p.m. (CDT) at Citi Field in Queens, New York

Team	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	R	H	E
Kansas City	1	2	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	3	7	0
New York	2	0	2	1	0	4	0	0	x	9	12	0
WP: Noah Syndergaard (1–0)   LP: Yordano Ventura (0–1) Home runs: KC: None NYM: David Wright (1), Curtis Granderson (2) Attendance: 44,781

Royals Pitchers	IP	H	R	ER	BB	SO	HR	ERA
Yordano Ventura (L, 0–1)	3.1	7	5	5	0	1	2	13.50
Danny Duffy	0.2	0	0	0	0	1	0	0.00
Luke Hochevar	1.0	1	0	0	0	2	0	0.00
Franklin Morales	0.1	2	4	2	0	0	0	81.00
Kelvin Herrera	0.2	1	0	0	1	1	0	0.00
Ryan Madson	1.0	1	0	0	1	0	0	0.00
Kris Medlen	1.0	0	0	0	0	2	0	0.00

At Citi Field, Game 3 was started by Yordano Ventura of the Royals and Noah Syndergaard of the Mets. The ceremonial 1st pitch was thrown by Mike Piazza. With no designated hitter (DH) in NL parks, the Mets started Michael Conforto, their DH for Game 2, in the outfield instead of Juan Lagares, and the Royals did not start Kendrys Morales, their regular DH. Ben Zobrist scored the Royals' first run in the first inning on a force play. The first pitch thrown by Syndergaard was over the head of Royals shortstop Alcides Escobar causing the Royals to complain. In the bottom of the first inning, David Wright responded with a two-run home run that also scored Curtis Granderson. For the Royals, Alex Ríos drove Salvador Pérez home in the second inning, and scored on a passed ball by Travis d'Arnaud, giving the Royals a 3–2 lead. Granderson hit a two-run home run in the third inning, and the Mets took a 4–3 lead. The Mets added a run in the fourth inning on an RBI single by Conforto, and four more in the sixth inning. The Royals made a few uncharacteristic mistakes in this game, the first coming in the fourth inning when pitcher Yordano Ventura forgot to cover the base on a ground ball to the first baseman, and the second in the sixth inning when Royals pitcher Franklin Morales triple-clutched Granderson's ground ball, allowing all runners to be safe, which led to a 2-run single by David Wright.

In the 5th inning, Royals player Raúl Adalberto Mondesí made his Major League Baseball debut, pinch hitting for Danny Duffy, becoming the first player to ever make their MLB debut in the World Series.

Game 4, October 31

Saturday, October 31, 2015 7:07 p.m. (CDT) at Citi Field in Queens, New York

Team	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	R	H	E
Kansas City	0	0	0	0	1	1	0	3	0	5	9	0
New York	0	0	2	0	1	0	0	0	0	3	6	1
WP: Ryan Madson (1–0)   LP: Tyler Clippard (0–1)   Sv: Wade Davis (1) Home runs: KC: None NYM: Michael Conforto 2 (2) Attendance: 44,815

Royals Pitchers	IP	H	R	ER	BB	SO	HR	ERA
Chris Young	4.0	2	2	2	1	3	1	2.57
Danny Duffy	1.0	2	1	1	0	1	1	3.86
Luke Hochevar	1.0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0.00
Ryan Madson (W, 1–0)	1.0	0	0	0	0	2	0	0.00
Wade Davis (S, 1)	2.0	2	0	0	0	2	0	0.00

The ceremonial first pitch was thrown out by country singer Tim McGraw, son of the late Mets relief pitcher Tug McGraw. The starting pitchers for Game 4 are Chris Young of the Royals and Steven Matz of the Mets. Conforto scored the game's first run with a home run in the third inning, and Wilmer Flores scored later in the inning. Conforto hit another home run in the fifth inning, becoming the first rookie to hit two home runs in a World Series game since Andruw Jones in the 1996 World Series. In the sixth inning, Zobrist hit his eighth double of the postseason, tying a postseason record previously set by Albert Pujols and David Freese of the 2011 St. Louis Cardinals. The Royals took the lead in the eighth inning off of Tyler Clippard and Familia, who had his second blown save of the series.

Game 5, November 1

Sunday, November 1, 2015 7:07 p.m. (CST) at Citi Field in Queens, New York

Team	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	R	H	E
Kansas City	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	2	0	0	5	7	10	1
New York	1	0	0	0	0	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	2	4	2
WP: Luke Hochevar (1–0)   LP: Addison Reed (0–1) Home runs: KC: None NYM: Curtis Granderson (3) Attendance: 44,859

Royals Pitchers	IP	H	R	ER	BB	SO	HR	ERA
Edinson Vólquez	6.0	2	2	1	5	5	1	3.00
Kelvin Herrera	3.0	0	0	0	0	3	0	0.00
Luke Hochevar (W, 1–0)	2.0	0	0	0	1	0	0	0.00
Wade Davis	1.0	1	0	0	0	3	0	0.00

Volquez returned to the Dominican Republic for his father's funeral the day after Game 1, but returned to the Royals in time to start Game 5. Harvey started for the Mets. Tony Bennett performed America the Beautiful, and the first pitch was thrown by Cleon Jones, Mookie Wilson, and Darryl Strawberry.

