Kansas City Royals

Kendrys Morales hasn't left his mark on the American League Championship Series—yet.

He's 1-for-6 with a couple of RBI in two games, and more importantly, the Kansas City Royals have a commanding 2-0 series lead over the Toronto Blue Jays heading into Monday's Game 3 north of the border.

But it feels like Morales is due for a Significant Moment—capital "s," capital "m." And that feeling, by itself, is an unexpected twist.

Backing up a bit: When the Royals signed Morales to a two-year, $17 million contract last December, the deal was greeted with something less than enthusiasm by the majority of K.C. fans, as Pete Grathoff of the Kansas City Star highlighted via a series of cherry-picked-yet-representative tweets.

The issue was twofold. First, Morales—who turned 32 in June—was coming off a dreadful 2014 campaign, during which he posted a .218/.274/.338 slash line in 98 games with the Minnesota Twins and Seattle Mariners.

Second, Morales was inked to replace Billy Butler, the beloved, lifetime Royals designated hitter who helped usher Kansas City to the World Series before bolting via free agency to the Oakland A's.

Those were strikes one and two against Morales, a seemingly declining hitter on the wrong side of 30 supplanting a revered franchise hero.

Usually, this story would play out in a sad, familiar way, with Morales crashing and burning in semi-slow motion while the tepid cheers calcified into full-throated boos.

Instead, Morales raked, and the Royals rolled.

In 158 regular-season games, K.C.'s new DH slashed .290/.362/.485 with 41 doubles, 22 big flies and 106 RBI, all while playing half his contests in the AL's third-least homer-happy yard, according to ESPN's Park Factors statistic. 

"It's kind of what we hoped for when we signed him, to bring a power component to the lineup, an RBI guy," manager Ned Yost said in September, per MLB.com's Jeffrey Flanagan. "For him to bounce back after a couple of pretty tough years is phenomenal so far, with the doubles and RBIs. You feel good every time he walks up to the plate."

So far in the postseason, he's cracked three home runs and collected eight RBI. And the Royals, not coincidentally, are two victories shy of a second straight Fall Classic appearance. 

All of Morales' jacks came in the division series against the Houston Astros, including a three-run bomb off 'Stros ace Dallas Keuchel in the decisive Game 5.

That led MLB.com's Jane Lee, among others, to invoke the free-agent Morales-for-Butler swap with a healthy dusting of 20/20 hindsight:

The whole not resigning Billy Butler and going with Kendrys Morales thing worked out okay for the Royals.

— Jane Lee (@JaneMLB) October 15, 2015

So what's sparking this resurgence? During the regular season, Morales hit a higher percentage of balls in the air than he had in any season since 2009, per FanGraphs. And while he remains a free swinger, he posted the highest walk percentage of his career and his lowest strikeout percentage since 2010.

Really, last season's dip could be explained by poor conditioning, as CBS Sports' Dayn Perry pointed out, noting that in 2014, Morales didn't sign with the Twins until June, "which threw off his entire training schedule."

The Texas Rangers' Prince Fielder is likely the favorite for AL Comeback Player of the Year honors, with New York Yankees DH Alex Rodriguez also in the mix, polarizing history be damned. 

Morales, though, is the only one still standing in the postseason. That doesn't count when it comes to regular-season awards, but it does in every other sense.

He's far from the only weapon in a loaded Kansas City offense that has seen catcher Salvador Perez, outfielders Alex Gordon and Lorenzo Cain, first baseman Eric Hosmer and others chip in this October. Add K.C.'s speed, airtight defense and strong bullpen, and you've got the makings of a two-time AL champion.

The Royals are an experienced bunch, after all, one that came within a Madison Bumgarner of a ring last autumn.

Now, they're two wins away from a return trip to baseball's ultimate stage. And while sample-size alerts obviously apply, Morales is 2-for-3 with a double in his career against young right-hander Marcus Stroman, the Jays' Game 3 starter.

In other words: As the ALCS heads to Canada, Kendrys Morales will be there—waiting to leave his mark.

All statistics current as of Oct. 18 and courtesy of MLB.com unless otherwise noted.

Edinson Volquez and the Kansas City Royals warmed up for the American League Championship Series by dispatching one of the most dangerous offenses in baseball.

And one game in, that’s proving to be ample practice for the most dangerous offense in baseball.

Especially for Mr. Volquez. The veteran right-hander was at the forefront of a dominant pitching attack that paced the Royals to a 5-0 victory over the Toronto Blue Jays in Game 1 of the ALCS on Friday. He hurled six shutout innings, striking out five and allowing only six baserunners on two hits and four walks.

From there, Kelvin Herrera, Ryan Madson and Luke Hochevar combined to allow just one more hit and one more walk. Like that, a Blue Jays offense that scored 127 more runs than any other in 2015 was made to look decidedly petty.

.@Royals’ bats back battling Edinson Volquez to take #ALCS Game 1: http://t.co/moOyomjDS8 #OwnOctober pic.twitter.com/xcgl20LO6d

— MLB (@MLB) October 17, 2015

Apart from the dominant pitching attack, it was a fairly typical night for the Royals offense. Salvador Perez provided one big boom with a solo home run in the fourth inning, but the Royals otherwise got their runs by stringing hits together in the third and eighth innings.

Though Game 1 looks like a total team victory from the Royals from a wider perspective, in the moment there was little question that Volquez was the night's primary entertainment.

