[jg2977]

MIKE: Alright, lemme start with this — Game One of the ’23 World Series, Mets and Indians, and folks, it was an absolute blowout. Mets win it 11–2. Eleven runs, sixteen hits, not an error on the board. They dominated from the second inning on. Cleveland never got up off the mat.
MAD DOG: Mikey, Mikey, it wasn’t even close! The Mets came out swingin’ the bats, second inning, Jason Guidice with that big two-run single to open the scoring, and then boom! Five runs in the frame! Cleveland was playin’ catch-up all day!
MIKE: And that’s what championship teams do, Chris. They go on the road, hostile environment, World Series crowd in Cleveland — and they take Game One. You could tell right away: the Mets weren’t intimidated, they were ready to go.
MAD DOG: I’ll tell ya who set the tone — Sloan! Alan Sloan! This guy’s hittin’ close to .400 in the postseason, Mikey. He’s hittin’ everything! Seventh home run of the playoffs today, and that one in the fifth — gone! No doubt about it. Then Contreras goes back-to-back, and then Rosa goes deep too! Three homers in the same inning, Mikey! I mean, that’s a statement!
MIKE: Yeah, they put that game away in the fifth inning. You’re not comin’ back from that against a team like this. And look at the pitching — Pineda gives you 7⅔, two runs, efficient, 98 pitches. That’s exactly what you want from your Game One starter on the road.
MAD DOG: He was terrific. Didn’t walk anybody, kept the ball down, and the bullpen — clean job by Gates to close it out. Cleveland couldn’t string anything together. Seven hits, that’s it!
MIKE: You know what I didn’t like from Cleveland? Tolo. The starter. Couldn’t get outta the third inning. Five runs, all earned, and he was lucky it wasn’t worse. You can’t have your Game One guy last two innings in the World Series. That’s just not good enough.
MAD DOG: And the bullpen, Mikey — yikes! Longoria comes in, gives up three bombs! I mean, come on! You can’t let a lineup like the Mets see soft stuff in the zone. They’ll crush you!
MIKE: And they did. Every single big bat contributed. Stacks had a couple knocks, Brubaker with a double, Sloan, Contreras, Rosa — all multi-hit, all producing. Six guys with at least two hits. That’s depth. That’s how you win championships.
MAD DOG: And you saw it right away — Cleveland was flat! I mean, they looked like a team that hadn’t been punched in the mouth in months. 110 wins, top seed, best bullpen in baseball — and they got smoked in their own building!
MIKE: I’ll say this though, Chris — it’s only one game. You don’t overreact in a seven-game series. But if you’re Cleveland, you have to win Game Two. You can’t go to New York down 0–2. That crowd at the Polo Grounds will eat you alive.
MAD DOG: Oh, absolutely. Tomorrow’s a must win, Mikey! You gotta get a split. You can’t let the Mets get comfortable. But right now, you look at that dugout — that Mets bench? Swagger. They know they’re the champs.
MIKE: Final again: Mets 11, Indians 2. Mets lead the series 1–0. And folks, if Game One’s any indication… the champs aren’t ready to give that crown back anytime soon.
MAD DOG: The Mets are rollin’, Mikey! They’re rollin’!
MIKE: They are, Chris. They absolutely are.