Kansas City Royals
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Kansas City Royals OFFICIAL GAME NOTES Toronto Blue Jays @ Kansas City Royals Kauffman Stadium - Friday, October 16, 2015 American League Championship Series - Game #1 FOX Network, 610 Sports, ESPN Radio UPCOMING SCHEDULE/PROBABLES Game #2 - Saturday, October 17 vs. Toronto: LHP David Price (1-1, 7.20) vs. RHP Yordano Ventura (0-1, 7.71), 3:07 p.m., FS1, ESPN Radio & 610 Sports Workout Day - Sunday, October 18 @ Toronto: Time to be announced Game #3 - Monday, October 19 @ Toronto: RHP Johnny Cueto (1-0, 3.86) vs. RHP Marcus Stroman (0-0, 3.46), 7:07 p.m. (CDT), FS1, ESPN Radio & 610 Sports Game #4 - Tuesday, October 20 @ Toronto: TBA vs. RHP R.A. Dickey (0-0, 1.93), Time TBA, FS1, ESPN Radio & 610 Sports Tonight’s contest is being broadcast on KCSP Radio (610 Sports) and the Royals Radio Network with Denny Matthews, Ryan Lefebvre, Steve Physioc and Steve Stewart, while Don Free controls the dials as the producer/engineer...tonight’s game is being televised nationally on the FOX Network with Joe Buck, Harold Reynolds, Tom Verducci, Ken Rosenthal and Erin Andrews...tonight’s game is also being broadcast nationally on ESPN Radio with Dan Shulman and Aaron Boone. THE 2015 KANSAS CITY ROYALS POST-SEASON GUIDE IS AVAILABLE ON-LINE AT MLBPRESSBOX.COM Royals vs. Jays ONWARD--Tonight the Royals begin play in their eighth American League Championship Series and The Royals dropped the regular season series by a 3-4 count, second in a row, as Kansas City is now the only survivor from last year’s postseason as baseball’s version of winning two of three here and losing three of four in Rogers the Final Four commences...KC made quick work of its last run in the ALCS, sweeping a 4-game set from Centre...the last time these clubs met in postseason play was 30 Baltimore last fall that began with a pair of wins in Oriole Park at Camden Yards...by the end of last year’s years ago when KC rallied from a 3-1 deficit to take the ALCS ALCS, Kansas City became the first team in Major League history to start a postseason with an 8-0 record, and eventually land the franchise’s lone World Series crown. Date Site Score WP LP Att. beginning with a Wild Card win over Oakland, 3-game sweep of the Angels in the ALDS and then the sweep 7/10 KC W, 3-0 Duffy Estrada 31,558 of the O’s...this is the second ALCS matchup with the Blue Jays, with the Royals rebounding from a 3-1 7/11 KC L, 2-6 Buehrle Young 30,790 deficit 30 years ago to win game #5 here and the final two games in old Exhibition Stadium for the right to 7/12 KC W, 11-10 Davis Schultz 31,962 7/30 @ Tor L, 2-5 Estrada Duffy 30,057 play St. Louis and eventually capture the franchise’s lone World Series title. 7/31 @ Tor L, 6-7 (11) Hendriks Morales 29,389 COMEBACKS NEEDED TO CLAIM DIVISION SERIES--The Royals are here tonight thanks to their 8/1 @ Tor W, 7-6 Ventura Lowe 37,932 8/2 @ Tor L, 2-5 Dickey Volquez 45,736 resiliency as the club trailed in all five games of the Division Series against Houston, but managed to 2015 AMERICAN LEAGUE CHAMPIONSHIP SERIES recover enough in three of them to take the best-of-five capped with a 7-2 win here on Wednesday...the epic Date Site Score WP LP Att. comeback was on Monday, when KC trailed by a 6-2 count in Minute Maid Park entering the eighth inning, 10/16 KC but five singles, an infield error and ground ball turned the 4-run deficit into a 7-6 lead and then Eric Hosmer 10/17 KC iced it with a ninth inning home run...it marked the second time in postseason history that a team won an 10/19 @ Tor 10/20 @ Tor elimination game down by at least four runs entering the eighth inning, the other occurring in last year’s Wild 10/21 @ Tor (if necessary) Card Game when KC trailed by 7-3 count heading into the eighth, but tied the contest in the ninth and wound 10/23 KC (if necessary) up advancing via a 9-8 victory over the Oakland A’s...Wednesday’s clincher saw the Royals trailing 2-0 after 10/24 KC (if necessary) two innings, but KC scored seven unanswered to advance to the next round. JOHNNY BE FABULOUS--Johnny Cueto carried the Royals into the ALCS with his performance on Wednesday night against the Astros, tossing 8.0 