TORONTO -- Marco Estrada took the mound with one task: save the season for the Toronto Blue Jays.
He did it, pitching one-hit ball into the eighth inning to give Toronto's tattered bullpen a rest, and the Blue Jays beat the Kansas City Royals 7-1 Wednesday to close to 3-2 in the best-of-seven American League Championship Series.
"It's the start that we needed," shortstop Troy Tulowitzki said. "They're a great team over there. We know that. But this guy kept them off balance and allowed the offense to settle in and get some runs."
Tulowitzki provided three of those runs. He broke the game open with a bases-clearing double off Kelvin Herrera in the sixth, giving him seven RBI in the series. Edwin Encarnacion had walked with the bases loaded against Edinson Volquez, who seemed flustered by a couple of close calls against the Royals.
Kansas City totaled 22 runs and 30 hits in the first two games in Toronto, but Estrada faced the minimum 20 batters before Lorenzo Cain walked with two outs in the seventh. Closer Roberto Osuna was perfect in the ninth.
Yordano Ventura will start for the defending AL champions on Friday in Game 6 against David Price, the Game 2 loser.
Estrada, a 32-year-old free-agent to be, kept the bullpen door closed for most of the afternoon, a day after Kansas City romped 14-2 in a game that saw infielder Cliff Pennington pitch in the ninth.
"This time around I had a better fastball command," said Estrada, who gave up three runs in the opener. "That was the key to this game."
Toronto is trying to become just the 13th team to rally and win among 80 who trailed 3-1 in best-of-seven postseason series. It has happened four of 17 times in the LCS, including when the Royals bounced back against the Blue Jays in 1985 en route to Kansas City's only World Series title. In this year's best-of-five Division Series, Toronto fell behind 0-2, then won three straight against Texas.
Before 49,325 roaring fans, Chris Colabello's solo homer into the left-field seats in the second gave Estrada a lead. It was the only mistake by Volquez, the Game 1 winner.
Estrada didn't make a miscue until Salvador Perez homered with two outs in the eighth. Estrada retired his first nine batters, ending at four Escobar's record streak of leading off playoff games with hits.
Escobar, who entered 9 for 15 (.600), got Kansas City's first hit when he opened the fourth with a ground single past a diving Tulowitzki.
Zobrist promptly grounded into a double play to second baseman Ryan Goins.
"He was really good today," Escobar said. "He threw the ball down, down and away, down and in. He didn't miss many pitches today."
Kansas City had no other runners until Cain walked with two outs in the seventh. Price was up in the bullpen, but Estrada got Eric Hosmer to fly out.
Volquez allowed just two singles after Colabello connected but lost the strike zone in the sixth.
Ben Revere led off with a walk and Volquez hit Josh Donaldson with the first pitch. In August, Volquez hit Donaldson in a testy game that included a benches-clearing scrum.
He then walked Jose Bautista in a 10-pitch at-bat on a knuckle curve that looked to get a piece of the plate.
"I thought the pitch to Bautista was definitely a strike," Royals manager Ned Yost said.
Yost shouted from the dugout for Perez to appeal to first base on ball four, thinking Bautista may have swung. But it was too loud in the closed-roof stadium for Perez to hear.
"We were trying to get their attention to get him to appeal it," Yost said. "I don't know if he was arguing the pitch, I don't know what he was talking about."
Encarnacion walked on another pitch that upset Volquez and Yost. Volquez turned his back to plate umpire Dan Iassogna as Revere jogged home for a 2-0 lead. It was his last batter.
"When you lose your fastball command, it's hard for the umpire to give you the close pitches," Volquez said.
Herrera relieved and struck out Colabello. With the crowd chanting "Tu-lo! Tu-lo!" Tulowitzki sent a drive to the center-field wall, sending fans into a towel-waving frenzy.
Bautista and Donaldson had consecutive doubles off Danny Duffy in the seventh to make it 6-0, and Kevin Pillar doubled in a run in the eighth.
STREAK SNAPPED
Cain's Royals-record 13-game postseason hitting streak was snapped. He went 0 for 3.
UP NEXT
Price took a 3-0 lead into the seventh inning of Game 2 but gave up five straight hits and lost his seventh straight postseason start. Ventura gave up three runs and eight hits in 5 1/3 innings.