And in the aftermath, you can't help but wonder if the Royals just picked up a major weapon for their quest to capture the World Series title that eluded them in 2014.

Volquez hadn't had much luck in three career postseason starts prior to Game 1, posting an 8.76 ERA in just 12.1 innings. But by the end of Friday's action, he had notched a performance that, as MLB.com's Jordan Bastian notes, no Royals pitcher had ever achieved before him:

https://twitter.com/MLBastian/status/655212751535669248

This is surprising in light of Volquez's track record and how he was a good-not-great pitcher in racking up a 3.55 ERA in this year's regular season.

Within the context of Game 1 alone, however, it was clear from the very start that there was something different about Volquez. 

Volquez, 32, is a hard thrower to begin with, as FanGraphs put his average fastball velocity for 2015 at just under 94 miles per hour. But he came out in the first inning sitting 95-96 miles per hour and even touching 97 twice. As Daren Willman of Baseball Savant noted, he hit 97 more times in the first inning than he had all season.

And that proved to be an appetizer for the other five innings Volquez had in him. According to Willman, Volquez lit up the radar gun better than he had in three years:

Edinson Volquez had an average fastball velocity of 94.77 MPH tonight. That's the highest average FB velocity he's had in a game since 2012

— Daren Willman (@darenw) October 17, 2015

To be sure, velocity isn't everything. It definitely helps expand a pitcher's margin for error, but movement and location are also good things to have.

Thing is, though, Volquez had those two things as well.

Volquez's pitch of choice was, as always, his two-seam fastball. And in addition to extra velocity, it had extra movement. The raw PITCHf/x data at Brooks Baseball put its average horizontal movement at 9.62 inches, blowing away his season average of 8.85. And even despite this extra movement and velocity, he was generally able to work on the edges of the strike zone.

Including, but not limited to, when he absolutely needed to. Volquez's final pitch of the night was this nasty two-seamer that caught Troy Tulowitzki looking for strike three:

That was just #TuNasty. pic.twitter.com/MJ1hjesMg8

— Kansas City Royals (@Royals) October 17, 2015

With a two-seamer as nasty and well-located as that, Volquez didn't need much help from his secondaries to tame the Blue Jays.

But he did get quite a bit of help from his changeup. It was moving all over the place, and it picked up three of his five whiffs. One of those came on a particularly nasty changeup (see the 0:50 mark in the above video) that struck out Tulowitzki to end the fourth inning.

What did we see, exactly? According to JJ Cooper of Baseball America, basically the best possible version of Volquez:

That was Edinson Volquez at his best, premium velocity, solid secondary pitches and edge of dangerous command/control.

— JJ Cooper (@jjcoop36) October 17, 2015

Volquez's explanation?

According to Jeffrey Flanagan of MLB.com, it was simple: "I feel sexy tonight." And given the kind of stuff he was featuring, that comes off as a surprisingly reasonable explanation.

But whatever the case may be, it suffices to say that watching Volquez mow down Blue Jays hitters is a very welcome sight for the Royals.

They're going to need as much pitching as they can get to keep Toronto's vaunted offense at bay, and Volquez may indeed be able to pull that trick off again in this series if he can keep firing stuff like that at them. And if Johnny Cueto can maintain his excellent form from Game 5 of the ALDS while Yordano Ventura continues to throw fiery seeds at hitters, a Royals rotation that very recently seemed to be lacking in impact starters will suddenly have three.

And that bodes well not just for the Royals' chances of beating the Blue Jays in the ALCS, but also of winning the World Series. Though they're likely not looking too far ahead just yet, the Royals are surely aware that a trip to the World Series will mean a matchup against two teams that pitch very well.

The Chicago Cubs have their gruesome twosome of Jake Arrieta and Jon Lester, and the New York Mets have a foursome of starters who throw nothing but gas. To match up against either club, the Royals will need, well, pretty much the same thing they need against Toronto: as much pitching as they can get.

For now, the Royals still have a ways to go. They scored a crucial victory Friday night, but that's no excuse to bury the Blue Jays. Make no mistake, they're still a very, very dangerous team.

But after what Volquez did to them in Game 1, here's thinking we can take at least one thing for granted: If and when the Blue Jays face Volquez again in this series, they won't be underestimating him.

Stats courtesy of Baseball-Reference.com and FanGraphs unless otherwise noted/linked.

If you want to talk baseball, hit me up on Twitter.

 

Better late than never, as the saying goes. And certainly, this is doubly true when "late" is somehow the same thing as "right on time."

Just ask Johnny Cueto.

When the Kansas City Royals acquired Cueto from the Cincinnati Reds in a late-July trade, the idea was for him to be the ace the club badly needed. It didn't take long for that wish to go "pluh." Through his first 14 starts in a Royals uniform, Cueto was a bitter disappointment.

But at long last, he finally set things right in start No. 15. And not a moment too soon.

Cueto got the ball in Game 5 of the American League Division Series against the Houston Astros at Kauffman Stadium on Wednesday night, with his task being to pitch the Royals to their second straight AL Championship Series. He did exactly that, leading the Royals to a series-clinching 7-2 victory with eight innings of two-run ball.

Defending AL-champion @Royals are back in the #ALCS: http://t.co/prVFUbBCEl #OwnOctober pic.twitter.com/8lsW1vttiR

— MLB (@MLB) October 15, 2015

Cueto definitely had help in Game 5. After the Royals had fallen behind, 2-0, in the second inning on Luis Valbuena's two-run homer, Alex Rios put the Royals ahead for good with a two-run double in the fifth inning. And in the eighth inning, Kendrys Morales provided the dagger with a three-run homer.