innings allowing just two runs on two hits, with no walks and eight strikeouts...the only damage of the night occurred in the second inning when he gave up an infield hit which was followed immediately by a first pitch home run by Luis Valbuena...the pitch to Valbuena was the only one Cueto threw out of the stretch position all night, as he then set down the last 19 Astros he faced...Cueto’s pitching line was just the fifth in postseason history that witnessed 8.0 innings of no walks and at least eight strikeouts, joining Roger Clemens (Yankees vs. Mets in 2000) and Cliff Lee (Phillies vs. Dodgers in 2009) as winning pitchers and Eddie Cicotte (vs. NY Giants in 1917) and Don Newcombe (Brooklyn vs. NY Yankees in 1949), who both lost their starts. THE ALCS ROSTER--The 25-man roster that will represent the Royals in the American League Championship Series is identical to the one that participated in the ALDS...the roster: PITCHERS (11): Johnny Cueto, Wade Davis, Danny Duffy (L), Kelvin Herrera, Luke Hochevar, Ryan Madson, Kris Medlen, Franklin Morales (L), Yordano Ventura, Edinson Volquez and Chris Young. CATCHERS (2): Drew Butera and Salvador Perez. INFIELDERS (6): Christian Colon, Alcides Escobar, Eric Hosmer, Kendrys Morales, Mike Moustakas and Ben Zobrist. OUTFIELDERS (5): Lorenzo Cain, Alex Gordon, Terrance Gore, Paulo Orlando and Alex Rios. RECORD SEASON AT THE GATE--Kansas City finished the regular season home slate with 2,708,549 fans passing through the Kauffman Stadium turnstiles to shatter its previous single season total of 2,477,700 set back in 1989...the Royals had a per game average of 33,439 and enjoyed 60 crowds in excess of 30,000, going 34-26 in those affairs, while posting a 13-7 mark in 20 home sellouts..Kansas City blew past the 2,000,000 mark in season attendance in the 60th home date on August 14, marking the fastest that KC has eclipsed that milestone, three dates earlier than the 1989 campaign. TONIGHT’S STARTING PITCHERS: RHP Marco Estrada (1-4, 1.42) vs. RHP Edinson Volquez (0-1, 4.76) 2015 2014 Career 2015 2014 Career Marco Estrada vs. Royals 1-1 - 1-1 Major League Record 13-8 (3.13 ERA) 7-6 36-34 Edinson Volquez vs. Blue Jays 0-1 0-1 0-4 Major League Record 13-9 (3.55 ERA) 13-7 79-68 EDINSON VOLQUEZ takes the hill for Game #1 of the ALCS, his second start of this postseason and his fourth all-time in postseason play...he went 13-9 with a 3.55 ERA in 33 starts during the regular season, his first in Kansas City...the 32-year-old signed a two-year free-agent last winter with a mutual 2017 option. OUTDUELED IN HOUSTON--Edinson took the loss in Game #3 of the ALDS Edinson’s Postseason Stats at Minute Maid Park, suffering a 4-2 setback to Dallas Keuchel and the Astros...Volky DATE OPPONENT W-L ERA IP H R ER HR BB SO TP-K LEFT 10/11 @ Houston L, 2-4 5.2 5 3 3 0 4 8 87-55 1-3 allowed three runs on five hits over a 5.2-inning stint...he allowed just one hit and two 2015 Totals 13-9, 3.55 200.1 190 89 79 16 72 155 3298-2107 64% walks over his first 4.0 innings as KC held a 1-0 lead...however, the Astros scored twice in 2015 as a Starter 13-9, 3.58 198.1 190 89 79 16 70 152 3261-2085 64% the fifth on Jason Castro’s two-run single, then Carlos Gomez’s two-out RBI single in the Career Totals 79-68 4.29 1243.0 1186 643 593 125 592 1090 - - Career Postseason 0-3 8.76 12.1 14 12 12 1 9 11 - - sixth ended Volky’s day...Eddie recorded eight K’s, which are tied for second-most by a Royals pitcher in a postseason game, joining teammates Yordano Ventura and Johnny Cueto who both fanned eight in Games #4 and 5 of the series, along with two others. LOOKING FOR POSTSEASON ‘W’--Volquez makes his fourth career postseason start, entering at 0-3 with a 8.76 ERA, allowing 12 runs in 12.1 innings...he incurred a 4-0 defeat in Game #1 of the 2010 NLDS to the Phillies, allowing four runs over 1.2 innings with his counterpart, Roy Halladay, tossing a no-hitter against the Reds...he also fell to Madison Bumgarner and the Giants in last year’s N.L. Wild Card Game, giving up five runs in 5.0 innings. QUALITY WORK IN FINAL WEEK--Edinson made one start and one relief appearance during KC’s final trip of the regular season...he took a no-decision at U.S.