The Kansas City Royals head up to the Rogers Centre in Toronto tonight for game 3 of the ALCS versus the Blue Jays. The Royals won the first 2 games of this series both of which were played in Kansas City. The Royals won the first game on just a dominant pitching performance by starter Edison Volquez and their bullpen.
The second game the Blue Jays and David Price were actually cruising along 3-0 in the 7th but then an innocent fly ball that wasn’t caught by Jays second baseman Ryan Goins led to a 5 run inning by the Royals and with their good bullpen they never looked back winning 6-3.
Head to Head Trends
Royals are 1-5 in the last 6 meetings in Toronto.
Toronto Blue Jays (-160)
The Toronto Blue Jays finished the season 1st in the American League East with a 93-69 record. For the last couple months of the season the Jays were by far the best team in baseball but so far in the playoffs and even the last week of the regular season it just seems like they’re not themselves making costly errors and not getting the big hit to put their opponents away like they have been all season. That being said it’s hard to keep the Blue Jays offense down for more then a couple games in a row just ask the Texas Rangers about that.
On the hill for the Blue Jays today is the golden boy Marcus Stroman who is 4-0 with a 2.25 ERA in 6 starts since making a miracle comeback after missing the first 5 months of the season with torn ACL. Stroman has been great since coming back including a big win in game 5 versus the Ranger so it don’t seem like pressure gets to him much its actually more like he almost thrives on it.
Toronto Blue Jays Trends
Blue Jays are 46-22 in their last 68 overall.
Blue Jays are 6-1 in Stromans last 7 starts.
Kansas City Royals (+150)
The Kansas City Royals finished the regular season 1st in the America League Central with a 95-67 record. The Royals are a well rounded team they hit fairly well averaging 4.50 runs per game and they also have a pretty good pitching staff especially their bullpen who are arguably the best in baseball.
Starting for the Royals today is Johnny Cueto who is 11-13 with a 3.44 ERA on the season but just 5-7 with a 4.63 ERA in 15 starts since joining the Royals. Cueto had a rough start with the Royals but he has pitched much better of late including an absolute gem of a game versus the Astros in game 5.
Kansas City Royals Trends
Royals are 1-6 in Cuetos last 7 road starts.
Royals are 2-7 in their last 9 road games vs. a team with a home winning % of greater than .600.
Conclusion
I’m going with the Toronto Blue Jays over the Royals in this one. The Royals have basically shut down the Blue Jays offense through the first couple games of the series but the Blue Jays have by far the best offense in the game and it’s hard to keep them down for long so expect a big night for the Blue Jays bats.
Free Pick: Toronto Blue Jays -160
