What both sides do have going is a recent history of turning routine games into track meets. The Mets just won 10-9 in Atlanta after getting blown out 3-14 the game before, and the Royals have alternated shutout losses with a 5-2 win over the Phillies in the span of a week. Consistency isn't the calling card for either dugout right now.
The bigger story in Queens is a bullpen that's forgotten how to close things out. New York has blown 11 leads over its last seven games, an absurd rate that's turned Devin Williams into a lightning rod, and the Mets have gone 19-34 since June 13. That's the profile of a team that can score with anybody but can't protect a lead against anybody either, which matters a lot against a Royals club with nothing to lose.
Kansas City, for its part, just snapped a 4-game skid against Tampa Bay and Philadelphia, a run that included a shutout loss and a 1-6 blowout sandwiched around the win. The offense has been miserable most of the year, but Tuesday's finale against the Phillies showed some life, and against a Mets bullpen that's actively blowing leads, that counts for something.
There's no playoff math here for either side, just two teams playing out a lost season and trying to avoid embarrassment. That makes the Mets' bullpen the swing factor of the series opener — if it holds up, New York's deeper lineup should win out. If it doesn't, Kansas City has shown recently it's capable of cashing in on exactly that kind of mistake.