He did it, pitching one-hit ball into the eighth inning to give Toronto's tattered bullpen a rest, and the Blue Jays beat the Kansas City Royals 7-1 Wednesday to close to 3-2 in the best-of-seven American League Championship Series.
"It's the start that we needed," shortstop Troy Tulowitzki said. "They're a great team over there. We know that. But this guy kept them off balance and allowed the offense to settle in and get some runs."
Tulowitzki provided three of those runs. He broke the game open with a bases-clearing double off Kelvin Herrera in the sixth, giving him seven RBI in the series. Edwin Encarnacion had walked with the bases loaded against Edinson Volquez, who seemed flustered by a couple of close calls against the Royals.
Kansas City totaled 22 runs and 30 hits in the first two games in Toronto, but Estrada faced the minimum 20 batters before Lorenzo Cain walked with two outs in the seventh. Closer Roberto Osuna was perfect in the ninth.
Yordano Ventura will start for the defending AL champions on Friday in Game 6 against David Price, the Game 2 loser.
Estrada, a 32-year-old free-agent to be, kept the bullpen door closed for most of the afternoon, a day after Kansas City romped 14-2 in a game that saw infielder Cliff Pennington pitch in the ninth.
"This time around I had a better fastball command," said Estrada, who gave up three runs in the opener. "That was the key to this game."
Toronto is trying to become just the 13th team to rally and win among 80 who trailed 3-1 in best-of-seven postseason series. It has happened four of 17 times in the LCS, including when the Royals bounced back against the Blue Jays in 1985 en route to Kansas City's only World Series title. In this year's best-of-five Division Series, Toronto fell behind 0-2, then won three straight against Texas.
Before 49,325 roaring fans, Chris Colabello's solo homer into the left-field seats in the second gave Estrada a lead. It was the only mistake by Volquez, the Game 1 winner.
Estrada didn't make a miscue until Salvador Perez homered with two outs in the eighth. Estrada retired his first nine batters, ending at four Escobar's record streak of leading off playoff games with hits.
Escobar, who entered 9 for 15 (.600), got Kansas City's first hit when he opened the fourth with a ground single past a diving Tulowitzki.
Zobrist promptly grounded into a double play to second baseman Ryan Goins.
"He was really good today," Escobar said. "He threw the ball down, down and away, down and in. He didn't miss many pitches today."
Kansas City had no other runners until Cain walked with two outs in the seventh. Price was up in the bullpen, but Estrada got Eric Hosmer to fly out.
Volquez allowed just two singles after Colabello connected but lost the strike zone in the sixth.
Ben Revere led off with a walk and Volquez hit Josh Donaldson with the first pitch. In August, Volquez hit Donaldson in a testy game that included a benches-clearing scrum.
He then walked Jose Bautista in a 10-pitch at-bat on a knuckle curve that looked to get a piece of the plate.
"I thought the pitch to Bautista was definitely a strike," Royals manager Ned Yost said.
Yost shouted from the dugout for Perez to appeal to first base on ball four, thinking Bautista may have swung. But it was too loud in the closed-roof stadium for Perez to hear.
"We were trying to get their attention to get him to appeal it," Yost said. "I don't know if he was arguing the pitch, I don't know what he was talking about."
Encarnacion walked on another pitch that upset Volquez and Yost. Volquez turned his back to plate umpire Dan Iassogna as Revere jogged home for a 2-0 lead. It was his last batter.
"When you lose your fastball command, it's hard for the umpire to give you the close pitches," Volquez said.
Herrera relieved and struck out Colabello. With the crowd chanting "Tu-lo! Tu-lo!" Tulowitzki sent a drive to the center-field wall, sending fans into a towel-waving frenzy.
Bautista and Donaldson had consecutive doubles off Danny Duffy in the seventh to make it 6-0, and Kevin Pillar doubled in a run in the eighth.
STREAK SNAPPED
Cain's Royals-record 13-game postseason hitting streak was snapped. He went 0 for 3.
UP NEXT
Price took a 3-0 lead into the seventh inning of Game 2 but gave up five straight hits and lost his seventh straight postseason start. Ventura gave up three runs and eight hits in 5 1/3 innings.