Granderson led off the first inning with a home run for the Mets, and scored the Mets' second run in the sixth inning. Harvey pitched eight shutout innings for the Mets. It appeared manager Terry Collins would go to Familia, his closer, for the ninth inning, but Harvey convinced Collins to keep him in the game. He then gave up a leadoff walk to Lorenzo Cain in the ninth inning, and the Royals got a run when Hosmer drove Cain in with a double, prompting Collins to go get Familia. Hosmer scored the tying run, and Familia blew his third save of the postseason and series; his eight save opportunities tied the postseason record set in 2002 by Robb Nen.

In the top of the twelfth inning, with Addison Reed pitching for the Mets, Pérez hit a single for the Royals. Pinch running for Pérez, Jarrod Dyson stole a base and scored on a single by pinch hitter Christian Colón. After Paulo Orlando, who had substituted into the game earlier, reached base on an error by Daniel Murphy, Alcides Escobar hit a double to score Colón. Ben Zobrist was intentionally walked to load the bases, and Cain drove home three more runs with a double off Bartolo Colón. Davis pitched a shutout inning for the Royals to complete the series and win the championship; he struck out Wilmer Flores looking to end the game, series, and baseball season.

This marked the second consecutive year (and the fourth time in the last six years) that the home team did not win the World Series, thus the trophy presentation was done in the locker room.

Postseason game log

2015 Kansas City Royals Postseason Game Log (11–5)
AL Division Series vs. Houston Astros (3–2) # Date Opponent Score Win Loss Save Attendance Series 1 October 8 Astros 2–5 McHugh (1–0) Ventura (0–1) Gregerson (1) 40,146 0–1 2 October 9 Astros 5–4 Herrera (1–0) Harris (0–1) Davis (1) 40,008 1–1 3 October 11 @ Astros 2–4 Keuchel (1–0) Vólquez (0–1) Gregerson (2) 42,674 1–2 4 October 12 @ Astros 9–6 Madson (1–0) Sipp (0–1) Davis (2) 42,387 2–2 5 October 14 Astros 7–2 Cueto (1–0) McHugh (1–1) Davis (3) 40,566 3–2
AL Championship Series vs. Toronto Blue Jays (4–2) # Date Opponent Score Win Loss Save Attendance Series 1 October 16 Blue Jays 5–0 Vólquez (1–0) Estrada (0–1) 39,753 1–0 2 October 17 Blue Jays 6–3 Duffy (1–0) Price (0–1) Davis (1) 40,357 2–0 3 October 19 @ Blue Jays 8–11 Stroman (1–0) Cueto (0–1) 49,751 2–1 4 October 20 @ Blue Jays 14–2 Hochevar (1–0) Dickey (0–1) 49,501 3–1 5 October 21 @ Blue Jays 1–7 Estrada (1-1) Volquez (1-1) 49,325 3–2 6 October 23 Blue Jays 4–3 Davis (1–0) Osuna (0–1) 40,494 4–2
World Series vs. New York Mets (4–1) # Date Opponent Score Win Loss Save Attendance Series 1 October 27 Mets 5–4 (14) Young (1-0) Colón (0-1) 40,320 1–0 2 October 28 Mets 7–1 Cueto (1–0) deGrom (0–1) 40,410 2–0 3 October 30 @ Mets 3–9 Syndergaard (1–0) Ventura (0–1) 44,781 2–1 4 October 31 @ Mets 5–3 Madson (1–0) Clippard (0–1) Davis (1) 44,815 3–1 5 November 1 @ Mets 7–2 (12) Hochevar (1–0) Reed (0–1) 44,859 4–1

