KC Royals And Toronto Blue Jays: Opposites Attract

The Kansas City Royals sunk the Houston Astros in Game 5 of the ALDS last night.

In true KC Royals fashion, the small-market team needed all five games to track down and bury the upstart Astros in a series that featured two of the talented young teams in the MLB.

Next up for the defending American League pennant winners: Toronto.

They say styles make fights, and this is a classic clash of styles. These are heavyweights, too. The gambling, free-swinging Jays against the patient, counter-punching Royals. A boxing promoter’s dream.

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The Blue Jays mash. They’re aggressive hitters, they have power and speed up and down the lineup and they make no bones about the fact that they’re out there to outscore you.

The Royals play a whole different brand.

Toronto scored 891 runs in the regular season; that was 127 more runs than any other team in the MLB. The Royals were seventh in the Majors in runs scored, but they hit almost 100 fewer home runs than the Jays. The Blue Jays led the league in SLG and OPS, although the Royals .734 OPS was good for tenth in the MLB. (via ESPN.com)

Basically Toronto looks like a polished, refined version of the Astros.

The two best teams in the A.L. meet after all, and that whole home-field advantage battle (that may not mean anything in the long run) might end up having an impact. The Royals needed an 8-2 finish to the regular season to hold off the surging Blue Jays and secure home-field advantage throughout the playoffs.

Game 1 is Friday night, and it’s likely Edinson Volquez versus Marco Estrada to get things started. Then it’s likely Yordano Ventura versus David Price in Game 2 on Saturday.

These two teams met seven times during the regular season. The Royals took two-of-three at Kauffman Stadium right before the All Star Break, and the Blue Jays took three-of-four up in Canada just a few weeks later. The Blue Jays outscored the Royals 38-33 in those games.

Both teams needed all five games to win their first ALDS, but it’s the Blue Jays who are the new guys on the block. Toronto finished third in the A.L. East last season with 83 wins and haven’t made the playoffs since 1994.

These two have a history though. You’ll remember the 1985 Royals defeated the Blue Jays in seven games in the ALCS on their way to a World Series win. (That’s what Baseball-Reference tells us, anyway.) George Brett hit three home runs in that series and was the MVP.

It has all the makings of a seven-game epic, but it’s playoff baseball and nothing ever seems to follow the script. How do you feel about the ALCS matchup?

Next: Royals Odds Have Been Slimmer Than You Think

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