The Toronto Blue Jays kept their World Series bid alive by extending the American League Championship Series to at least six games, and forcing a move back to Kansas City. Game six of the ALCS is scheduled for Friday, October 23 at 8:07 p.m. at Kauffman Stadium. The Kansas City Royals lead the ALCS, three games to two, according to Yahoo! Sports .
The Blue Jays won, convincingly, against the Royals, 7-1. Marco Estrada’s strong pitching was a big part of the story behind the Blue Jays’ win. Over seven innings pitched, Estrada only allowed three hits and one run; he faced 26 batters in total. Fans cheered Estrada with vigor as he left the Rogers Centre field in the eighth inning. Estrada pointed toward the sky with his index finger, perhaps to indicate what he feels the Blue Jays’ position in baseball is, or perhaps to say thank you to fans. Blue Jays’ fans had much to cheer about in Toronto this evening.
The first inning went scoreless. Then, in the bottom of the second, Toronto outfielder Chris Colabello smacked a solo home run.
The score remained locked at 1-0 for the Jays, until the bottom of the sixth, when the Blue Jays were finally able to break through the Royals’ defenses. The first run in the sixth came when Blue Jays’ outfielder Ben Revere was walked home.
Then, Troy Tulowitzki , who has been a shining star in the postseason, hit a magical double, that was probably the turning point of the night for the Blue Jays. The shot earned Tulowitzki three RBIs and put the Blue Jays ahead 5-0. Tulowitzki has nine hits and 11 RBIs in the last ten games, with seven hits and seven RBIs in the last three games alone.
In the bottom of the seventh inning, Jose Bautistahit a single-RBI double, sending Josh Donaldson to home plate. Bautista has been no batting slouch either; he has four hits and three RBIs in the last four games, according to Yahoo! Sports.
Kansas City catcher Salvador Perez hit a solo homer in the eighth, finally putting the Royals on the scoreboard. Toronto outfielder Kevin Pillar hit an RBI double in the bottom of the eighth, bringing the score to 7-1, where it would remain.
The Blue Jays out-hit the Royals 8-4 and the game was error-free. The win went to Toronto fighter Marco Estrada. Roberto Osuna also pitched for a full inning, putting away the remainder of the Royals hitters. Osuna had a 2015 regular season ERA of 2.58.
Winning pitcher Marco Estrada’s high-pressure win, and the performance that earned it is quite remarkable. Estrada had 13 wins and eight losses with an ERA of 3.13 in the regular season. He is now 1-1 in the postseason with an ERA of 2.77.
David Price is expected on the mound for the Blue Jays in Kansas City on Friday. Price has a postseason ERA of 7.02, according to MLB. The Blue Jays pitcher had 18 wins and five losses through the 2015 regular season; his ERA was 2.45. David Price also carries a career ERA, stretching all the way back to 2008, of 3.09.
According to MLB, the Kansas City Royals’ pitcher for Friday is yet to be announced. NBC suggests that Yordano Ventura might get the ALCS start against the Blue Jays.
[Feature Photo by Vaughn Ridley/Getty Images]