Postseason rosters

Playoff rosters
American League Division Series Pitchers: 17 Wade Davis 30 Yordano Ventura 32 Chris Young 36 Edinson Vólquez 39 Kris Medlen 40 Kelvin Herrera 41 Danny Duffy 44 Luke Hochevar 45 Franklin Morales 46 Ryan Madson 47 Johnny Cueto Catchers: 9 Drew Butera 13 Salvador Pérez Infielders: 2 Alcides Escobar 8 Mike Moustakas 18 Ben Zobrist 24 Christian Colón 35 Eric Hosmer Outfielders: 0 Terrance Gore 1 Jarrod Dyson 4 Alex Gordon 6 Lorenzo Cain 15 Alex Ríos 16 Paulo Orlando Designated hitters: 25 Kendrys Morales
American League Championship Series Pitchers: 17 Wade Davis 30 Yordano Ventura 32 Chris Young 36 Edinson Vólquez 39 Kris Medlen 40 Kelvin Herrera 41 Danny Duffy 44 Luke Hochevar 45 Franklin Morales 46 Ryan Madson 47 Johnny Cueto Catchers: 9 Drew Butera 13 Salvador Pérez Infielders: 2 Alcides Escobar 8 Mike Moustakas 18 Ben Zobrist 24 Christian Colón 35 Eric Hosmer Outfielders: 0 Terrance Gore 1 Jarrod Dyson 4 Alex Gordon 6 Lorenzo Cain 15 Alex Ríos 16 Paulo Orlando Designated hitters: 25 Kendrys Morales
World Series Pitchers: 17 Wade Davis 30 Yordano Ventura 32 Chris Young 36 Edinson Vólquez 39 Kris Medlen 40 Kelvin Herrera 41 Danny Duffy 44 Luke Hochevar 45 Franklin Morales 46 Ryan Madson 47 Johnny Cueto Catchers: 9 Drew Butera 13 Salvador Pérez Infielders: 2 Alcides Escobar 8 Mike Moustakas 18 Ben Zobrist 24 Christian Colón 27 Raúl Mondesí 35 Eric Hosmer Outfielders: 1 Jarrod Dyson 4 Alex Gordon 6 Lorenzo Cain 15 Alex Ríos 16 Paulo Orlando Designated hitters: 25 Kendrys Morales

Roster

2015 Kansas City Royals
Roster
Pitchers 54 Scott Alexander 50 Miguel Almonte 49 Joe Blanton 62 Aaron Brooks 62 Joba Chamberlain 49 Louis Coleman 47 Johnny Cueto 17 Wade Davis 41 Danny Duffy 27 Brandon Finnegan 54 Jason Frasor 11 Jeremy Guthrie 40 Kelvin Herrera 44 Luke Hochevar 56 Greg Holland 46 Ryan Madson 48 Michael Mariot 39 Kris Medlen 47,45 Franklin Morales 63 Yohan Pino 51 Jason Vargas 30 Yordano Ventura 36 Edinson Vólquez 32 Chris Young		Catchers  9 Drew Butera 19 Erik Kratz 26 Francisco Peña 13 Salvador Pérez Infielders 12 Orlando Calixte 43 Dusty Coleman 24 Christian Colón 19 Cheslor Cuthbert  2 Alcides Escobar 35 Eric Hosmer 14 Omar Infante  8 Mike Moustakas 18 Ben Zobrist		Outfielders  6 Lorenzo Cain  1 Jarrod Dyson 31 Jonny Gomes  4 Alex Gordon  0 Terrance Gore 16 Paulo Orlando 15 Alex Ríos Designated hitters 25 Kendrys Morales		Manager  3 Ned Yost Coaches 58 Dave Eiland (pitching) 28 Pedro Grifol (catching) 57 Doug Henry (bullpen) 23 Mike Jirschele (third base) 18,81 Rusty Kuntz (first base) 21 Dale Sveum (hitting) 22 Don Wakamatsu (bench)

Statistics

Batting

Note: G = Games played; AB = At bats; R = Runs scored; H = Hits; 2B = Doubles; 3B = Triples; HR = Home runs; RBI = Runs batted in; BB = Base on balls; SO = Strikeouts; AVG = Batting average; SB = Stolen bases

Player	G	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	BB	SO	AVG	SB
Joe Blanton, P	15	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	.000	0
Drew Butera, C	45	86	6	17	3	0	1	5	6	24	.198	0
Lorenzo Cain, CF	140	551	101	169	34	6	16	72	37	98	.307	28
Orlando Calixte, SS	2	3	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	.000	0
Dusty Coleman, 3B	4	5	5	0	0	0	0	0	0	3	.000	0
Christian Colón, SS,2B,3B	43	107	8	31	5	0	0	6	11	17	.290	3
Cheslor Cuthbert, 3B	19	46	6	10	2	1	1	8	4	9	.217	0
Jarrod Dyson, OF	90	200	31	50	8	6	2	18	14	37	.250	26
Alcides Escobar, SS	148	612	76	157	20	5	3	47	26	75	.257	17
Jonny Gomes, RF,DH	12	30	2	5	2	0	0	4	3	14	.167	0
Alex Gordon, LF	104	354	40	96	18	0	13	48	49	92	.271	2
Terrance Gore, OF	9	3	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	.000	3
Jeremy Guthrie, P	30	4	0	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	.250	0
Eric Hosmer, 1B	158	599	98	178	33	5	18	93	61	108	.297	7
Omar Infante, 2B	124	440	39	97	23	7	2	44	9	69	.220	2
Erik Kratz, C	4	4	0	0	0	0	0	1	0	2	.000	0
Kris Medlen, P	15	0	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	.000	0
Kendrys Morales, DH	158	569	81	165	41	2	22	106	58	103	.290	0
Mike Moustakas, 3B	147	549	73	156	34	1	22	82	43	76	.284	1
Paulo Orlando, RF	86	241	31	60	14	6	7	27	5	53	.249	3
Francisco Peña, C	8	7	0	1	0	0	0	0	0	3	.143	0
Salvador Pérez, C	142	531	52	138	25	0	21	70	13	82	.260	1
Alex Ríos, RF	105	385	40	98	22	2	4	32	15	67	.255	9
Yordano Ventura, P	28	6	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	5	.000	0
Edinson Vólquez, P	34	6	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	4	.000	0
Chris Young, P	34	4	0	2	0	0	0	3	0	1	.500	0
Ben Zobrist, 2B,LF,3B	59	232	37	66	16	1	7	23	29	30	.284	2
Team Totals	162	5575	724	1497	300	42	139	689	383	973	.269	104

