Alcides Escobar started the World Series with a jolt. Five hours later, he ended the longest opener ever with a jump -- into the arms of his joyous Kansas City Royals teammates.

Saved by Alex Gordon's tying home run in the ninth inning off Mets closer Jeurys Familia, the Royals won in the 14th when Eric Hosmer's sacrifice fly scored Escobar for a 5-4 win over New York late Tuesday night.

This tied for the longest Series game in history, and in 5 hours, 9 minutes, it had a little bit of everything packed in. A lot of everything, actually.

Escobar hit an inside-the-park homer on the very first pitch from Matt Harvey. Later, a power failure caused the national TV audience and the team's replay rooms to go dark.

The nearer it got to midnight -- and beyond -- the more oddly the ball bounced.

In the 11th, Salvador Perez grounded a single that hit the third-base bag and caromed high in the air. In the 12th, Daniel Murphy struck out on a pitch that got past Perez -- it ricocheted off the backstop to the Royals catcher, who threw out Murphy at first.

Then in the 14th, Escobar reached on an error by third baseman David Wright. Ben Zobrist's single put runners at the corners and an intentional walk to Lorenzo Cain loaded the bases.

Hosmer atoned for a key error by lifting a flyball to medium-deep right field, and Escobar barely beat Curtis Granderson's throw home.

It was 12:18 a.m. at Kauffman Stadium, and Game 2 is Wednesday night.

Jacob deGrom starts for the Mets against Johnny Cueto. It's a hairy matchup: DeGrom's flowing tresses vs. Cueto's mop of dreadlocks.

>>Volquez's Father Passes Away Prior To Game 1

Alcides Escobar checked his phone after Game 1 of the World Series, and he saw a text from Edinson Volquez.

"Thank you guys for winning that game for me," Volquez wrote after the Royals downed the Mets 5-4 in 14 innings Tuesday night.

Volquez had left Kauffman Stadium after putting in six innings, not knowing during the game that his father, Danio Volquez, had died at age 63 earlier in the day. The elder Volquez reportedly had been treated for heart disease. Royals manager Ned Yost said Volquez's family, communicating through Royals general manager Dayton Moore, requested that Volquez not be told about his dad's death until after he had pitched.

Volquez allowed three runs, six hits and a walk with three strikeouts before giving way to the Royals bullpen, which allowed just an unearned run over eight innings.

Some teammates, such as right-hander Chris Young, found out before the game because Yost wasn't certain if Volquez would end up starting. The Volquez news hit him hard, he said, but Young also pitched a game this season the same day his own father, Charles Young, died after having cancer. And Young knew about his dad going into that game.

Volquez's teammates spoke for him at the end. Ben Zobrist, who came over in a trade in late July, said the Royals will come together over this as they have other personal and team crises.

"We're going to celebrate the win," Zobrist said, "for Eddie and his family."