The latest on the AL Championship Series. The Blue Jays won Game 5 to force the series back to Kansas City, where the Royals still lead 3-2. The Mets await the winner in the World Series after sweeping the Cubs. Game 6 of the ALCS is underway. Here’s a look at what’s happening (all times local):
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7:40 p.m.
Ben Zobrist and Mike Moustakas staked the Royals to an early lead over Toronto on a pair of solo home runs in Game 6 of the ALCS, though there was some debate over the second of them.
Moustakas connected off Blue Jays ace David Price with one out in the second. The liner appeared to skim over the fence in right field, but a fan reached out and caught the ball before it hit the padding, prompting Toronto outfielder Jose Bautista to call for fan interference.
Blue Jays manager John Gibbons asked for a review, and the original ruling of a home run was upheld after 1 minute, 47 seconds. Fox broadcasters reported the officials couldn’t definitively overturn the home run based on the video.
Zobrist went deep off Price with one out in the first inning.
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7:10 p.m.
Yordano Ventura’s first pitch to the Blue Jays’ Ben Revere in Game 6 of the AL Championship Series came with clear skies and an unseasonably warm temperature of 70 degrees.
That could all change by the final pitch.
There was a better-than-50 percent chance of rain after 10 p.m., depending on the forecast, which would be about the time the game ends. It rained in the early morning hours Friday in Kansas City but was clear most of the day, allowing the field to dry out.
The Royals lost to Houston in the divisional round in a game delayed by rain.
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6:10 p.m.
The Blue Jays have won four straight elimination games, including three against Texas in the divisional round, to reach Game 6 of the AL Championship Series in Kansas City.
They’ll need to win at least two more to keep their season alive.
Asked about his club’s resilience, Toronto manager John Gibbons said before Friday’s first pitch: “They’ve looked and played and acted like they have all season long.”
Gibbons would rather avoid win-or-else games, but he also thinks his team embraces them.
“It’s not ideal and it’s not easy, but they’ve proven themselves and they really expect to win tonight,” Gibbons said. “I have not seen any change in their demeanor at all.”
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5 p.m.
The Blue Jays have Aaron Loup back in their bullpen for Game 6 of the AL Championship Series after he missed the previous two games due to a family emergency.
There is no bereavement list during the playoffs, which means Toronto had to play with 24 players in splitting those games with Kansas City. But the 27-year-old Loup made it to Kauffman Stadium in time to warm up before Friday night’s game.
Loup has been the only lefty in the bullpen since Brett Cecil tore a calf muscle during the divisional round, one reason why Game 6 starter David Price has been moonlighting there.
Loup has allowed one run in two innings covering four appearance in the playoffs.
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4:15 p.m.
One of the curious story lines in the AL Championship Series has been the penchant of Royals leadoff hitter Alcides Escobar to swing at the first pitch.
Before facing Toronto in Game 6 on Friday, Escobar offered a simple reason why.
“That’s 99 percent (of the time) a fastball right there in the strike zone,” he said.
If the Royals wrap up their second straight trip to the World Series, there’s a good chance Escobar could be the ALCS MVP. He’s hitting .400 in the series, and has already become the first player in postseason history to open each of the first four games with a hit.
Then there’s his defense: He makes even the toughest plays at shortstop look routine.
As for the first pitch, Escobar is surprised that he keeps getting strikes to hit.
“That surprises me right there because everybody knows I swing at the first pitch,” Escobar said, “and they keep throwing a strike. If they are going to keep throwing a first-pitch strike, I’m going to keep swinging at it.”
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3:40 p.m.
The Royals are sending Yordano Ventura to the mound trying to clinch their second straight AL pennant, and manager Ned Yost will be keeping a close eye on his secondary pitches.
If Ventura is locating his curveball, Yost thinks the Royals are in good shape.
“What makes it all work is commanding his curveball, commanding his change-up and if he’s able to control the throttle on that, it makes his fastball that much better,” Yost said before the Royals took on the Blue Jays in Game 6 at Kauffman Stadium.
Yost conceded that Ventura has been merely “OK” this postseason. He allowed three runs on eight hits in 5 1-3 innings in Game 2, a game the Royals rallied to win after Blue Jays Game 6 starter David Price faltered in the seventh inning.
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Source: businessinsider.com
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