But really, this game was all about Johnny Cueto pitching like, well, Johnny Cueto.

After posting a 4.76 ERA in 13 regular-season starts as a Royal and then getting knocked around by the Astros in Game 2 of the ALDS, it seemed for a moment that Cueto was in for another rough one when he gave up a single and a homer in the second inning. But as it turned out, those would be the only two baserunners he allowed. There were no more hits and no walks, and Cueto struck out eight.

"That's the reason why we got him," said Royals first baseman Eric Hosmer to Jon Morosi of Fox Sports, "for games like this."

All told, the 29-year-old right-hander retired 24 of the 26 batters he faced, including each of the last 19. As MLB Stat of the Day noted, it had been quite a while since a pitcher had done that in the postseason:

.@JohnnyCueto becomes 1st AL pitcher to retire final 19 batters faced in #postseason game since another epic outing. pic.twitter.com/5BJLubjL2Z

— MLB Stats (@MLBStats) October 15, 2015

For a starting pitcher going to work in the postseason, there's surely nothing like making a bit of history.

Except, maybe, for finding a bit of redemption.

Remember when the Royals traded for Cueto?

Of course you do. It was a big deal. Along with David Price and Cole Hamels, Cueto was one of the top starting pitchers available on the summer trade market. And when the Royals pulled off a deal to get him, it required them to send a decent handful of young players to Cincinnati. It was a win-now move that came at a high price.

But at the time, it was easy to predict that Cueto would be worth it.

All he had done in the last four-and-a-half seasons was establish himself as one of baseball's elite pitchers, carving out a 2.51 ERA over 808 innings. With the Royals already leading the AL Central at the time, even despite lacking a true ace, we here at B/R were among many who immediately pegged the Royals as the favorites to represent the American League in the World Series now that they had one.

But then, of course, came the darn-near-5.00 ERA down the stretch in the regular season, followed by Cueto's decidedly "meh" performance (six innings, four earned runs) in his first postseason start.

What happened?

What, indeed. Up until, as Brooks Baseball shows, his velocity took a dive at the very end of the season, Cueto's stuff seemed fine. And because he actually posted a lower walk rate in Kansas City (4.9 BB%) than he did in Cincinnati (5.6 BB%), his control also seemed fine.

As such, maybe Cueto was being plagued by the little things. As Rustin Dodd of the Kansas City Star noted, Cueto himself has admitted that his upcoming free agency has been on his mind. And as the Star's Andy McCullough reported in September, Cueto may have also been thrown off by Salvador Perez's method of setting targets.

But really, nobody seemed to know what was dogging Cueto. Without an obvious explanation, the only thing that was clear was that he didn't look like himself.

And that, naturally, is what changed in Game 5.

It was apparent early in Wednesday's action that Cueto had brought some nasty stuff to play with. After sitting below 93 miles per hour in his previous three outings, Brooks Baseball indicates that Cueto came out throwing over 94 early on in Game 5. That's where he stayed, as he was still throwing in the mid-90s deep into the game.

But just as important as Cueto's stuff was what he was doing with it. With the obvious exception being Valbuena's home run ball, Royals skipper Ned Yost hit the nail on the head in noting after the game, via MLB Network Radio, that Cueto basically didn't throw a bad pitch:

Yost on Cueto: "He was unbelievably good, he didn't make a bad pitch all night."

— MLB Network Radio on SiriusXM (@MLBNetworkRadio) October 15, 2015

This admittedly presents a hard picture to paint with data, but not so much with the eye test.

Cueto has always been at his best when he's mixing and matching his complete arsenal of pitches—four-seamer, two-seamer, cutter and changeup—and playing with the edges of the strike zone. Never mind on an inning-to-inning basis. For the first time in a long time, that's what he was doing on a pitch-to-pitch basis against the Astros. 

Understandably, Houston hitters were baffled. In collecting 10 swinging strikes, per ESPN.com, Cueto enjoyed double-digit whiffs for the first time since Sept. 18. And though he also induced 12 fly balls to just four ground balls, the only fly ball that was hit hard was Valbuena's home run. 

In the end, Cueto made it look easy for what was really the first time in his career as a Royal. At long last, Kansas City fans were treated to an up-close look at one of the most dominant pitchers of recent seasons.

And as enjoyable as it all was in the moment, it should be far from the consensus that Cueto's gem was a parting gift.

Up next for the Royals is a dance with the Toronto Blue Jays in the American League Championship Series. Their power bats made mincemeat of the Texas Rangers in the final three games of the ALDS, and could very well do the same against the Royals if their pitching staff doesn't band together and put forth a performance of a lifetime.

Cueto will need to be a part of that. But whereas noting as much might have come off as an ominous warning for the Kansas City faithful as recently as Wednesday afternoon, now it suddenly sounds like an ominous warning for the opposition.

Cueto is no longer that guy who used to be an ace pitcher. After what he just did, he once again looks like that guy who is an ace pitcher. 

Stats courtesy of Baseball-Reference.com and FanGraphs unless otherwise noted/linked.

If you want to talk baseball, hit me up on Twitter.

 

For the second straight year, the Kansas City Royals are headed to the American League Championship Series. Johnny Cueto threw eight innings of two-hit ball, and Kendrys Morales hit a three-run home run in the eighth inning to cap the Royals' 7-2 victory over the Houston Astros in Game 5 of their divisional series.

