The Toronto Blue Jays will head back to Kansas City for Game 6 of the ALCS on Friday when they face the Royals in a potential elimination game. The Royals are one win away from their second straight World Series appearance and the Jays need a victory to stay alive in the 2015 MLB playoffs.
Here's what to expect for tomorrow's matchup between these two AL powerhouses.
3. The Royals are facing pressure, whether they think so or not
Kansas City had Toronto down in the dumps after taking a 3-1 lead with a 14-2 victory on Tuesday, but the Royals had no answer for Marco Estrada on Wednesday. The Blue Jays cut their deficit in the ALCS to 3-2 with a win and now the series is going back to Kansas City for Games 6 and 7.
The Royals will now have to face David Price in Game 6 and Marcus Stroman in Game 7 (if necessary). That doesn't bode well for the home team, even though Price has terrible career postseason statistics (2-7 with a 5.24 ERA and 1.20 WHIP in 13 games).
Kansas City was shut down on Wednesday and perhaps Price took some notes on Estrada's outing to keep the Royals' offense at bay on Friday. And speaking of offenses, Yordano Ventura will have to neutralize the MLB's top lineup if he hopes to get his team to another World Series. He didn't really do that earlier in the series when he allowed three earned runs on eight hits over 5 1/3 innings in Game 2.
Additionally, the Royals aren't too familiar with this type of pressure (being in the lead and having to put another team away). They swept their way to the World Series last year before losing in seven to the San Francisco Giants. They trailed 2-1 in the ALDS this year against the Astros, during which Houston's inexperience really showed in those final 11 innings of the series.
We'll see if the Royals can finish off this veteran Blue Jays club.
2. If the Blue Jays go down early, it's over
Toronto is going to have to do their best to keep the game at bay. Marco Estrada gave the offense a chance to work out the kinks against Edinson Volquez yesterday, but the Blue Jays' offense can't be waiting around until the sixth inning to score runs in Game 6.
Toronto is 0-4 this postseason when their opponent scores two runs or more first.
The offense can certainly capitalize off Ventura, who is 0-1 with a 6.57 ERA in three postseason starts in 2015. However, if they fall behind, the Royals' bullpen is more than likely to shut it down and outperform Toronto's relievers. Also, the Royals were 23-17 in one-run games this year compared to the Blue Jays' 15-28 record in those situations, so getting after Ventura is a must for Toronto.
1. David Price will throw a gem and keep the Blue Jays alive
As Nigel Gruff from The Replacements would say about Price's postseason career: "You could smell the stink all the way back in bloody Wales!"
Price has not been a good playoff pitcher despite being one of the best starters in the MLB since 2010. His best playoff outing came last year when he was a member of the Tigers, but Detroit couldn't get him any run support after he threw eight innings of two-run ball against the Orioles.
Price is pretty familiar with the Royals after having faced them a handful of times over the past year. He retired 18 straight batters in Game 2 of the ALCS before unraveling in the seventh inning, but that's unlikely to happen again. His numbers against Kansas City are certainly in the Blue Jays' favor: the left-hander is 2-0 with a 1.93 ERA and 0.88 WHIP in six career regular season games (five starts).
He did allow five runs (four earned) on 13 hits over 6 1/3 innings against them earlier this year, but he tossed a complete game and allowed only one run on five hits against them too.
This is likely Price's last start as a Blue Jay and he's in an excellent situation to win a World Series behind the league's top offense, so expect the veteran to make the most of his outing tomorrow and force Game 7.
