Kansas City, Toronto win on road to force ALDS Game 5s

While many people will go out and buy Royals T-shirts or even tickets for Wednesday’s game decisive Game 5, lots of others are turning to a more-permanent souvenir.

The Blue Jays made it three homers in the first eight batters against Derek Holland when Kevin Pillar connected in the second for a 4-0 lead. In the American League, the Royals avoided elimination rallying for seven runs in the final two innings to pull out a 9-6 win over the Astros at Houston in Game Four.

Correa joined Carlos Beltran of the 2004 Astros as the second Houston player to homer twice in a postseason game, adding an RBI double and a single for good measure. The Royals didn’t have more than runner on base from innings three through seven, and they didn’t put one into scoring position until pinch runner Terrance Gore stole second in the seventh…and was controversially thrown out stealing third to end the frame.

In the National League, the Cubs and Mets each took a 2-1 lead. Designated hitter Kendrys Morales proceeded to hit a bouncer up the middle that deflected off Sipp’s glove and over the reach of Correa’s glove into center field.

The teams split the first two games in Kansas City with the Astros winning Game 1, 5-2, and the Royals coming from behind to win in Game 2 by a score of 5-4.

“You get down two strikes, you miss a couple of heaters, and I’m just trying to put the ball in play”. “I’m sure it was tougher than it looked”. Ben Zobrist and Lorenzo Cain both scored on the miscue, and the game was suddenly tied at 6-6. “I wish I was flawless”. Mike Moustakas rallied the Royals in the dugout, gave them a pep talk with plenty of profanities, then they went out and gut-punched the Astros.

In fact, when Houston manager A.J. Hinch was asked whether he could use star pitcher Dallas Keuchel on three days’ rest in relief, he replied: “Not if McHugh pitches the whole game”.

The Houston Astros had a 6-2 lead in the top of the 8th inning after Carlos Correa and Colby Rasmus blasted back-to-back home runs in the 7th.

“That’s the thing about this team, we always feel that we’re still in games and we still have a chance”, first baseman Eric Hosmer said. They did win the wild-card game at Yankee Stadium and split this series’ first two at Kauffman Stadium, though.

Correa’s feisty, competitive side came out in a quiet Houston clubhouse before the Astros boarded their charter flight to Kansas City.

“We have lost like this before, but it’s been in May or June and not on this stage”, right fielder George Springer said.

“We can’t do anything by beating ourselves up right now”, Correa said. It was the kind of outcome that buoys the winner’s spirits and deflates the loser’s, and that happened in the game’s immediate aftermath.