The Royals provided a look at the on-field celebration:

Salvy --> Ned 💦 #TakeTheCrown pic.twitter.com/iqUHPWmHPr

— Kansas City Royals (@Royals) October 15, 2015

The Astros got their only two runs in the second inning, when Luis Valbuena hit a two-run homer. They wouldn't have another baserunner for the final seven innings. Cueto struck out eight batters and didn't walk any in a performance that will undoubtedly erase concerns regarding his struggles in a Kansas City uniform.

Jeremy Guthrie, leading the postgame celebration, gave a shoutout to the Royals starter, per Fox Sports Kansas City:

Listen as J-Guts leads the celebration in the Royals' celebrating clubhouse. #TakeTheCrown #ForeverRoyalhttps://t.co/vxqmQV30yY

— FanDuel Sports Network Kansas City (@FanDuelSN_KC) October 15, 2015

"He showed up," Royals pitching coach Dave Eiland said of Cueto, according to the Kansas City Star's Andy McCullough.

Royals owner David Glass had similar praise to heap on the Game 5 winner, per the Kansas City Star's Sam Mellinger:

David Glass: "What you saw tonight I think is the real Johnny Cueto. The pressure tonight had to be unbelievable."

— Sam Mellinger (@mellinger) October 15, 2015

Alex Rios came through with arguably the biggest hit of the night in the fifth inning, hitting a two-run double to give the Royals a lead they would not relinquish. Rios, who went 2-for-3, was the only Royal with multiple hits. Eric Hosmer and Ben Zobrist also drove in runs, the latter closing the series with the team's highest batting average.

The Royals will move on to play the Toronto Blue Jays, who earned a 6-3 win over the Texas Rangers in their own Game 5 earlier Wednesday evening. As noted by ESPN Stats & Info, it's a rematch of their 1985 series—which also doubles as the last time Kansas City won the Fall Classic:

Royals-Blue Jays is rematch of 1985 ALCS. Royals came back from 3-1 deficit that year on way to winning World Series pic.twitter.com/hzwPcKX9rS

— ESPN Stats & Info (@ESPNStatsInfo) October 15, 2015

It's more than enough reason for players and fans alike to celebrate, as highlighted by Fox's MLB feed:

The @Royals celebrating with the fans after advancing to the ALCS. #postseason pic.twitter.com/wb9GbiTYjP

— FOX Sports: MLB (@MLBONFOX) October 15, 2015

Very few of the players had any interest in leaving the field, per Yael T. Abouhalkah of the Kansas City Star: 

https://twitter.com/YaelTAbouhalkah/status/654495203999526912

Even the city's Twitter feed got into the mix, posting a video of fans celebrating:

We have the BEST fans in baseball! Our #Royals are going to the #ALCS! #TakeTheCrown pic.twitter.com/JQ2g7MqHOH

— Kansas City (@KansasCity) October 15, 2015

When the Migos hit? When the Migos hit, indeed:

https://twitter.com/martinrickman/status/654492792866111488

Unlike last year, these Royals are not a fun small-ball outfit making their way through the playoffs despite all logic. Kansas City has been a World Series favorite all year. It finished the season with the American League's best record, acquired high-profile veterans such as Cueto and Zobrist for an all-in push and brought back most of its key contributors from 2014.

The Royals will, however, be playing a Blue Jays team that's gone equally all-in for 2015. Toronto added David Price and Troy Tulowitzki at the deadline, moves that make the Cueto-Zobrist pairing pale in comparison. Both Price and Tulowitzki have had their postseason struggles—Price currently carries a 7.20 ERA, while Tulowitzki is hitting .095—but Toronto is as formidable a challenger as the Royals will face in the AL.

After the way both needed five games to get through the ALDS, it's possible we'll be looking at another seven-game classic 30 years later to match their last playoff series.

With Game 5 of the American League Division Series between the Houston Astros and Kansas City Royals at Kauffman Stadium fast approaching, it’s time to take a look at the latest news surrounding the win-or-go-home matchup.

Johnny Cueto’s Dependability Questioned

Perhaps the biggest bit of news on Wednesday is the Royals being ready to pull starter Johnny Cueto if he gets into any trouble whatsoever, according to Andy McCullough of the Kansas City Star.

Cueto will be watched closely by Royals pitching coach Dave Eiland, given the fact that he has been one of the Royals’ most inconsistent starters since being acquired in a July 26 trade with the Cincinnati Reds.

“If we’re not comfortable with his stuff and he’s not getting outs, he’s coming out of the game,” Eiland told McCullough. “It’s that simple. There’s no such thing as ‘rope.’ There’s no such thing as ‘feelings.’ We’re trying to win a baseball game. And we’re going to do whatever we have to do.”

The right-hander started Game 2 and gave up four earned runs in six innings pitched.

He has a 5.52 ERA in his postseason career, dating back to 2010. Since joining the Royals’ rotation, Cueto has been a shadow of his former self in terms of his strikeout rate and WHIP.

During the first half of 2015, Cueto struck out 113 batters compared to only 63 in latter part of the year. His WHIP was an impressive 0.902 but then jumped to 1.425 with the Royals.

During a preview of Wednesday night’s game, Kansas City Star columnist Vahe Gregorian expressed his concern over Cueto.

“They tried to get an ace, and what the guy is, is a total wild card,” Gregorian said. “We have no idea what we are getting [tonight].”

