Stats of the Day: Cueto goes the distance

Here are five interesting items from Game 2 of the 111th World Series …

• Johnny Cueto tossed a complete-game two-hitter and the Royals defeated the Mets, 7-1. With the result, the teams head to New York with Kansas City holding a 2-0 lead in the Fall Classic. Cueto, who fanned four and walked three, became the 19th pitcher in World Series history to work a complete game, surrender two hits or fewer and come out a winner. He was the first to do this since Greg Maddux in Game 1 of the 1995 World Series, and the first in history to do this while facing a lineup that featured a DH. Before Cueto's effort, Cliff Lee (Game 1, 2009) had authored the most recent World Series complete game of any kind when the DH was in play.

:: World Series: Mets vs. Royals -- Tune-in info ::

• This game represented the third time this postseason that the Royals' staff allowed three hits or fewer (Game 5, American League Division Series; Game 1, AL Championship Series). They are the eighth team to have at least three such efforts in a single postseason. The 2001 D-backs and '10 Giants each had four.

• Mets postseason gear | Royals postseason gear

• Royals batters struck out three times. The most recent winning team to strike out no more than three times was Tampa Bay in Game 2 in 2008. On the other side, Mets batters fanned only four times. The most recent World Series game in which each team had fewer than five strikeouts was Game 4 in '02, when the Giants fanned four times and the Angels' offense tallied three K's. Prior to this Fall Classic, Mets pitchers had fanned 28.3 percent of the batters they had faced this postseason. In the first two games of the World Series, their K percentage has been just 10.3.

• In Wednesday's victory, Royals leadoff hitter Alcides Escobar singled, tripled, drove in two runs and scored once. Escobar is the 19th player to have at least six multihit games out of the leadoff spot in one postseason. Marquis Grissom had the most, with nine in 1996. Grissom also had seven in '95, as did Brady Anderson in '97, Kenny Lofton in 2002, Craig Biggio in '05 and Ian Kinsler in '11. Escobar also had six such games in '14. Escobar's 20 hits (in 13 games) are tied for the most in one postseason in franchise history. Willie Wilson had 20 in 1985 (in 14 games), while in '14, Lorenzo Cain and Eric Hosmer each had 20 (in 15 games). The Major League record for hits in a postseason: Pablo Sandoval's 26 last year for the Giants.

Video: WS2015 Gm2: Escobar races 17 mph, barehands for out

• The Mets' lone run came from the bat of Lucas Duda, who drove in Daniel Murphy on a single in the fourth. Murphy has scored in nine straight to tie for the second-longest streak in postseason history. Only Carlos Beltran, who scored in 11 straight from Game 3 in the 2004 National League Division Series through Game 1 of the '06 NLDS, tallied runs in more consecutive postseason games.