Price put two runners on in the third inning before getting Eric Hosmer to ground out to end the frame.
Advertisement
“I think the country, the city, the fans, the organization, our team has so much to be proud of”, R.A. Dickey said. “I knew we were going to take a shot at it”.
A lot of the talk going into Game Six between the Blue Jays and Royals was about David Price.
They have now accomplished just that, beating first the Texas Rangers in the American League Division Series, and now the Blue Jays in the Championship Series, to set their date with the Mets. “They are in the stadium and we’ll have a great time and we’ll have a great view behind home plate”.
Jirschele said the Royals’ scouting reports talked about the Blue Jays immediately throwing into second on plays like that and added, “I’ve seen Bautista do it this whole series”. The umpires reviewed the play but determined there was not enough evidence to rule fan interference.
It was another strong regular season for Duda, as he hit.244/.352/.486 with 33 doubles, 27 home runs and 73 RBI for a 3.0 WAR.
Price did not finish the inning as rookie right-hander Aaron Sanchez was brought in to face Alex Rios with two out.
After the Royals tacked on their insurance run against Price in the bottom of the seventh, it was up to the back end of the Royals bullpen to protect their 3-1 lead for two more innings and close out the game.
The defensive plays proved critical when Ryan Madson came on to pitch the eighth. But it didn’t seem to dent the confidence of the Royals, who have grown accustomed to tense postseason games.
There’s a reason they were defending American League champions, after all.
It was Bautista’s fourth homer of the playoffs, setting a franchise single post-season. Kelvin Herrera did his job, stranding that runner and working a flawless seventh, retiring all five men he faced. But still it’s a long throw from the line to second base, and then they still got to relay it back home. That single allowed Moustakas to score. Instead, he turned to Madson who got rocked in Game 4 of the ALDS.
Davis spent the rain delay with a heat pack on his arm and shoulder, spending time on an exercise bike and playing catch.
Russell Martin singled off Davis, who had come in with one out in the eighth, to open the ninth. In that game, Kansas City had a 2-0 lead through the second inning. The tarp was pulled off at 10:25 p.m.
While Davis slammed the door on the Jays, the winning run was an advertisement for the Royals’ hustle and preparation. That left the Jays without their top lefty, their best setup man and arguably their best overall reliever, who hadn’t allowed a single earned run in almost four months.
The Jays had their chances in the series – more than the Royals, in fact – but they didn’t capitalize as often as K.C. The Jays hit just. But the Royals are kings when it comes to staving off elimination in historic fashion (Here’s looking at you Oakland and Houston).
The Blue Jays will be forced to look to retain a large portion of their pitching staff, but will also likely have to approach free agency aggressively, considering none of the pitchers in the team’s top 20 prospects is expected to be ready to contribute until at least the 2017 season.
For the Toronto Blue Jays, 4-0 in elimination games in these playoffs heading into Game 6 of the American League Championship Series, a foot finally slipped off. And then Jose Baustita, wobbling, with both hands outstretched, got his team steadied. They’ve all resulted in Kansas City wins. “I was just shaking and hoping they would keep it a home run”.
Advertisement
“I’ve thrown the ball many times well in the playoffs”.