If Cueto isn’t consistent early in the game, look for fellow starters Chris Young or Kris Medlen to come in from the bullpen for two or three innings.

The Astros Will Be Aggressive

Perhaps the most revealing thing Astros manager A.J. Hinch said at Tuesday’s press conference was that his club will be swinging early in the count in the hopes of impacting the game with the long ball.

While he was quick to point out that his team looks to score runs in other ways as well, Hinch did refer to the fact that solo home runs have played a major factor in this series:

Well, I’m not going to tip our hand on our approach, but I’ll tell you I did like the way that we came out aggressive against them. ... Being ready to hit on pitch one is important. ... We’re probably the most aggressive team in baseball, so that’s not going to surprise anybody that we are going to be ready to hit on the first pitch.

As is the case in any elimination game, the first two or three innings will be pivotal. Look for the Astros to try to get to Cueto both early in the game and early in the count.

The Royals will be attempting the same against righty Collin McHugh. If McHugh happens to falter, Houston may call on veteran Scott Kazmir while having “all hands on deck,” according to Hinch. Could that include the likes of Dallas Keuchel? So far, Hinch has been noncommittal on the subject.

McHugh remains upbeat about his team’s bullpen situation in Game 5:

#Astros #ALDS Game 5 starter @Collin_McHugh is ready for tomorrow night. #HustleTown pic.twitter.com/JIEZrWii36

— Houston Astros (@astros) October 13, 2015

Another question is, how will 21-year-old Carlos Correa bounce back from his defensive miscue late in Game 4?

Given the track record of his maturity and how poised he’s been throughout what’s been a historic postseason for the youngster, my guess is that he will be just fine and that he can’t wait for the game to begin.

Houston’s shortstop has a knack for rising to the occasion, is hitting .412 this postseason and could be a major star on Wednesday night.

Look for the young Astros lineup to give the struggling Cueto problems early in this one. While the depth of Young and Medlen is formidable, it doesn’t match up with the possibility of a strong McHugh together with a focused Kazmir.

Houston’s pitching gives the team a slight edge, and that will help the Astros take Game 5.

Unless otherwise noted, statistics courtesy of Baseball-Reference.com.

With the American League Division Series showdown between the Houston Astros and Kansas City Royals knotted 1-1, the scene shifts to Houston's Minute Maid Park for Game 3 at 4 p.m. ET Sunday.

The upstart 'Stros proved they belonged on baseball's biggest stage with a 5-2 victory in Game 1, an encouraging encore to their Wild Card Game win over the Yankees in New York. But the Royals answered back in Game 2, erasing a two-run deficit in the sixth inning and ultimately prevailing 5-4.

Now, with Astros ace Dallas Keuchel set to take the hill against steady Royals right-hander Edinson Volquez, let's examine a few keys that could decide the outcome of this pivotal contest.

Minute Maid mayhem

It's been 10 years since Houston hosted an MLB playoff game, so you can bet the joint will be rocking.

Plus, the team announced that the roof will be closed for Games 3 and 4, which takes the crowd noise to another decibel. 

"Our ballpark fully enclosed can get really loud when it's 40-50,000 people," Astros skipper A.J. Hinch said, per USA Today. "It's bring your earplugs."

Houston drew an average of 26,587 fans during the regular season, fewer than any other playoff team, according to figures ESPN compiled.

Sunday will surely be a sellout, though, and a chance for the Astros to build on the 53-28 mark they posted at home, which is tied with the Toronto Blue Jays for best in the AL.

The essential step will be to plate a few runs early and get the fans into it. Then, bust out those earplugs.

Lean on the long ball

The Astros hit 230 home runs in the regular season, more than any club other than the Blue Jays (who hit 232). And in two postseason games, they've already clubbed five dingers to pace the playoff pack.

Now, they'll get a chance to tee off in the cozy confines of Minute Maid Park, the fourth-most homer-happy yard in the Junior Circuit, according to ESPN's Park Factors statistic. 

Volquez gave up a scant 16 home runs in 200.1 innings this season, but two of those came in his only start in Houston.

A couple more well-timed taters in Game 3 could tip the scales in the Astros' favor.

Kansas City, by contrast, hit just 139 home runs in the regular season, second-fewest in the AL. That's what happens when you play half your games at spacious Kauffman Stadium and build your team around defense, speed and situational execution. 

But the Royals are far from punchless. In fact, they've hit three home runs in this ALDS already, including two off the bat of designated hitter Kendrys Morales in Game 1 and one from catcher Salvador Perez in Game 2.

The Royals, who took the fewest walks in the American League during the season, also drew some key free passes in Game 2. As CBS Sports' Mike Axisa noted, "Hey, if you're going to win the World Series, you're going to have to win some games in ways you normally wouldn't."

Keuchel yielded only 17 long balls in 232 innings in the regular season and added six more shutout frames in the Wild Card Game, so it's not as if home runs are guaranteed for K.C. in Game 3.

For the right-handed swingers in both lineups, however, that short porch in left field is going to look mighty tempting. 

Demystifying Dallas

The Astros are no doubt hoping to ride Keuchel, who pitched on three days' rest in the Wild Card Game for the first time all season but will be on his normal four days for Game 3. 

If the Royals can somehow chase Houston's ace early, however, they'd expose an Astros bullpen that posted a 5.63 ERA in September and October and has question marks before closer Luke Gregerson.

Keuchel is one of the best arms in baseball, and the stud southpaw showed he's unfazed by the playoff glare with a brilliant postseason debut in New York.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LtpRsVqKAGA

The Royals lineup, however, has had some success against him.

