First pitch: Friday, 8:05 p.m. ET
AL Championship Series – Game 6
Line: Toronto -135, Kansas City +125, Total: 7.5

The Royals will be looking to close out this series with a home victory in Game 6 on Friday.

Toronto could have folded and lost this series in Game 5, but the team was able to come away with a 7-1 victory at home to force this Game 6. The Blue Jays have now scored seven or more runs in two of their past three games in this series and the team is showing some of the offensive firepower that had made it so tough to beat coming into this series. Kansas City, meanwhile, is getting its second chance to end this series and will need a better performance on the mound. RHP Yordano Ventura (13-9, 4.25 ERA, 172 K) will try to deliver a solid outing for the Royals on Friday, but he’ll have his work cut out with him as LHP David Price (18-7, 2.77 ERA, 238 K) is on the mound for the Jays. One thing benefitting the Royals is the fact that they are 4-1 against the Blue Jays when playing in Kansas City this season. They’re also facing David Price, who is a lousy 0-7 against the money line in playoff games in his career. Price is, however, 20-6 against the money line when playing on a grass field this season. RP Brett Cecil (Calf) is out for the remainder of the postseason for the Blue Jays and 2B Omar Infante (Oblique) is out indefinitely for the Royals.

David Price will be on the mound in this win or go home game for the Blue Jays and he will need to conquer his playoff demons on Friday. Price has never won a start in the postseason and allowed five earned runs in 6.2 innings of work in a Game 2 loss to Kansas City. Price is one of the most dominant pitchers in the game, though, and he is still capable of shutting his opponents down on any given night. One thing Price has going for him is that his team is extremely dangerous offensively and some players that will be entering this game with some momentum. The one guy who is really on a tear for Toronto is SS Troy Tulowitzi (.225, 2 HR, 11 RBI in playoffs). The shortstop was 2-for-4 with a double and three RBI in Game 5 and has now gotten two hits in three of the past four games, racking up seven RBI in that span. He will need to keep producing in order for the Blue Jays to stay alive in this series. OF Jose Bautista (.270, 2 HR, 8 RBI in playoffs) and 3B Josh Donaldson (.278, 3 HR, 8 RBI in playoffs) also came through in Game 5, as they both doubled in the game. They will need to provide the power that they gave this lineup all season long on Friday.

Yordano Ventura will be starting Game 6 for the Royals and he will tasked with keeping up with Price in this game. If Price can get it going for the Blue Jays then Ventura will need to be at his best and he is capable of pitching gems, but has been inconsistent all season long. Ventura hasn’t been spectacular in the postseason, allowing three earned runs in two straight starts. The Royals have, however, been able to win both of those games. One of those contests was in Game 2, when Ventura allowed three earned on eight hits in 5.1 innings pitched. He will need to do a much better job of keeping the ball out of play. Offensively, two guys that stand out for Kansas City in this game are OFs Lorenzo Cain (.270, 1 HR, 7 RBI in playoffs) and Alex Rios (.300, 1 HR, 4 RBI in playoffs). Both players have done very well against Price in their careers, going a combined 16-for-41 for 3 HR and 11 RBI versus the ace. Rios also happens to be on fire coming into this one, going 4-for-6 with a homer and an RBI over the past two games. He is really seeing the ball well and must continue to get on base moving forward. Cain, meanwhile, went hitless for the first time in the postseason in Game 5. He has to come back and be productive in this Game 6 meeting with Price.