First pitch: Friday, 8:05 p.m. ET
AL Championship Series – Game 1
I wLine: Toronto -125, Kansas City +115, Total: 8.5

The Blue Jays and Royals will both be looking to get the first win in this series when they meet in Kansas City on Friday.

Both Toronto and Kansas City were one game away from elimination last round, but the two clubs were able to gut out some big victories and give themselves a chance to represent the American League in the World Series. The Blue Jays trailed 2-0 after losing their first two home games against the Rangers, but they were able to win the next three games to get to this point. The Royals, meanwhile, were down 6-2 heading into the eighth inning of Game 4 and they would go on to win that game and Game 5 in impressive fashion. These teams met seven times in the regular season and the Blue Jays won four of those contests, but playoff baseball is a whole other animal. The starters in this game are going to be RHP Marco Estrada (13-8, 3.21 ERA, 124 K) for Toronto and RHP Edinson Volquez (13-10, 3.66 ERA, 160 K) for Kansas City. The Blue Jays are 22-13 against the money line with Estrada on the mound in road games played on a grass field over the past three seasons. The Royals, however, are 17-6 against the money line in October over the past two years. One extremely positive thing is that both teams are close to full strength heading into this series.

Marco Estrada was excellent in his Game 3 start against the Rangers last round, pitching 6.1 innings and allowing just one earned run and five hits in the contest. Estrada faced the Royals twice during the regular season and won one of the two games for his team. Estrada totaled 12.1 innings over the two starts and four earned runs over those outings. If he can turn in a quality start in this game then the Blue Jays would be in very good shape. DH Edwin Encarnacion (.277, 39 HR, 111 RBI) is always a dangerous hitter, but the Royals will be a bit more cautious against him in this one. He is 3-for-9 with a homer and two RBI against Volquez in his career and he can really spark Toronto by providing some power in Game 1. OF Jose Bautista (.250, 40 HR, 114 RBI) is going to need to find a way to figure out Volquez, though. He is just 3-for-17 in his career against the pitcher and Toronto will be relying on him to produce in this series. His confidence should be through the roof after hitting the game-winning homer in Game 5 last round.

Edinson Volquez will be on the mound for Kansas City in Game 1 and he will really need to turn in his first solid playoff performance on Friday. Volquez has a career postseason ERA of 8.76, allowing 12 earned runs in 12.1 total innings of work. If he can not keep his composure and post something near a quality start then the Royals will be in bad shape in this game. Offensively, this Kansas City team does not strike out a lot and does its best to put runners on base. Some players to look out for in this series are OF Lorenzo Cain (.307, 16 HR, 72 RBI) and DH Kendrys Moraeles (.290, 22 HR, 106 RBI). Cain got a hit in each of the five games last round, but he did not record more than one in any of them. The Royals need him to get hot in this series and he should be able to do so. Morales, meanwhile, was huge in the series against Texas. He hit three homers and drove in six runs and will need to continue to provide power when called upon.