4:07PM,EDT,October 21,2015
Rogers Centre, Toronto, Ontario
Rogers Centre, Toronto, Ontario
| View: Play-By-Play | Pitch-By-Pitch | Inning: All | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 |
| Kansas City - Top of 1st | SCORE | |
|---|---|---|
| Marco Estrada pitching for Toronto | KC | TOR |
| Escobar grounded out to third. | 0 | 0 |
| Zobrist struck out swinging. | 0 | 0 |
| Cain struck out looking. | 0 | 0 |
| 0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors | ||
| Toronto - Bottom of 1st | SCORE | |
| Edinson Volquez pitching for Kansas City | KC | TOR |
| Revere grounded out to first. | 0 | 0 |
| Donaldson struck out looking. | 0 | 0 |
| Bautista fouled out to first. | 0 | 0 |
| 0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors | ||
| Kansas City - Top of 2nd | SCORE | |
| Marco Estrada pitching for Toronto | KC | TOR |
| Hosmer flied out to left. | 0 | 0 |
| K. Morales grounded out to second. | 0 | 0 |
| Moustakas struck out swinging. | 0 | 0 |
| 0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors | ||
| Toronto - Bottom of 2nd | SCORE | |
| Edinson Volquez pitching for Kansas City | KC | TOR |
| Encarnación popped out to first. | 0 | 0 |
| Colabello homered to left center (429 feet). | 0 | 1 |
| Tulowitzki lined out to third. | 0 | 1 |
| Navarro walked. | 0 | 1 |
| Pillar lined out to second. | 0 | 1 |
| 1 Runs, 1 Hits, 0 Errors | ||
| Kansas City - Top of 3rd | SCORE | |
| Marco Estrada pitching for Toronto | KC | TOR |
| Pérez lined out to shortstop. | 0 | 1 |
| Gordon struck out swinging. | 0 | 1 |
| Rios grounded out to first. | 0 | 1 |
| 0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors | ||
| Toronto - Bottom of 3rd | SCORE | |
| Edinson Volquez pitching for Kansas City | KC | TOR |
| Goins grounded out to shortstop. | 0 | 1 |
| Revere bunt grounded out to pitcher. | 0 | 1 |
| Donaldson grounded out to second. | 0 | 1 |
| 0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors | ||
| Kansas City - Top of 4th | SCORE | |
| Marco Estrada pitching for Toronto | KC | TOR |
| Escobar singled to left. | 0 | 1 |
| Zobrist grounded into double play, second to shortstop to first, Escobar out at second. | 0 | 1 |
| Cain popped out to second. | 0 | 1 |
| 0 Runs, 1 Hits, 0 Errors | ||
| Toronto - Bottom of 4th | SCORE | |
| Edinson Volquez pitching for Kansas City | KC | TOR |
| Bautista reached on infield single to shortstop. | 0 | 1 |
| Encarnación grounded into fielder's choice to third, Bautista out at second. | 0 | 1 |
| Colabello grounded into double play, second to shortstop to first, Encarnación out at second. | 0 | 1 |
| 0 Runs, 1 Hits, 0 Errors | ||
| Kansas City - Top of 5th | SCORE | |
| Marco Estrada pitching for Toronto | KC | TOR |
| Hosmer grounded out to shortstop. | 0 | 1 |
| K. Morales flied out to center. | 0 | 1 |
| Moustakas flied out to left. | 0 | 1 |
| 0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors | ||
| Toronto - Bottom of 5th | SCORE | |
| Edinson Volquez pitching for Kansas City | KC | TOR |
| Tulowitzki grounded out to shortstop. | 0 | 1 |
| Navarro struck out swinging. | 0 | 1 |
| Pillar reached on infield single to pitcher. | 0 | 1 |
| Goins grounded out to first. | 0 | 1 |
| 0 Runs, 1 Hits, 0 Errors | ||
| Kansas City - Top of 6th | SCORE | |
| Marco Estrada pitching for Toronto | KC | TOR |
| Pérez flied out to center. | 0 | 1 |
| Gordon grounded out to second. | 0 | 1 |
| Rios flied out to center. | 0 | 1 |
| 0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors | ||
| Toronto - Bottom of 6th | SCORE | |
| Edinson Volquez pitching for Kansas City | KC | TOR |
| Revere walked. | 0 | 1 |
| Donaldson hit by pitch, Revere to second. | 0 | 1 |
| Bautista walked, Revere to third, Donaldson to second. | 0 | 1 |
| Encarnación walked, Revere scored, Donaldson to third, Bautista to second. | 0 | 2 |
