Gibbons, who also coached and managed in the Mets’ farm system, and Yost aren’t the only two men involved in the ALCS with New York ties. Toronto had to come from two games down to win three straight over the Texas Rangers.
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Hawkins was 1-1 with a 5.71 in 33 games for the Yankees and traded to the Astros on July 30 of that season.
The Mets last appeared in the NCLS in 2000 and advanced to the Series with a 4 games to 1 victory over St. Louis.
The Blue Jays have spent more on pitchers on a NOMINAL basis than five out of the nine teams ahead of them in overall payroll, and though 13 teams have had the luxury of being able to spend more than the Royals, they have still outspent seven of them on pitching on a NOMINAL basis as well.
Volquez even turned things up a notch when he needed to, hitting 97 miles per hour with his fastball – after averaging 93.7 during the regular season.
The rosters were due before the start of Game 1 on Friday night at Kauffman Stadium.
Kansas City Royals starting pitcher Edinson Volquez celebrates after the last out in the top of the sixth inning against the Toronto Blue Jays in Game 1 of baseball’s American League Championship Series on Friday, October 16, 2015, in Kansas City, Mo. He has allowed eight runs in 10 innings during the ALDS, including three innings of relief in Game 4. Manager John Gibbons suggested Estrada’s the least of his worries. It was a series of strikeouts: the two teams combined for 111 in the series.
“You know how young Osuna is?”
Maybe he’d have learned something to help the Royals in the ALCS. As the fates would have it, he will start Game 1 of the ALCS against Toronto’s Marco Estrada.
It was my fault but I didn’t take advantage of Gibby when he was here, ” said Yost, who was drafted and signed by the Mets in 1974 and spent four years in the system before being claimed in the Rule 5 draft by the Brewers in 1977. The Royals only deployed three starters over their 5 games against Houston, but that was mostly a product of Game 1 hurler Yordano Ventura only going two innings in Game 1.
Peter Aiken/USA Today Sports Royals starter Edinson Volquez gets a strike out to end the sixth. Kansas can then use a spot start from Chris Young following Cueto´s first appearance, knowing that their biggest strength remains in their untouchable bullpen.
Bautista’s reaction wasn’t taken well by the Rangers, who essentially called it bush league, and the entire affair touched off a wide-spread debate about decorum. Forget overall budget constraints, these teams refuse to allow their valuable pitching to be hampered by money. “We knew he was good”.
SEASON SERIES Blue Jays won 4-3. He struck out four of them. Catcher Salvador Perez tacked on a solo home run in the fourth – his third round-tripper in the post-season thus far. Sanchez was ejected for hitting Escobar with a pitch, leading to both benches and bullpens emptying.
The Blue Jays had the best offense in baseball this year, and it wasn’t close. This series is bound to showcase two elite defensive center fielders in Lorenzo Cain and Kevin Pillar, while we get to watch Jose Bautista shooting lasers from right field, Alex Gordon chasing balls in left, and two of the game´s best catchers in Salvador Perez and Russell Martin. Kansas City is obviously hoping history will repeat itself this year.
Looking back on his seasons with Gibbons, Yost said he made a mistake.
The biggest question marks here are what each team will get out of the rental ace they acquired at the trading deadline.
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Finally, it will also be riveting to see how both fan bases respond to this matchup. “We’ll see how it goes”. The people at Toronto have been waiting for this for more than two decades, and this may be Toronto´s best chance to bring a title back to Canada. “First-pitch strikes”, one says, and, “Three pitches or less”, reads another, and, in hindsight, he joked: “Hey, sometimes it doesn’t happen the way you want it”. Take for example the Met’s expected starting pitching for this series-Jacob deGrom, Noah Syndergaard, and Matt Harvey.