While the usual sample-size caveats apply, Lorenzo Cain (5-for-12 with two doubles and a home run), Eric Hosmer (4-for-6), Morales (6-for-16 with a double) and Alex Rios (10-for-26 with four doubles and four RBI) have strong career numbers against Keuchel.

"We do well against aces," Hosmer told reporters. "We're gonna go in there and battle and try to get off to an early lead. The way the bullpen's been throwing for us, if we can just get off to an early lead as an offense, then we'll feel pretty good about it going in."

That's not to say you should bet on a Royals hit parade, or against Keuchel doing Keuchel things Sunday. But if you're a Royals fan looking for solace against a scary opposing pitcher, there you go.

All statistics current as of Oct. 10 and courtesy of Baseball-Reference.com unless otherwise noted.

It worked out pretty well last year, didn’t it? 

The Kansas City Royals had a definitive formula to winning games during last year’s postseason, and quite frankly it is what they tried to rely on for much of the last two regular seasons.

The plan was simple enough: play a little small ball, maybe get a little lucky and squeeze out some timely hits to overcome shaky starting pitching. Then hand the rock to the back of the bullpen and watch it cruise through the final nine, or more, outs. It was a strategy that carried them to within a win of the 2014 World Series trophy, so it seemed wise to go with it again now.

The Royals did that Friday afternoon in Game 2 of the American League Division Series to snatch a come-from-behind 5-4 victory over the Houston Astros at Kauffman Stadium. The win evened the best-of-five series that now heads south to Houston for Game 3 on Sunday.

In a small nutshell, the Royals rebounded from Johnny Cueto’s shaky outing, kept it close enough until Eric Hosmer and Kendrys Morales could get some BABIP luck, let the other team’s bullpen falter for the tying run and then got a couple of timely hits from Alcides Escobar and Ben Zobrist late before calling on the back end of the bullpen to shut down the other team and record the win.

All of that should be familiar if you watched last year’s playoffs, as SportsTalkFeed.com noted:

It was your typical Royals game plan down the stretch. Keep the game close, KC offense takes lead off bullpen, Herrera/Madson/Davis end it

— SportsTalkFeed. com (@SportsTalkFeed) October 9, 2015

The Royals’ rotation had a 4.12 ERA and 1.31 WHIP during last year’s postseason, and this year it went into the ALDS with a 4.34 ERA, the worst number of any of the playoff rotations this fall. Cueto, the arm they traded for in July and figured would be their playoff ace two months later, was inconsistent during his time in Kansas City, and that continued Friday as he allowed a disappointing but not surprising four runs in six innings.

Cueto's performance was not all bad, though. All of the damage came in the first three innings, and he left the game having put down 12 of the last 14 hitters he faced. He exited down two runs, but he did not mope, knowing what the Royals’ magic is capable of producing in October.

"He finally really got dialed in after the third inning and kept us in the game," Royals manager Ned Yost told reporters in his postgame press conference. Josh Vernier of 610 Sports Radio noted Cueto's actions:

Johnny Cueto is practically standing on the field, and has been this whole inning. Top-steppin' it, clapping anxiously. #Royals

— Josh Vernier (@JoshVernier610) October 9, 2015

Minutes later, after Lorenzo Cain laced a double to right, Hosmer and Morales got a couple of hole-seeking hits and Mike Moustakas walked to load the bases. Salvador Perez, who homered in the second inning, walked to force in the tying run a batter later.

With the game tied, Yost did not hesitate. He went to the first head of his three-headed bullpen beast, one that had a makeover for this postseason after last year’s closer, Greg Holland, who was lost last month to en elbow injury. Kelvin Herrera had the seventh inning, just like a year ago, with Ryan Madson in the eighth and Wade Davis, last year’s eighth-inning man, taking over as closer if everything went according to plan. 

Herrera, who hit 100 mph with his fastball, gave up a single but nothing more. That set the table for Escobar, who tripled to start the bottom half of the seventh, and Zobrist, who had his pinnacle moment with the Royals after they traded for him in July.

The plan continued after that. Yost gave the ball to Madson, who until this year had not pitched in a major league game since 2011 because of a ridiculously difficult recovery from Tommy John surgery. Madson, with his 2.13 ERA and 0.96 WHIP in the regular season, fell right in line with the plan, pitching a clean inning with two strikeouts.

From that point, the Astros' hope was fleeting. Because the next reliever through the bullpen gate was Davis, arguably the best in baseball over the last two seasons, armed with a 0.97 ERA, 0.82 WHIP and 12.1 strikeouts per nine innings. To finish the regular season, he had allowed just one earned run since Aug. 16.

“I'm sure you guys have heard,” Astros manager A.J. Hinch told reporters in his press conference, “he’s a pretty good reliever.”

But there was hope for Houston in the ninth. Davis walked Preston Tucker with one out and quick-footed, but sometimes-careless Carlos Gomez replaced him as the runner. And before Davis delivered his next pitch, Gomez was picked off first base after a review overturned the original safe call. Yahoo Sports' Jeff Passan provided his insight on what's typical when it comes to Wade Davis pitching:

It is a standard rule that you don't get picked off in a one-run game in the ninth inning. It is especially true with Wade Davis pitching.

— Jeff Passan (@JeffPassan) October 9, 2015

A batter later, the game was done, and the Royals avoided total disaster by splitting their two home games to start the series.

