Estrada 'dynamite' with season on the line
A brilliant performance from Marco Estrada has extended the Toronto Blue Jays' season to at least Friday.
The crafty right-hander shut down a red-hot Kansas City Royals offense Wednesday night, tossing 7 2/3 innings of one-run ball in Toronto's 7-1 victory in Game 5 of the ALCS.
Estrada faced the minimum through 6 2/3 innings - the farthest into a postseason game an AL pitcher has faced the minimum since Don Larsen's perfect game in the 1956 World Series - before getting into trouble in the eighth. On his 105th pitch, Estrada coughed up a solo home run to Royals catcher Salvador Perez, and was then lifted from the game by manager John Gibbons after Alex Gordon singled to extend the inning.
(Courtesy: MLB.com)
Gibbons summed up Estrada's effort perfectly by simply saying "wow" when he approached the mound as the crowd at Rogers Centre gave the starting pitcher a thunderous ovation.
Estrada gets ovation~Gibbons says "Wow" #BlueJays #Jays #postseason #MLBPlayoffs #Estrada pic.twitter.com/YGkm4vvKzA
— Nicholas Prins (@nohouzecalls) October 21, 2015
"He's pitched like that all year. We've seen him take a couple of no-hitters late in the games, very durable. He gives up minimal hits, that kind of thing," Gibbons said postgame. "The fact it's an elimination game, he really rose to the occasion. But he's looking pretty good, he's a free agent, the timing is important for him. He had everything going, he's sticking that fastball, nice little curveball, and his overpowering changeup. He shut down a good hitting, hot team."
Estrada, who took the loss in Game 1 of the ALCS, improves to 2-1 with a 2.77 ERA in three postseason starts.
"Today he was absolutely dynamite," Royals manager Ned Yost told reporters. "He didn't miss spots. His change-up was fantastic. He just didn't give us anything to hit. Esky did a great job of breaking up the no-hitter, got the count to 3-2 and then finally got a pitch to drive through the 5-6 hole. Outside of that he did a great job of commanding the baseball, executing his pitches and keeping us off balance."
ESTRADA'S 3 POSTSEASON STARTS
| DATE | OPP | IP | H | ER | BB | SO |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Oct. 21 | KC | 7.2 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 5 |
| Oct. 16 | KC | 5.1 | 6 | 3 | 0 | 6 |
| Oct. 11 | TEX | 6.1 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 4 |
Toronto is now 4-0 when facing elimination this postseason, and its starting pitching is a major reason why.
The @BlueJays starters have been dominant when facing elimination this #postseason. #ALCSonFS1 pic.twitter.com/m1Oni6YXf7
— #ALCSonFS1 (@FS1) October 21, 2015
The scene now shifts to Kansas City for Game 6 on Friday, with the Royals leading the best-of-seven series 3-2.