So the Royals will host the Blue Jays, Friday at 6:30 for game one of the ALCS as they are back for the second straight year they are in the American League Championship Series.
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Cueto allowed two hits, a single by Evan Gattis followed by Luis Valbuena’s second-inning homer, before retiring the final 19 batters he faced.
Houston ace Dallas Keuchel pitched the bottom of the eighth for the Astros, but it didn’t matter when Morales drove Kauffman Stadium into a euphoric state with a backbreaking three-run homer to open up a almost insurmountable 7-2 lead.
Ben Zobrist, who was also acquired at the deadline, hit a sacrifice fly to right field to make it a 4-2 lead for Kansas City in the fifth inning.
After Cueto retired the first five batters in the second, he should have been out of the inning on a play the Royals routinely make.
He saved his best for the biggest night, a 7-2 victory in Game 5 to wrest the American League Division Series from the upstart Astros.
Wade Davis came in to shut the door in the ninth without a hitch, and the Royals clinched the 7-2 win and series victory in front of their ecstatic fans. 333 average against Royals RHP Johnny Cueto, struck out in all three of his at-bats. Hinch brought in Mike Fiers, and Rios sent a double bouncing down the third-base line, scoring two runs to give the Royals the lead.
After all, Cueto was finally proving that he was one. To me, Keuchel was the team’s best relief option in this game and you don’t use your best guy in the 5th inning, even when it’s the most pressing moment of the game. Even after the blunders the Rangers manager made a mistake as well which may have hurt the most. The Royals advance to face the Blue Jays in the ALCS… He allowed four runs in six innings in that game, though Kansas City’s offense and its stingy bullpen ultimately bailed him out. The feud boiled over in the eighth inning, when Toronto reliever Aaron Sanchez was ejected for hitting Kansas City’s Alcides Escobar with a pitch. Morales, who led the Royals with 106 RBIs in the regular season, hit three home runs in the ALDS.
“We didn’t know for sure when we headed to Texas”, manager John Gibbons said.
Maligned for so much of his Kansas City tenure, Cueto strapped the rest of the Royals to his back across eight innings.
Looking ahead, Cueto appears to be lined up for Game 3 of the series, which would take place Monday at Toronto.
The Houston Astros won 86 games, a 16-game improvement over last season, and made the postseason for the first time since 2006.
Game 4, October 20 at TorontoKris Medlen: The right-handed pitcher hasn’t thrown in the postseason yet this fall but there’s still reason to feel alright about Medlen.
McHugh survived flurries of hard contact until the fifth.
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Back to the offensive side of the ball, if it could be called that against Cueto – Jason Castro, Jose Altuve, and George Springer each popped out weakly for an absurd five pitch inning for Cueto, who looked like he needed no help from the Cyborgs in the bullpen at all.
