Blue Jays-Royals: 3 keys to Game 6 of the ALCS

On Wednesday morning, in the hours leading up to Game 5 of the American League Championship Series, the Toronto Blue Jays pre-emptively packed their bags and lined up them up neatly in the bowels of Rogers Centre for a standby flight to Kansas City. Marco Estrada then ensured they got on the plane.

With surgical precision and that devastating changeup, Estrada kept Toronto's season alive by tossing 7 2/3 sublime innings against the Royals, lifting his club to a 7-1 victory that sent both teams back to the Midwest for a sixth game in the best-of-seven showdown.

Still trailing 3-2 in the series, the Blue Jays will entrust their beleaguered ace to stave off elimination Friday at Kauffman Stadium, where he'll look to secure his first career postseason win as a starter. David Price, the six-time All-Star whose playoff woes have inspired countless sound bites, will start opposite Yordano Ventura, the fiery 24-year-old who has yet to log a quality start in three outings this postseason.

With that said, here are three keys to Game 6 of the ALCS:

A BIT PRICE-Y

In Game 1 of the ALDS, the Blue Jays' first postseason contest in more than two decades, Price faltered against the Texas Rangers. Four days later, he was curiously summoned from the bullpen to relieve R.A. Dickey in Arlington, where the knuckleballer was ostensibly cruising with a six-run lead. He threw three innings. Again, he wasn't sharp. Though he appeared to finally exorcise his postseason demons Saturday in Kansas City, where he allowed just one baserunner through the first six innings of Game 2 of the ALCS, Price crumbled in the seventh in spectacular fashion, surrendering five runs as he tried, in vain, to erase a defensive miscue from Ryan Goins that opened the pivotal frame.

Following that series of shaky performances and some grumblings about his usage this postseason from outside the organization, many suspect the Price that will take the mound at Kauffman Stadium for Game 6 is but a distant relative of the dominant left-hander who led Toronto to nine wins in 11 starts down the stretch. He isn't, though. Contrary to recent evidence, he's the same guy who led the AL in ERA during the regular season. "I know I'm a very good pitcher," he said Thursday. "Good things are going to happen." Even as November looms, his velocity hasn't waned. He's actually getting more run on his sinker and cutter than he usually does. For Price, who's poised to make the biggest start of his life Friday night, the scouting report is straightforward: be David Price.

JOEY WAITS

Jose Bautista recently lamented how Kansas City's pitchers have worked around him this series, preferring instead to face Edwin Encarnacion, who aggravated his sore middle finger in the series opener and is just 2-for-12 (.167) with four strikeouts and one walk since Game 2. "They're not really coming after me at all," said Bautista, who boasts a .914 OPS this postseason.

Despite his protestations, Bautista shouldn't expect that to change in Game 6. During the regular season, Ventura threw fewer pitches in the strike zone than 65 percent of qualified starters, while notching first-pitch strikes less frequently than all but seven AL starters. Frustrating as it is to see so many pitches off the plate, discipline yields dividends. This season, Bautista managed a .976 OPS in at-bats that began with ball one, but posted a comparatively measly .784 mark in plate appearances with a first-pitch strike. Though Ventura may be tempted to challenge Bautista, catcher Sal Perez should encourage otherwise: Bautista managed a 1.265 OPS this season when swinging at the first pitch.

GET WALKING, ROYALS

Boasting a deep lineup that managed the second-highest batting average and lowest strikeout rate in the majors this season, it's not terribly concerning that Kansas City doesn't walk all that often, right? Wrong. During the regular season, the Royals' winning percentage strongly correlated with the number of walks they took, with the club posting a gaudy .683 mark in games where they drew at least three free passes.