During last year’s postseason, the Royals found themselves underdogs through the entire month. This year they had the American League’s best record, and in this series they are favorites based on that fact.

Maybe the expectations are different now. Maybe the pressure is different this time. But one thing has remained the same: The Royals are going to win exactly as they have, because it’s worked pretty well for them so far.

All quotes, unless otherwise specified, have been acquired firsthand by Anthony Witrado. Follow Anthony on Twitter @awitrado and talk baseball here.

Kansas City Royals All-Star Lorenzo Cain exited Wednesday's game against the Chicago White Sox after fouling a ball off his right knee.  

Andy McCullough of the Kansas City Star reported Cain has a bone bruise that will impact him for three-to-four weeks, but he plans to battle through the injury this postseason. 

Continue for updates.

---

Cain X-Rays Negative

Wednesday, Sept. 30 

According to CSN Chicago's Dan Hayes, Cain is merely day-to-day at this point after suffering a right knee contusion. Jeffrey Flanagan of MLB.com reported the good news that "X-rays on Cain were negative." 

Hayes described how Cain suffered the injury, saying he "maybe went 30 feet down the line" after hitting a grounder in his final at-bat of the evening. 

The Royals outfielder has been on a tear this season, batting a team-best .306 while slugging 16 home runs and recording 71 RBI. 

However, prior injuries delayed Cain from fully realizing his potential, which has been most evident of late, as he led Kansas City in last year's postseason and in 2015, deservedly starting this year's All-Star Game.

The Royals center fielder has excellent speed, which translates well to roaming the outfield and makes him a threat to steal bases at any given time. He is the club leader in bags swiped this season, but Kansas City may miss him even more for his defense.     

Batting in the No. 3 spot and playing such a pivotal role in the field makes Cain an irreplaceable cog for the reigning World Series runners-up, who've backed up their excellent run well this season.

Cain has been a big reason why the Royals have proved their run to the October Classic last year wasn't a fluke. While he recovers from his ailment, either Paulo Orlando or Jarrod Dyson figures to take Cain's place in center field.

Three years ago, the Houston Astros lost 107 games, and the Chicago Cubs lost 101. The Kansas City Royals were finishing their fourth straight 90-loss season, their eighth in nine years. The Pittsburgh Pirates were making North American sports history with their 20th-straight losing season.

And the Toronto Blue Jays were finishing double-digit games out of first place for a 12th-straight year.

Three years ago.

Nobody was calling Kansas City a great baseball town. Nobody had trouble getting Blue Jays tickets. Everybody knew PNC Park looked nice, but nobody had any idea it could sound great, too.

Los Angeles Dodgers fans were wondering how long it would take to undo the damage done by Frank McCourt. New York Mets fans were wondering when they'd stop hearing about Bernie Madoff.

The San Francisco Giants beat the Detroit Tigers in the World Series.

Three years ago.

It's not fair to say that baseball has been turned on its head in the last three years (the Giants won again last year, after all). What is fair is to note that the road from terrible to terrific can be shorter than ever, and we now have some new names at the top.

If the Royals aren't the best team in the American League this season, then the Blue Jays are. That's the Royals, who just won their first division title since 1985, or the Blue Jays, on the verge of clinching their first division title since 1993.

The Mets will be in the playoffs (for the first time since 2006), the Cubs are in the playoffs (for the first time since 2008) and the Astros still have a real shot to be in the playoffs (for the first time since 2005).

Look, it's true that the St. Louis Cardinals will be playing in October for the fifth straight year and that despite their absence from this tournament, the Giants' three World Series titles in five years qualify them as a powerhouse franchise until proven otherwise.

But in baseball as it works today, the Cardinals' consistency is an anomaly. The new norm is that each new year brings with it a team ending a long October drought, a town previously thought of as dead for baseball proving that folks just about anywhere can get caught up in the excitement of watching a winner (anywhere but Tampa Bay).

And just as the Pirates have built on what they did in 2013 and the Royals used last October as a springboard into this outstanding season, there's every reason to believe the 2015 newcomers could do the same.

The Mets were a surprise division champion this year, but their young rotation means they'll likely begin next year as the NL East favorite. Heck, after facing the Mets' four young guns in order over the weekend, Cincinnati Reds third baseman Todd Frazier told reporters the Mets are "the team to beat" this October.

The Cubs and Astros made good use of their 100-loss seasons. The Astros had the first overall draft pick in 2012 and used it on Carlos Correa. The Cubs had the second overall pick the following June and used it on Kris Bryant. Both could win Rookie of the Year (although Francisco Lindor, who the Cleveland Indians picked eighth overall in 2011, has made a strong late run at Correa in the American League).

The draft seems to be serving its intended purpose better than ever, distributing the best talent to the teams most in need. Baseball's increased revenues, and increased revenue sharing, mean more teams than ever can retain their stars, and more than ever can bid on the few stars who become free agents.

There's a big premium on smart front offices making good decisions and a great reward for general managers like Toronto's Alex Anthopoulos for moves like adding Josh Donaldson and Russell Martin in the winter, and Troy Tulowitzki and David Price in July.

There's a real payoff for general managers who aggressively pursue success at the right time, the way Kansas City's Dayton Moore did when he traded for James Shields in December 2012, or the way the Mets' Sandy Alderson did when he acquired Yoenis Cespedes at the non-waiver deadline this past July.

