Royals pound Blue Jays to brink of elimination
Thirty years after meeting in the 1985 ALCS, Toronto and Kansas City find themselves in an eerily similar position. Except for one major difference: The Royals are 27 outs away from going to the World Series.
R.A. Dickey was chased from Game 4 in the second inning, Alex Rios collected three hits against his former team, and the Royals hammered the Blue Jays 14-2 on Tuesday to take a 3-1 stranglehold in their best-of-seven series.
The Royals used a pair of four-run innings and 15 hits to burn through Toronto's depleted bullpen, hammering Dickey out of the contest after 12 batters and forcing manager John Gibbons to use four different relievers over 7 2/3 innings.
The Blue Jays are now tasked with completing an improbable comeback three decades after Kansas City reeled off three straight wins to knock Toronto out of the 1985 championship series.
Top Performer: Eight of the Royals' starting nine had at least one hit, but it was Rios' effort that promises to haunt Toronto fans the most. The former Blue Jays outfielder homered and singled twice for the Royals, who also received key contributions from Ben Zobrist, Lorenzo Cain, and Alcides Escobar. Zobrist's two-run homer set the tone early, while Cain's first-inning run on a Dickey wild pitch held up as the difference in the blowout victory. Escobar continued his torrid pace this postseason with two hits and four RBIs to improve his slash line to an eye-popping .600/.579/.867 in the ALCS.
(Courtesy: MLB.com)
Starting Pitchers: Chris Young's outing didn't last especially long, but the veteran starter gave Ned Yost just enough pitches to get the ball to his vaunted bullpen. The tall right-hander struck out the side to begin the game, and limited the Blue Jays' big bats to just one extra-base hit over 4 2/3 innings. The Royals' relievers were their typically dominant selves, allowing just four hits over 4 1/3 scoreless frames.
Dickey's disastrous start, meanwhile, could have lasting effects for a Blue Jays club facing a potential elimination game on Wednesday. The 40-year-old knuckleballer found himself in a 3-0 hole before recording an out, and his early exit prompted Gibbons to use four more pitchers, plus utility infielder Cliff Pennington, just to complete the final seven-plus innings.
| Pitchers | IP | H | R | ER | BB | SO |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dickey | 1.2 | 4 | 5 | 4 | 2 | 1 |
| Young | 4.2 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 4 |
Key Moment: Dickey's short start was without question the turning point Tuesday, but Gibbons' decision to deploy Ryan Tepera in a 5-2 game for the right-hander's first-ever playoff appearance could come back to get the Blue Jays. While the move spared the Blue Jays from using either Aaron Sanchez or Roberto Osuna, Tepera's brief appearance put the game well out of hand after he allowed four runs on five hits over 1 2/3 innings.
Up Next: The Blue Jays now face a nearly insurmountable task of winning three straight against the AL's top-seeded team, including two games in Kansas City. Marco Estrada pitches for the home side with the Blue Jays' season on the line, while Edinson Volquez will look to replicate his Game 1 success for a shot at the World Series.