Pitching

Note: W = Wins; L = Losses; ERA = Earned run average; G = Games pitched; GS = Games started; SV = Saves; IP = Innings pitched; H = Hits allowed; R = Runs allowed; ER = Earned runs allowed; HR = Home runs allowed; BB = Walks allowed; K = Strikeouts

Player	W	L	ERA	G	GS	SV	IP	H	R	ER	HR	BB	K
Scott Alexander	0	0	4.50	4	0	0	6.0	5	3	3	0	3	3
Miguel Almonte	0	2	6.23	9	0	0	8.2	7	6	6	4	7	10
Joe Blanton	2	2	3.89	15	4	2	41.2	43	19	18	6	7	40
Aaron Brooks	0	0	6.23	2	0	0	4.1	6	3	3	0	0	3
Joba Chamberlain	0	0	7.94	6	0	0	5.2	6	5	5	1	4	8
Louis Coleman	1	0	0.00	4	0	0	3.0	1	0	0	0	2	1
Johnny Cueto	4	7	4.76	13	13	0	81.1	101	45	43	10	17	56
Wade Davis	8	1	0.94	69	0	17	67.1	33	8	7	3	20	78
Danny Duffy	7	8	4.08	30	24	1	136.2	137	64	62	15	53	102
Brandon Finnegan	3	0	2.96	14	0	0	24.1	16	8	8	3	13	21
Jason Frasor	1	0	1.54	26	0	0	23.1	24	5	4	1	15	18
Jeremy Guthrie	8	8	5.95	30	24	0	148.1	186	101	98	29	44	84
Kelvin Herrera	4	3	2.71	72	0	0	69.2	52	23	21	5	26	64
Luke Hochevar	1	1	3.73	49	0	1	50.2	49	23	21	7	16	49
Greg Holland	3	2	3.83	48	0	32	44.2	39	20	19	2	26	49
Ryan Madson	1	2	2.13	68	0	3	63.1	47	17	15	5	14	58
Michael Mariot	0	0	3.00	2	0	0	3.0	2	1	1	1	2	1
Kris Medlen	6	2	4.01	15	8	0	58.1	56	30	26	6	18	40
Franklin Morales	4	2	3.18	67	0	0	62.1	58	24	22	4	14	41
Yohan Pino	0	2	3.26	7	1	0	19.1	23	8	7	2	3	13
Jason Vargas	5	2	3.98	9	9	0	43.0	46	20	19	5	12	27
Yordano Ventura	13	8	4.08	28	28	0	163.1	154	75	74	14	58	156
Edinson Vólquez	13	9	3.55	34	33	0	200.1	190	89	79	16	72	155
Chris Young	11	6	3.06	34	18	0	123.1	91	44	42	16	43	83
Team Totals	95	67	3.73	162	162	56	1452.0	1372	641	601	155	489	1160

Farm system

See also: Minor League Baseball

Level	Team	League	Manager
AAA	Omaha Storm Chasers	Pacific Coast League	Brian Poldberg
AA	Northwest Arkansas Naturals	Texas League	Vance Wilson
A-Advanced	Wilmington Blue Rocks	Carolina League	Brian Buchanan
A	Lexington Legends	South Atlantic League	Omar Ramírez
Rookie	Burlington Royals	Appalachian League	Scott Thorman
Rookie	Idaho Falls Chukars	Pioneer League	Justin Gemoll
Rookie	DSL Royals	Dominican Summer League	José Gualdron

Outfielder José Martínez, while playing for Omaha, broke the Pacific Coast League (PCL) batting record with a .384 average and led the league in on-base percentage (OBP, .461) and was an All-Star.

External links

• 2015 Kansas City Royals Official Site Archived July 7, 2009, at the Wayback Machine
• 2015 Kansas City Royals at Baseball Reference