NEW YORK -- Let's go straight to the eighth inning: Another Kansas City Royals comeback victory in the postseason. It's as if they never give up! The final score was Kansas City 5, New York Mets 3. That eighth inning will loom large in the history of this World Series.

1. Tyler Clippard comes into the game. Let's start here. Terry Collins could have used Jeurys Familia for six outs. He was one of baseball's best closers this season and his blown save in Game 1 was his first since July. Of course, Collins used Familia to close out a 9-3 victory in Game 3, which didn't make any sense, not that Familia shouldn't have been available for six outs in Game 4. It's the World Series! You have all winter to rest! Use your best pitchers to the maximum. After the game, Collins said the decision to pitch Familia in Game 3 may have affected how he was used "a little bit" in this game, which just underscores that Familia shouldn't have been used in Game 3 with a six-run lead.

The Mets acquired Clippard from the A's at the trade deadline. He has been one of the best setup relievers for years but wasn't as dominant this season with his highest walk rate since 2010 and lowest strikeout rate of his career since he moved to the bullpen. He particularly struggled in the final month, when he gave up 10 runs in 14 2/3 innings, including four home runs. He'd given up three runs in 6 1/3 innings in the postseason, hardly a sign that he was back in some sort of pre-September groove.

So Mets fans were very nervous when Clippard came in to protect a 3-2 lead.

This is my hell. Eternal damnation for me is watching Clippard in tight spots forever

— KFC (@KFCBarstool) November 1, 2015

Ben Zobrist works a one-out walk. Up comes Cain to face Clippard. Wonder how short the leash is, with Familia looming.

— Andy McCullough (@McCulloughStar) November 1, 2015

You know who's probably going to pitch two innings in this game? Wade Davis.

— Joe Sheehan (@joe_sheehan) November 1, 2015

And indeed he did. The Mets made it interesting, getting two runners on in the bottom of the ninth when Lucas Duda hit a soft liner to third base and Yoenis Cespedes somehow got caught off first base, erasing Alex Rios from the history books for owning the most memorable brain cramp of this game.

2. Lorenzo Cain draws a huge walk. After Alcides Escobar grounded back to the mound -- putting the Mets' win probability at 83 percent at that exact moment -- Ben Zobrist coaxed a five-pitch walk. That's what Zobrist does: Battle, work the count, find a way to get on base. Earlier in the game he hit his eighth double of the postseason, tying Albert Pujols and David Freese for most doubles in one postseason. He has been so good, so huge for the Royals.

Up came Cain. Clippard is a fastball/changeup guy with an unsually straight-over-the-top delivery, which makes him a reverse platoon pitcher. In the regular season, right-handers had a .745 OPS against him compared to .468 for left-handers. Cain hits right-handed; Familia was getting loose. You might think: Don't stick your hand in the middle of the hot lava that is currently running down from the 7 train platform toward Citi Field. Nope. Clippard stayed in the game. Sure, this sounds like second-guessing after the fact. No. Use your best pitchers.

Cain falls behind 0-2. Fouls off two pitches. Takes a fastball up. Takes a splitter up. Takes a changeup down low for ball four. Another great Royals plate appearance, refusing to go down swinging. So, yes, they can take a walk. Kudos to Cain.

Finally, Familia was called upon.

3. Daniel Murphy makes an error. The Mets are not a good defensive team, especially when they play Cespedes in center field. In particular, they lack range at second base and shortstop. Over the past three seasons, Murphy has -29 Defensive Runs Saved, second-worst among second basemen. Going around the diamond, Curtis Granderson is the clearly the only plus defender (other than when Cespedes plays left field). Sure enough, the Mets' defense got exposed at the wrong time (or the right time, if you're a Royals fan).

Eric Hosmer hit a slow chopper to Murphy, who charged in and simply whiffed on the play. Error. Zobrist scored, Cain went to third, the score was tied and Mets fans were wondering what just happened. With Familia maybe a little stunned as well, Mike Moustakas then swung at the first pitch and grounded a hard single past a diving Murphy (range!) for the 4-3 lead, and Salvador Perez lined a 2-2 fastball into right-center for a 5-3 lead. The specter of Davis coming in from the Royals' bullpen loomed, and the game was over.

And this is the way baseball works. Murphy, newly-minted Mets legend after homering in six consecutive playoff games, is 3-for-17 in the World Series without an extra-base hit. The gods giveth, the gods taketh away.

Note: It has been a sloppy World Series. Cespedes' four-base error to start the Series (excuse me, inside-the-park home run), David Wright's miscuses in that game that hurt the Mets, Hosmer booting a couple plays, Royals pitchers suddenly forgetting their defensive fundamentals in Game 3, Rios not remembering how many outs there were in this game to potentially cost the Royals a run, Cespedes kicking a ball in the outfield in this game, Murphy's critical error, Cespedes inexplicably getting caught off base.

It's almost like Murphy is a valuable-yet-flawed player instead of a fire-breathing demi-god.

— Grant Brisbee (@mccoveychron) November 1, 2015

The Mets lost on the faults they've risked but overcome all year: Bad D, dubious pen, but TC's decision tree helped expose both in the 8th

— Christina Kahrl (@ChristinaKahrl) November 1, 2015

4. Salvador Perez. Bartolo Colon did strike him out in one key moment, but Perez had a great game, going 3-for-4 with a run and that insurance RBI. Many call him the heart and soul of the Royals. He came up big in this game.

5. Michael Conforto. In my pregame pitching analysis, I mentioned that Chris Young throws high fastballs and that Conforto, in his limited time in the majors, hit very well against high fastballs from right-handed pitchers, slugging .632. It looked like a matchup of strength versus weakness: Young had a large platoon split this season, holding right-handers to a .159 average entering the game, but was much more vulnerable to lefties. Sure enough, leading off the third inning, Conforto unloaded on a first-pitch 87-mph fastball in the upper half of the strike zone and launched it into the upper deck in right field for the game's first run.

Then came the surprising moment. With Danny Duffy now pitching for the Royals in the fifth inning -- he hadn't given up a home run to a left-handed batter since Jim Thome way back in August 2011 -- Conforto hit another one, becoming the first rookie to homer twice in a World Series game since Andruw Jones in 1996. It was also Conforto's first career homer against a lefty, although the Mets had been very protective of holding back against southpaws, with only 19 PAs before this one. It was an excellent sequence by Conforto and shows why scouts love his discipline at the plate: He took a 97 mph fastball for a strike, fouled off another 97 mph heater, laid off two curveballs and then hit another curveball out to right-center to give the Mets a 3-1 lead.

A lead that wouldn't hold. It's going to be tough for the Mets. The Royals have rallied in the eighth inning and the ninth inning. They have Davis and the Mets don't. They're one win away with two home games sitting in their back pocket. You're almost there, Kansas City.

Michael Conforto: 3rd youngest player w/ multi-HR World Series game. Only Tony Kubek & Andruw Jones were younger. pic.twitter.com/icKd6ojb0e

— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) November 1, 2015