KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Yoenis Cespedes dropped another ball against the Royals. It again set a first-inning tenor. It once more contributed to a Mets loss against Kansas City in the first game of a series.

On the first pitch of the 2015 World Series, Alcides Escobar launched a ball to center that Cespedes misplayed then booted into an inside-the-park homer.

Back in left field — where he is a Gold Glove winner — Cespedes waited to the second Royals batter Sunday night to drop a one-out liner, by Mike Moustakas, who would eventually score the first run of a 4-3 Kansas City victory.

Terry Collins called it “shocking,” in part because Cespedes was back in left. Cespedes did not call it much of anything. It is clear the Mets media apparatus essentially operates in fear of Cespedes, all but begging him to talk to reporters and then doing everything possible to cut interviews short. They may need to be reminded Cespedes is actually the employee — the well-paid employee.

Also, no need to worry about the interviews meandering. Cespedes, in bad times, is a man of few words.

“The ball just fell out of my glove,” he said through a translator. He responded, “no,” when asked if it were reminiscent of last year’s gaffe against the Royals.

Cespedes still had a chance to make the first game of his new three-year, $75 million deal memorable, to atone for the first-inning miscue with ninth-inning magic. He came to bat with runners on first and third and two outs and the Royals up 4-3. It was an Opening Day classic — Cespedes versus the Royals’ great closer, Wade Davis.

Cespedes said his only goal was to try to make solid contact and he did well to battle from an 0-2 count to have an eight-pitch at-bat. But Davis won the encounter, getting Cespedes to swing and miss on a 93 mph fastball.