Don’t count out the Blue Jays just yet. Marco Estrada pitched one-hit ball into the eighth inning on Wednesday to lead Toronto to a convincing 7-1 victory in Game 5. Action now shifts to Kansas City for Game 6 with the Blue Jays trailing 3-2 in this best-of-seven American League Championship Series.
Who will emerge victorious in this make-or-break ballgame? Read on below for an in-depth breakdown of this ALCS matchup. If you’re looking for other sports action, though, you can check out our complete NFL Week 7 picks.
[sc:MLBArticles ]Toronto Blue Jays vs. Kansas City Royals ALCS Game 6 Preview
Where: Kauffman Stadium, Kansas City, Missouri
When: Friday, October 23, 8:07 PM ET
Line: Toronto Blue Jays (-140) vs. Kansas City Royals (+130); total: 7.0 – view all MLB lines
TV Broadcast: FS1
Betting on the Toronto Blue Jays
After beating the Royals in Game 5, manager John Gibbons now gives the ball to veteran David Price (1-2, 7.02 ERA). He is still searching for his first postseason win as a starter after enduring an almighty collapse in Game 2 of this series. He threw six scoreless innings in that particular ballgame but his superb outing quickly fell apart with a gut-wrenching five-run seventh by the Kansas City Royals. With that 6-3 loss in Game 2, Price is now 0-7 in his seven career playoff starts.
[sc:MLB240banner ]The pressure now is on Price to follow Estrada’s example and deliver a much better performance in Game 6. He can take comfort in the fact, however, that he did retire 18 straight Kansas City batters in that Game 2 loss. Another good sign for Price is that the Blue Jays’ hitters are starting to wake up from their offensive slumber. Chris Colabello hit a solo homer in the second inning of Game 5 while Troy Tulowitzki drove in three runs with a bases-clearing double in the pivotal sixth.
Tulowitzki has been on a tear in this postseason, driving in a league-leading 11 runs. He’s one of the few bright spots for the Toronto offense in this ALCS, going 7-of-19 with a homer and seven RBIs. He went 2-of-3 with an RBI against Royals starter Yordano Ventura in Game 2.
The Blue Jays are 2-2 on the road this postseason.
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Betting on the Kansas City Royals
On the mound for the Royals in this all-important Game 6 is Yordano Ventura. He’s 0-1 this postseason with an ERA of 6.57. He scattered eight hits and three runs with six strikeouts and two walks in 5.1 innings in Kansas City’s win over Toronto in Game 2 of the ALCS. Given Ventura’s recent struggles, he will need the Royals’ hitters to deliver some big runs for him today.
Kansas City’s red-hot offense was stopped on its tracks on Wednesday as the Royals failed to solve the pitching brilliance of Marco Estrada. The Royals came into Game 5 having scored 18 runs in the past 10 innings, and amassing a whopping 30 hits in their past two games. The Royals were silenced though on Wednesday, managing just four hits and a run in Game 5.
For the Royals to end the series once and for all on Friday, they need to start fast against David Price and the rest of the Blue Jays. The Royals were retired 1-2-3 in the first inning in Game 5, the first time that has happened to Kansas City in 20 postseason games. The onus then is on Alcides Escobar to get the ball rolling for the Royals in Game 6. The shortstop has been on a tear in this year’s playoffs, hitting .400 with a .575 slugging percentage in 40 postseason at-bats. He went 1-of-3 against Price in Game 2.
The Royals are 4-1 at home this postseason.
Writer’s Prediction
Toronto (-140) forces a winner-take all Game 7 with a narrow 5-3 victory.
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