Astros vs. Royals 2015 ALDS schedule, start times & more

Johnny Cueto will pitch the second game and Edinson Volquez will start Game 3, with the rest of the rotation to be announced only if Games 4 and 5 are necessary. “Ventura has been excellent in his last six, seven starts”.

“The key for us being able to do this, really, is the year Ryan Madson’s had and Danny Duffy and his development in the ‘pen”, Royals manager Ned Yost said.

If we learned anything from last year’s insane AL Wild Card game between the Oakland A’s and the Kansas City Royals, it might be just this – expect the road team to put out a historic effort.

The path to playoff promise begins here and now in Kansas City.

To be frank, nobody even thought the Astros would be in the playoff conversation this year – and here they find themselves in the Wild Card game after leading the division for a good chunk of the season. He didn’t want to mortgage too much of the future by shipping prized prospects off for the kind of frontline starter or big-time bat that can be so helpful this time of year. And when the waiver deadline approached, Moore sent an infielder to Atlanta for Jonny Gomes, filling the need for a hitter who can handle left-handed pitchers. Little did she imagine that would be the last time the Royals would win a World Series Championship.

That is not to say the Royals have not gone through adversity this season. He demoted Greg Holland from the closer role. Because of these wins and Toronto’s two losses in their final series with Tampa Bay, the Royals finish with the best record in the American League. While I think that Kansas City success with Escobar at leadoff has to be a statistical artifact caused by variance, perhaps the TEAM believes that they’re better with Escobar atop the lineup.

Veteran Jason Frasor and rookie Brandon Finnegan pitched well in the playoffs past year, but Hochevar, Duffy and Franklin Morales are widely considered upgrades. “Last year we weren’t guaranteed to play besides just the one game”.

“We’re glad that the regular season’s over and we got through it with everyone being healthy”, Hosmer said.