| Herrera relieved Vólquez. | 0 | 2 |
| Colabello struck out swinging. | 0 | 2 |
| Tulowitzki doubled to center, Donaldson, Bautista and Encarnación scored. | 0 | 5 |
| Navarro struck out looking. | 0 | 5 |
| Pillar struck out swinging. | 0 | 5 |
| 4 Runs, 1 Hits, 0 Errors | ||
| Kansas City - Top of 7th | SCORE | |
| Marco Estrada pitching for Toronto | KC | TOR |
| Escobar grounded out to second. | 0 | 5 |
| Zobrist grounded out to shortstop. | 0 | 5 |
| Cain walked. | 0 | 5 |
| Hosmer flied out to left. | 0 | 5 |
| 0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors | ||
| Toronto - Bottom of 7th | SCORE | |
| Danny Duffy pitching for Kansas City | KC | TOR |
| Duffy relieved Herrera. | 0 | 5 |
| Goins struck out swinging. | 0 | 5 |
| Revere struck out swinging. | 0 | 5 |
| Donaldson doubled to center. | 0 | 5 |
| Bautista doubled to deep right center, Donaldson scored. | 0 | 6 |
| Encarnación struck out swinging. | 0 | 6 |
| 1 Runs, 2 Hits, 0 Errors | ||
| Kansas City - Top of 8th | SCORE | |
| Marco Estrada pitching for Toronto | KC | TOR |
| K. Morales struck out swinging. | 0 | 6 |
| Moustakas lined out to center. | 0 | 6 |
| Pérez homered to right (352 feet). | 1 | 6 |
| Gordon singled to shallow right. | 1 | 6 |
| Sanchez relieved Estrada. | 1 | 6 |
| Rios singled to right, Gordon to second. | 1 | 6 |
| Escobar lined out to right. | 1 | 6 |
| 1 Runs, 3 Hits, 0 Errors | ||
| Toronto - Bottom of 8th | SCORE | |
| Danny Duffy pitching for Kansas City | KC | TOR |
| Colabello struck out looking. | 1 | 6 |
| Tulowitzki singled to right. | 1 | 6 |
| Navarro struck out swinging. | 1 | 6 |
| Pillar doubled to deep center, Tulowitzki scored, Pillar out stretching at third. | 1 | 7 |
| 1 Runs, 2 Hits, 0 Errors | ||
| Kansas City - Top of 9th | SCORE | |
| Roberto Osuna pitching for Toronto | KC | TOR |
| Smoak at first base. | 1 | 7 |
| Osuna relieved Sanchez. | 1 | 7 |
| Zobrist grounded out to second. | 1 | 7 |
| Cain grounded out to pitcher. | 1 | 7 |
| Hosmer grounded out to first. | 1 | 7 |
| 0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors | ||
| Kansas City Royals | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hitters | AB | R | H | RBI | BB | SO | #P | AVG | OBP | SLG |
| Escobar SS | 4 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 21 | .526 | .522 | .737 |
| Zobrist 2B | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 15 | .318 | .348 | .591 |
| Cain CF | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 16 | .294 | .409 | .294 |
| Hosmer 1B | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 8 | .250 | .273 | .300 |
| K. Morales DH | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 13 | .278 | .333 | .444 |
| Moustakas 3B | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 17 | .150 | .143 | .150 |
| Pérez C | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 13 | .167 | .211 | .556 |
| Gordon LF | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 12 | .313 | .389 | .438 |
| Rios RF | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 | .313 | .313 | .500 |
| Totals | 30 | 1 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 5 | 121 | |||
| BATTING HR: Pérez (2, 8th inning off Estrada 0 on, 2 Out) RBI: Pérez (2) 2-out RBI: Pérez GIDP: Zobrist Royals RISP: 0-1 (Escobar 0-1) Team LOB: 3 | ||||||||||
| FIELDING DP: 1 (Zobrist-Escobar-Hosmer). Outfield Assist: Cain (Pillar at 3rd base). | ||||||||||
Game Information
| Stadium | Rogers Centre, Toronto, ON |
| Attendance | 49,325 (100.1% full) - % is based on regular season capacity |
| Game Time | 2:56 |
| Weather | indoors |
| Umpires | Home Plate - Dan Iassogna, First Base - Jeff Nelson, Second Base - Jim Reynolds, Third Base - Laz Diaz, Left Field - John Hirschbeck, Right Field - Hunter Wendelstedt |
No comments:
Post a Comment