On the brink of elimination, the Blue Jays came back and won three straight against the Rangers to advance to the ALCS. They’re attempting to do the same thing against the Royals in the quest for the World Series. After a severe beat down in Game 4 of the ALCS, they came back with a big 7-1 win in Game 5 to send this series back to Kansas City.
ODDS ANALYSIS
Marco Estrada delivered an amazing performance against Kansas City on Wednesday to keep this series alive. He held the Royals scoreless into the eighth before surrendering a home run to Salvador Perez.
Throughout the entire series, the Royals were able to scratch across runs, even in their Game 3 loss, but the bats went silent save for a home run in Game 5. That said, the bats did string a few hits together in the top of the eighth.
KC currently finds itself dogged in this one with the Blue Jays -140 road chalk and the total lined at 7.
PITCHING MATCHUP
Game 5 was a rematch of Game 1 and we saw the tides turn with the Jays topping the Royals. They’ll need a similar result in Game 6 as the Game 2 starters return to the hill.
By name, that would seem to give the Blue Jays the edge as David Price pitches against Yordano Ventura.
While Price is heralded as a top of the rotation starter, he’s been much maligned in the postseason with a career ERA of 5.24.
The veteran southpaw didn’t do himself any favors statistically in Game 2, allowing five runs on six hits in six and two-thirds innings, but he pitched better than the final line would indicate.
The lefty was nails through six innings, keeping the Royals off the board and after a leadoff single to Alcides Escobar, allowed nothing else until the seventh inning.
On the other side, Ventura was actually more hittable, giving up eight hits and three runs in five and a third innings but Ned Yost had a quicker hook than John Gibbons. Of course, he also has a much better bullpen.
QUOTE TO NOTE
Following Game 4 when the Royals took a 3-1 series lead, the Royals were cautiously optimistic. The Jays, on the other hand, were still confident. Josh Donaldson said:
“It definitely makes the task at hand more difficult, but we’re professionals here.”
LIVE/SITUATIONAL BETTING
Toronto’s bats were held quiet in three of the five games in the ALCS, including both games in Kansas City.
The Jays will need that to change if they want to force a Game 7. The Blue Jays’ offense is strong, the lineup is stacked, but they are very much centered around the home run.
Kansas City’s offense hasn’t scored as many runs this year, but they’ve scored more this series and scored when they need it. They are masters of the comeback and drive in runs with sac flies and ground balls. They can put the bat on the ball and make things happen better than any team in baseball.
PROP TALK
The Jays finally got Alcides Escobar out in the top of the first in Game 5 after he led off the first four games with a base hit.
This series, Escobar is 10-for-19. He managed just a single hit against Price in Game 1 and is 2-for-7 in his career.
On the other side, Bautista, Donaldson and Justin Smoak all have homered off Ventura in their careers.
ANALYSIS AND PREDICTION
The return to Kansas City is sobering for a Jays team that ended the regular season a game under-.500 as visitors.
That number is a bit misleading as the team was much better, both at home and on the road once they added David Price and Troy Tulowitzki. The latter will need to come through for Toronto and avoid the mid-innings collapse he faced earlier this series.
For all the talent the Blue Jays have, the Royals don’t let up. Kansas City found a way against Price in Game 2, they’ll do that again in Game 6 to return to the World Series.
Kansas City 5, Toronto 4
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