The Astros host their first playoff game in 10 years

Houston leads the series 2-1 in the American League Division Series.

The normally-impatient Royals showed a few patience, although Escobar was proud of the fact that he once again swing at the game’s first pitch – he popped out to first – and that Kansas City is now 40-17 when he does so. Dallas Keuchel, an AL Cy Young candidate, will take the ball for Houston in Game 3 on Sunday.

Blue Jays manager Josh Gibbons admitted to Neil Davidson of the Canadian Press (h/t Calgary Herald) he didn’t expect such a surge from the righty.

Urgency is a major factor in both best-of-five series, and here is a guide to the AL action on Sunday, October 11.

(Frank Gunn/The Canadian Press via AP).

But before World Series talk there’s still the task of taking the American League Division Series against the Houston Astros. “The way the bullpen has been throwing for us, if we can just got off to an early lead as an offense then we’ll feel pretty good about it going in”.

The opening odds for this evening’s game stand at -184 7o-15 for the Astros while KC Royals stand at +164. Tejada sustained a fractured right fibula and was placed on a flatbed vehicle with an air cast on his leg, while Utley was ruled safe on a video review as the Dodgers went on to win 5-2.

This Sunday evening there is more baseball action on its way as the Royals face off their host – the Astros at the Minute Maid Park in the city of Houston at 4 pm ET this is Houston´s return to home field for the first time since September 27th, 2015.

Astros fans should be pumped and ready to go for the next two games at Minute Maid Park.

In just his second career postseason start, Keuchel was dominant.

“That’s good news”, Volquez said.

“I mean, this is obviously a hard game”, said the Astros’ George Springer, a veteran of 180 big league games.

Houston Astros starting pitcher Dallas Keuchel throws against the…

Not that Yordano Ventura and the Royals’ other pitchers weren’t any good Thursday night. “And sometimes there’s just no reason for it”. In a combined three innings between the two, they’ve allowed two hits and no runs while striking out four in the first two games of the series.

“I figured he was going to let me pitch to their best hitter”, Keuchel said of Astros manager A.J. Hinch, who paid a mound visit prior to the decisive at-bat. “I was really sad about that”. Meanwhile, 18 of the 29 teams to lose the first two games at home wound up getting swept in Game 3.

“I felt strong”, Cueto said with coach Pedro Grifol acting as his interpreter. Cecil’s season is over because of a torn calf muscle, and the left-hander has been replaced on Toronto’s postseason roster by rookie right-hander Ryan Tepera.

Adrian Beltre gets another needed off day as he tries to come back from a lower back strain that forced an early exit from Game 1 and held him out of the lineup in Game 2. The third baseman was injured during Game 1 of the ALDS and sat out Friday’s 14-inning Game 2.