Royals Top Astros, Move on to ALCS

But that would be a lie. I knew the sun might come out tomorrow, but today always sucked.

But three days ago, they did it again. The Royals, meantime, were banished to baseball obscurity, suffering through a 28-year playoff drought.

“Games like this is where you see the real Johnny Cueto“, the stocky 29-year-old said through an interpreter.

The Astros bullpen was one of their strengths during the regular season, but it proved to be their downfall in this series. Hosmer finished the game 1-for-4 with an RBI. Dallas definitely looked exhausted, his pitches lacked the movement and control they usually have, and his otherwise flawless postseason record this season was marred in a situation it seemed (to this Astros fan, anyway) that he never should have entered.

With both teams facing elimination, the Royals rose up and claimed the victory to advance to the ALCS for the second consecutive season. But the arcs of the two comebacks are completely different. Astros centerfielder Carlos Gomez slipped on the play, allowing Cain to score from first. Witness the 4th game Monday. Royals fans, mind you. And yet I am still astounded by just how vivid and pregnant with emotion those moments have been.

McHugh, who beat the Royals in the first game of the ALDS, was charged with three runs and five hits in four-plus innings. “(Morales has) been having clutch hits all year. What choice did they have really? The circle of life would be complete. And then the indelible memories kicked in. The next hitter, Escobar, successfully bunted Rios to third on a sacrifice for the first out.

“He scuffled a little bit this year but he showed up in a huge way tonight”, Lorenzo Cain said of Rios. He gave up four runs in six innings in Game 2. But nothing in that eighth inning better symbolized the giddy unlikelihood of the rally, the game, or this whole insane season. He was just 4-7 after leaving Cincinnati and had a forgettable outing in Game 2 against Houston. He began Game 5 in much the same fashion.

Johnny Cueto could not take a step without bumping into a new best friend, a Kansas City Royals teammate or a spouse or a parent or a total stranger in search of a photo with him. He pitched a great game.

The right-handed pitcher gave up two runs on two hits over eight innings of work.

Kansas City didn’t need much offense with Cueto on the mound, but it received plenty in the fifth and eighth innings.

Cueto gave up two hits, a single by Evan Gattis followed by Luis Valbuena’s second-inning homer, before retiring the final 19 batters he faced.

Star closer Wade Davis worked the top of the ninth and retired the final three Astros batters in order to seal the three-games-to-two series victory for the Royals. His leash with Cueto would depend on Cueto’s performance. Royals manager Ned Yost used the same lineup for all five ALDS games…. Hinch brought in Mike Fiers in relief, and Rios sent a double bouncing down the chalk of the third-base line, scoring two runs and giving the Royals the lead. The Rangers were done in by three errors in the seventh inning and a go-ahead home run by Jose Bautista. “I’m still struggling with that”, said Royals owner David Glass. 13 when he went 0-5 with a 9.57 ERA.

And he didn’t disappoint when the team needed him the most. I asked them what teams would be playing in the ALCS, NLCS, and the World Series.

The playoff experience that the Astros received this season will get them ready for 2016-17. Let me repeat that one, COLLIN McHUGH WON 19 GAMES!

With a key contribution from former Husker Alex Gordon, the Kansas City Royals move on to the American League Championship Series.

Kansas City officials diminished their expectations for Cueto’s start. I don’t know how long it will last. For the NL Central division, the St. Louis Cardinals clinched it in a very tough division with the Pittsburgh Pirates and the Chicago Cubs taking the two wildcards.