Cueto, on the other hand, pitched the game of his life, allowing only two hits while striking out four and walking three in a magnificent effort.

“Tonight was everything we expected Johnny to be,” Royals Manager Ned Yost said. “He was on the attack.”

Since arriving in Kansas City after a midseason trade from Cincinnati, Cueto has been unpredictable. From one start to the next, the Royals did not know whether Cueto would be good or bad. In the postseason, he was very bad in his most recent start against the Toronto Blue Jays in the American League Championship Series, but he pitched fine in Game 5 of the division series. Over all, he carried a 1-3 postseason record and a 6.93 earned run average into Wednesday’s game. But he was much better, and the Royals’ offense supported his valiant effort.

With three add-on runs in the eighth providing a cushion, Yost felt free to send out Cueto to finish the game, much to the delight of the fans, who roared when they saw him emerge from the dugout. Cueto said he was saddened by the news on Tuesday that Daniel Volquez, the father of Cueto’s teammate and fellow Dominican pitcher Edinson Volquez, had died that day.

“It was a very sad day for me yesterday,” he said. “And there was a lot of focus on my part. I dedicated the game to Volquez’s dad and the whole family.”

Trailing by 1-0, the Royals broke through in the fifth by scoring four times against deGrom, and doing it in a most Royals-like way — sending nine men to the plate without even collecting an extra-base hit.