Two long-suffering franchises enjoying a period of strong talent and good fortune will meet in the 2015 American League Championship Series, making this best-of-four series a particularly exciting, acutely anticipated matchup.
The Toronto Blue Jays are in the ALCS after defeating the Texas Rangers in a thrilling five-game series. The deciding contest on Wednesday was one of the strangest, craziest games you’ll ever see in baseball, turning on errors, a little-known rule and a three-run Jose Bautista dinger accompanied by a bat flip better and cooler than any finishing gimmick you’ll find in pro wrestling.
Their opponent is the Kansas City Royals, who also needed the full five games to top the upstart Houston Astros in their AL Division Series matchup. The Royals won Game 5 by a score of 7-2, decidedly less dramatic than the Blue Jays’ clincher.
It’s a fitting pairing, as the Royals and Blue Jays finished No. 1 and No. 2 in the American League final standings, and they didn’t find separation until the very end of the season.
Here is the Game 1 viewing guide, ticket info and odds. Spread and betting lines courtesy of Odds Shark and updated as of October 16 at 7 a.m. ET.
Blue Jays vs. Royals Game 1 Guide
Where: Kauffman Stadium in Kansas City, Missouri
When: Friday, October 16 at 7:30 p.m. ET
Tickets: ScoreBig.com
TV: FOX
Odds: Toronto (-1.5) at 27-20, Kansas City 20-31
The Blue Jays are looking for their first World Series berth since they won it all in 1993, which also happens to be the last time they made the playoffs, long on the outside looking in, playing third (or fourth, or fifth) fiddle to the Boston Red Sox and New York Yankees in the AL East. For Kansas City, it’s looking for a second consecutive trip to the World Series. The franchise’s lone championship came in 1985 during the George Brett era.
Toronto will trot out Marco Estrada to start Game 1. The 32-year-old righty won Game 3, his only appearance of this postseason. Estrada went 6.1 innings, scattering five hits for one earned run while chalking up four strikeouts.
A dependable member of the Blue Jays rotation this year, the veteran Estrada went 1-1 against the Royals this year, allowing 12 hits and four earned runs in 12.1 innings pitched.
His opposition on the mound is another righty in Edinson Volquez. The hard-throwing right-hander lost to Houston in Game 3 and was only moderately effective in two starts against Toronto this season.
Despite the two teams involved in a couple of dust-ups this year, Volquez said he will “of course” pitch inside against Toronto, per the Associated Press (h/t ESPN.com). Manager Ned Yost is backing his Game 1 starter up on that assurance.
“I’m not a mind reader. I’m not a fortune teller. I don’t know if it’s going to be an issue,” Yost said, via the AP. “But we’ll pitch inside aggressively. That’s a power-laden club over there. We’re going to formulate a really good game plan and try to go out and execute.”
Backing Toronto off the plate is a necessary strategy. The Blue Jays racked up 26 runs and eight home runs in the ALDS, despite a team .228/.294/.418 slash line, per ESPN.com. The offense was powered by the usual suspects, with Bautista and Josh Donaldson combining to hit four home runs and drive in nine runs.
Toronto will be looking for more from shortstop Troy Tulowitzki, who, despite driving in four runs in Game 3, managed just two hits in 21 at-bats.
Kansas City had one less run and the same number of dingers in its five ALDS games but did a better job of getting on base with a team .321 OBP. The Royals enjoy a decent speed advantage over Toronto.
Lorenzo Cain can cover plenty of ground on the basepath and in center field, while Jarrod Dyson and Terrance Gore are dangerous pinch runners. Kendrys Morales was the main source of power in the ALDS. The veteran hit three home runs and notched six RBI against Houston.
ESPN Stats & Info pointed out he’s been a clutch hitter in 2015:
As far as defense goes, center field is where would-be line drives are likely to die in this series, per Tyler Kepner of the New York Times:
According to FanGraphs’ Ultimate Zone Rating, Kevin Kiermaier of the Tampa Bay Rays was by far the best center fielder in the majors this season. But the second- and third-best A.L. center fielders are on display in this series: the Royals’ Lorenzo Cain and the Blue Jays’ Kevin Pillar. Both cover lots of ground and overcame long odds: Cain did not play baseball until he was a sophomore in high school, and Pillar was not drafted until the 32nd round in 2011.
These two squads have been jockeying for supremacy all season long, and this series definitely has the potential to go seven games. Toronto looks to have the early pitching advantage, with Volquez shaky against the Blue Jays and David Price ready to start Game 2 against Yordano Ventura (13-8, 4.08 ERA in regular season).
However, the Royals can draw on their experiences from last year, with many of the same key players in line to push this team to the mountaintop once again.
Read more MLB news on BleacherReport.com