Lorenzo Cain raced in from the outfield about as fast as he had raced around the bases, hurrying to join the rest of the Kansas City Royals as they streamed onto the diamond in celebration. They struck out twice, and likely American League MVP Josh Donaldson grounded to third to end the inning, the game and the season. The Royals will face off against the New York Mets in the World Series, trying to hoist the Commissioner’s Trophy for the first time since 1985, the lone championship in franchise history. Here is the expected World Series game schedule; the last three games will push through only if necessary. In fact, this is first time a World Series didn’t include at least one team that existed in 1903, which is the first year the World Series was played.
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Price gave up solo homers to Ben Zobrist in the first and Moustakas in the second.
The Royals jumped out to an early lead. The right fielder chased down Eric Hosmer’s single in the eighth inning with Lorenzo Cain sprinting around the bases.
Any momentum Toronto might have had was washed away when a line of rain swept through town, sending players and fans scurrying for cover.
Bautista said if he had thrown the ball home it might have meant men on second and third with no outs.
“I felt like I cut it off quick enough to where if I threw it to second, I would keep him from getting to second and keep Cain from scoring, but obviously I was wrong”, Bautista said. “I knew we were going to take a shot at it”.
Ultimately, it was a game of missed opportunities for the Blue Jays, who went hitless in 12 at-bats with runners in scoring position.
Making the setback even tougher to swallow, the Blue Jays lost with their supposed best pitcher, the former Rays star, David Price, who remains winless in seven post season games.
Toronto right-fielder Jose Bautista immediately claimed there was fan interference on the play.
The review lasted 1 minute, 47 seconds, before crew chief John Hirschbeck announced that the replays were inconclusive.
Yordano Ventura earned the victory going five and one-third strong innings allowing just four hits and one run. Cain slid into the plate easily ahead of Tulowitzki’s throw for the game-winning run.
A double-play ended the inning but the damage was done. “I knew I didn’t get a win… and we didn’t win but what happens in October does not define who I am”.
Price was pulled in the seventh inning. Paulo Orlando then stepped in as a pinch runner for Rios. The Mets average 4.22 runs per game while their pitching staff ERA is 3.45. But then Ryan Madson gave up a one-out, two-run bomb to Bautista in the eighth before Wade Davis came on to get the final two outs of the frame. The tarp was pulled off at 10:25 p.m.
When the game resumed, Osuna was on the mound. If this is the last we see of Price in a Jays uniform, you couldn’t ask for much more. This time the Kansas City fans went silent and Bautista set the bat down calmly. The Royals outhit the Blue Jays 9-7 and won the series 4-2, according to Yahoo! But the Royals are kings when it comes to staving off elimination in historic fashion (Here’s looking at you Oakland and Houston). It won’t have the same shelf life on highlight shows, but with the Blue Jays trailing 3-1 and Wade Davis warming up in the bullpen, the ALCS homer off of Madson was just as vital to the Blue Jays’ chances.
They’e two teams playing at the top of their very different games, and such contrast leads to a few pretty interesting story lines.
Kansas City will play the New York Mets in the World Series. “Couldn’t get any better than this”.
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It was Toronto’s fifth must-win game of the playoffs and it proved to be one too many for the AL East champions, ending a remarkable season that saw the Jays reload at the trade deadline and dominate after the all-star break.
