There were home runs inside and outside of the park, errors, highlight-reel plays and even a power outage. It was the Kansas City Royals that — after over five hours, 14 innings and the longest opening game of the World Series — walked off with the win.

Eric Hosmer’s sacrifice fly pushed across Alcides Escobar for the game-winning run in the bottom of the 14th inning. Before that it was Alex Gordon — Kansas City’s penultimate batter in the lineup — that homered 442 feet to tie the game in the bottom of the ninth.

The game even started off in exciting fashion. Escobar hit an inside-the-park homerun on the first pitch thrown by Mets starter Matt Harvey.

There was no shortage of dramatics. And that’s what makes the race for the pennant so intriguing.

“(Tuesday) night was a good one,” said Washington baseball coach Kevin Leggett. “I wish I could have been there. There was a ton of excitement in the crowd. Those two teams don’t get to go too often … That’s a lively crowd right up there with the likes of the Yankees.”

Game 1 was truly a spectacle for baseball fans, but there’s no doubt it took a number on the players. It’s a toll they likely didn’t realize at the time. They surely felt it once they hit the field for Game 2 not even 24 hours later.

“In the moment, they have the adrenaline,” Leggett said. “When it’s going back and forth, they probably don’t feel it until the next day. There’s the excitement of each play, but they (were probably feeling it last night).”

There are also plenty of emotions on both sides. The box score only showed a one-run difference between the Royals and Mets. That doesn’t account for the euphoria of the Royals coming back and walking off, nor does it convey the heartbreak of the Mets letting the game slip through their hands.

That’s something both teams will need to address moving forward. It’s easier said than done, but Game 1 is in the past and needs to be left there.

“It’s tough,” said Southside baseball coach Kevin McRoy. “It’s hard to put it behind you because you had plenty of opportunities to take care and win the game. You’re always thinking what you could have done. What plays you could have made. It’s tough to put it behind you, but you can’t change it. You have to do everything in your power to put it behind you and let it motivate you.”

In fact, Game 1 reminded McRoy of a game he once coached. The Seahawks were playing Northside in the regular season finale. His team conceded five or six early runs, but managed to claw their way back into it. In the end, though, they lost by one run.

It was on a smaller scale, but was still quite the heart breaker.

Motivation is about all that kind of game is good for after the fact. For the Royals, the opening game yielded confidence. Of course, the players can’t get too confident. They can’t look past the Mets just because of one win. And the same goes for New York. A one-game deficit isn’t ideal, but it should light a flame under the Mets.

“The Royals have to make sure they’re not coming in overconfident,” McRoy said. “You want them playing with some confidence, but make sure they understand to take it one game at a time. (Tuesday) they took care of business. Take care of it one game at a time because the only thing you can change is what’s going to happen.”

Pitching is a big question mark after Tuesday’s ordeal. Both teams exhausted a sizeable amount of their relief pitching efforts in the 14-inning game. That said, the common consensus is that gives New York and its strong pitching staff the edge. Even so, the Royals, on paper, seem to be the more well-rounded team.

McRoy likes the Royals to win the World Series in six games. On top of their pitching — which he believes is an overlooked asset — he likes their athleticism and defense.

“The Mets pitching is solid, too,” he said. “But they need to play defense to win. That’s the one question mark. Are they going to be able to play solid enough defense?”

Terra Ceia baseball coach Roger Klaassen feels the same way.

“Kansas City is a stronger team overall,” he said. “Overall, the season they played, if you look across the board, their hitting and pitching is good and they’re solid in all areas of the game.”