KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Terry Collins stood there in the dugout in this 1970s throwback of a stadium and thought through his fifth-inning predicament. His string-bean ace, Jacob deGrom, was on the mound, tossing in the mid-90s, with off-speed stuff that darted here and there like a drunken firefly.

DeGrom had just begun the inning by walking the leadoff man; against this relentless Kansas City Royals team, that’s like sticking your finger in a wood chipper. Still, all postseason long, this kid pitcher had pulled off Houdini escape acts.

“We’ve been sitting here raving the last two series that he’s gotten himself out of trouble,” Collins said afterward. “I just thought it was time we could ride Jake and see if we could get him out of that inning.”