MLB Playoffs: Day 10

In what may turn out to be the last day game of the season, the Blue Jays sent out ace David Price in an effort to even their series with Kansas City.  For six innings, this looked like a brilliant plan -- Price gave up a single to the first Royal batter, and then retired 18 Royals in a row.  Heading into the bottom of the seventh, the Blue Jays led 3-0, and were well on their way to leaving Kansas City with a split.  And then, just as they did in Game Four against Houston, the canny Royals started pecking away, going for line drives and not striking out.  Here's what happened in the bottom of the seventh:

1.  Ben Zobrist hit a little pop fly that dropped between Jose Bautista and Ryan Goins in right field.  He was credited with a single, although it seemed clear that someone for Toronto misplayed the ball.

2.  Lorenzo Cain lined a single to right.  Men on first and second, no outs.

3.  Eric Hosmer lined a single to center.  Zobrist scored.  Men on first and third, no outs.  Toronto leads 3-1.

4.  Kendrys Morales grounded out to short.  Cain scored, Hosmer went to second.  Toronto leads 3-2.

5.  Mike Moustakas lined a 2-2 pitch to right for another single.  Hosmer scored, Moustakas to second on the throw.  Game tied 3-3.

6.  Salvador Perez struck out.  Two outs.

7.  Alex Gordon worked Price to a full count, and then whacked a double to center.  Moustakas scored.  Kansas City leads 4-3.

At this point, the Blue Jays finally replaced Price with Aaron Sanchez.

8.  Alex Rios singled to center.  Gordon scored.  Kansas City leads 5-3.

So that's eight batters, five singles, a double, and five runs.  That is championship baseball, and it beat the Blue Jays.  Totally unable to rally, they went down 6-3, and now trail the Royals two games to zero.

The nightcap took place in a very cold Citi Field in Queens, in front of a bunch of very excited Mets fans.  They mostly got to cheer for Matt Harvey, who went 13-8 in the regular season with an E.R.A. of 2.71, and who gave up only two runs on four hits in 7 2/3 innings.  That was enough for the Mets' offense, which scraped out enough runs to win Game One by the score of 4 to 2.

Of course, the Cubs lost Game One against the Cardinals, and came back to win, while the Blue Jays fell behind 2-0 before coming back to beat Texas.  So the folks in Chicago and Toronto will not give up just yet.

National League Championship Series:
New York leads Chicago 1-0

American League Championship Series:
Kansas City leads Toronto 2-0