The highly anticipated 2015 World Series will open Tuesday night when the Kansas City Royals will host the New York Mets at Kauffman Stadium. The Royals are back in it for the second straight year and whether they'll go all the way or not this time is still up in the air, but I think they good at home in Game 1.

Here are my keys to the game:
1. Pitching - The Mets hand the ball to Matt Harvey (13-8, 2.71 ERA) who'll make his third appearance here in the post-season. He's conceded a total of five runs (four earned) on 11 hits over 12 2/3 innings of work but only recorded four strikeouts in the process. Harvey finished the regular-season on a pitch-count and the extended break here since dismissing the Cubs in the NLCS might not work to his advantage either as it's been a lot of stop-and-go for the 26 year old lately. The Royals counter with Edinson Volquez (13-9, 3.55 ERA) who allowed five runs on three hits and four walks over five innings of a 7-1 loss at Toronto his last start. He held the Blue Jays to two hits over six scoreless innings his only home-start here in the post-season though and was 8-4 over 16 starts at the K during the regular season.
2. The Royals' Routine - Failing to defeat the Giants in the 2014 World Series could work to the Royals advantage here. They've been in this situation before and knows what it takes to win it. The Mets have a very young rotation and questions must be raised how they'll cope with the massive amount of pressure they'll be exposed to here.
3. X-Factor - Kansas City's Alcides Escobar has hit safely in 10 straight games and played a huge factor when the team dismissed Toronto in the ALCS and was named the series MVP.
Selection: This is a play on the Kansas City Royals (10*)