The Kansas City Royals moved ever closer to their second consecutive World Series appearance after recording a resounding 14-2 victory over the Toronto Blue Jays in Game 5 of their American League Championship Series on Tuesday. The Royals will look to clinch the AL pennant once and for all when they face the Blue Jays at Rogers Centre later today. It’s bound to be an epic matchup indeed, with Edinson Volquez (1-1, 2.31 ERA) and Marco Estrada (1-1, 3.09 ERA) starting for Kansas City and Toronto, respectively.
Can the Royals clinch the series tonight? Or will Toronto hang tough and extend this ALCS for at least one more game? Find out more about this pivotal matchup below. You can also take a look at our preview for Game 4 of the NLCS between the Chicago Cubs and the New York Mets here.
[sc:MLBArticles ]Kansas City Royals vs. Toronto Blue Jays ALCS Game 5 Preview
Where: Rogers Centre, Toronto
When: Wednesday, October 21, 4:07 PM ET
Line: Kansas City Royals (+130) vs. Toronto Blue Jays (-140); total: 9.0 – view all MLB lines
TV Broadcast: FS1
Betting on the Kansas City Royals
The Kansas City Royals grabbed a commanding 3-1 lead in the ALCS with an emphatic 14-2 victory over the Toronto Blue Jays on Tuesday. The 12-run win represents the largest margin of victory by a road team in American League postseason history and also the fourth-largest margin in MLB playoff history.
[sc:MLB240banner ]The Royals’ offense in this ALCS has been simply incredible; they have scored a whopping 33 runs in this series thus far. Leading the way for Kansas City on the offensive end is the ever-reliable Alcides Escobar. The shortstop has been on a tear in this year’s playoffs, hitting .417 with a .611 slugging percentage in 36 postseason at-bats. He was instrumental in the Royals’ Game 4 victory, reaching base three times and contributing two sacrifice flies.
The Royals’ red-hot offense has helped ease the pressure off of Kansas City’s shaky starting pitching. Their starters are just 2-3 with a 5.64 ERA in this year’s playoffs. For the Royals to end the series once and for all tonight, they will need another strong start from Edinson Volquez. He was solid in Game 1 of this ALCS, allowing just two hits in six shutout innings.
The Royals are 7-1 in their last eight League Championship games.
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Betting on the Toronto Blue Jays
Toronto’s 97-win season is on the brink of going for naught as the Blue Jays’ backs are now against the wall, trailing Kansas City in their American League Championship Series, three games to one. Still, all hope is not lost for the reeling Blue Jays, who will be sending Marco Estrada to the mound today.
Estrada is 1-1 this postseason with an ERA of 3.09. He picked up the loss in his last start against the Royals, giving up three runs in 5.1 innings in Game 1 of the ALCS. The pressure is on Estrada to deliver a quality outing today after the enormous struggles the Toronto starters have displayed in this series thus far. The Jays’ starting pitching has posted a whopping 7.20 ERA in this ALCS.
Estrada can’t do it all alone, though, and he needs the Toronto hitters to deliver some big runs for him today in this do-or-die game. It won’t be that easy, though, as the Blue Jays are mired in a deep slump in this series. They are batting just .233 in this ALCS. In Estrada’s Game 1 start, the Blue Jays went scoreless, managing just two hits and four walks in his six innings.
The onus then is on Josh Donaldson and Troy Tulowitzki to carry the scoring weight for Toronto in Game 5. They are both 5-of-15 in this ALCS with each player recording a homer and four RBIs. Donaldson is 0-for-1 lifetime against Volquez, while Tulowitzki is 2-of-14 with a pair of walks and four RBIs.
The Blue Jays are 5-2 in Estrada’s last seven home starts.
Writer’s Prediction
Toronto (-140) wins, 7-2.
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