The Mets, 13th in the National League in attendance the last two years, have had big crowds since Cespedes arrived. The Blue Jays, middle of the pack in attendance the last few years and worse than that from 2009-11, have sold out 20 of their last 21 games at the Rogers Centre.

The Royals set a franchise attendance record this season. Baseball is alive again in Kansas City, just as it is in Pittsburgh and in Toronto and in Queens.

No one would have said that three years ago.

Danny Knobler covers Major League Baseball as a national columnist for Bleacher Report.

Follow Danny on Twitter and talk baseball. 

First off, congratulations are in order. The Kansas City Royals, longtime doormats of the American League, are AL Central champions, which is something they've never been. That has to feel good.

After ending their 29-year postseason drought last year, squeaking in as a wild-card team and streaking to Game 7 of the World Series, the Royals are now the undisputed top dogs of their division for the first time since 1985, when they made the AL West their home.

That was also the last time the Royals hoisted a Commissioner's Trophy. 

"It's very special," manager Ned Yost said after the clinching game, a 10-4 win over the Seattle Mariners at Kauffman Stadium on Thursday, per Fox Sports KC. "There's like 25 guys on this team that weren't even born the last time the Royals won a championship."

Yost to you, @Royals​ fans: “We can’t do it without you. Thank you, thank you so much!” #ForeverRoyal #TakeTheCrownhttps://t.co/tEFahKMfz2

— FanDuel Sports Network Kansas City (@FanDuelSN_KC) September 25, 2015

Really, Kansas City's seat at the October table has been reserved for months. They've been alone in first place since June 9 and haven't let their lead slip under nine games since Aug. 3.

Now, it's official. And the Royals can look ahead to the playoffs, which they'll enter as ostensible favorites—with a few caveats.

Entering play Friday, Kansas City owns the best record in the AL at 89-63, two games ahead of the AL East-leading Toronto Blue Jays (87-65).

Even if they hang on to the AL's top spot, however, guaranteeing home-field advantage throughout (thanks to the American League's win in the 2015 All-Star Game), the Royals will lug some serious flaws into the autumn tournament. 

To begin, there's uncertainty in the bullpen, which last year was one of Kansas City's unassailable strengths. 

On the same day they clinched the Central, the Royals learned that closer Greg Holland, a two-time All-Star, is lost for the season with a torn ulnar collateral ligament in his right elbow.

Holland has struggled this season with mixed results and diminished velocity, which were no doubt tied to the elbow. His successor will be Wade Davis, who owns a sterling 0.99 ERA in 63.2 innings. And Kelvin Herrera, in turn, will slide from seventh-inning duties to a setup role.

Herrera has had some hiccups, including a recent two-game stretch on Sept. 11 and 14 when he coughed up six earned runs in 1.2 frames. But he's turned in three scoreless outings since, and overall sports a 2.74 ERA in 65.2 innings.

The loss of Holland, though, takes a potent weapon out of Yost's arsenal. During the 2014 postseason, the Holland-Davis-Herrera three-headed monster pitched 28.5 percent of the Royals' innings, as ESPN's David Schoenfield noted.

Now, with Holland removed from the equation, Yost will need other members of his pen, such as righties Ryan Madson and Luke Hochevar and lefty Franklin Morales, to fill the void.

The bottom line: The late innings won't be as automatic for KC as they were in 2014. There simply will not be as many so-called six-inning games, which were formerly the Royals' calling card.

Speaking of which, Kansas City's starting pitching is also a source of consternation.

It begins with Johnny Cueto, the big trade-deadline cavalry. Since donning a Royals jersey, Cueto has gone 3-6 and surrendered 39 earned runs in 70.1 innings. 

He's shown positive signs lately, going seven innings in his last two starts and picking up the win in Thursday's clinching contest.

But the Royals are still waiting for the All-Star right-hander to flip into full-blown ace mode. 

That's because the rest of the rotation is littered with question marks. Edinson Volquez is a passable No. 2. And Yordano Ventura has won seven of eight decisions since Aug. 1, but he carries a 4.40 ERA and concerns about his hotheaded tendencies. After that, things get especially dicey.

A dominant Cueto would ease a lot of worry. The Royals learned firsthand what a single stud can do when they ran into the Madison Bumgarner buzz saw last year. 

For now, though, KC's pitching staff can't be counted as an unmitigated strength.

OK, enough hand-wringing. Let's talk about what's working.

The Royals trot out an incredibly balanced lineup, which boasts the best team batting average in baseball and ranks fifth in the AL in runs scored. CBSSports.com's Mike Axisa broke down Kansas City's offensive attack:

Kansas City succeeds with an extreme contact-oriented offense. Their team 15.7-percent strikeout rate is not just the lowest in baseball this season...it's the lowest since the 2011 Rangers struck out in only 14.9 percent of their plate appearances. The league-average strikeout rate this year is 20.3 percent.

The Royals are not just about slapping singles, however; Eric Hosmer, Mike Moustakas and Kendrys Morales provide power, Lorenzo Cain and Alcides Escobar add speed, and [Ben] Zobrist and Alex Gordon add on-base ability.

Speaking of speed, the Royals—who rank second in the AL with 99 thefts—continue to run wild on the bases. 

And they can pick it with the best of them, with athletic, plus defenders littered across the diamond.

The blueprint Kansas City rode to the brink of a confetti-strewn parade in 2014 remains in place. The Blue Jays and their big bats are in the conversation, but the Royals look like the team to beat in the American League. 

If you're in a worrying mood, however, they also look beatable. Let the games begin.

All statistics current as of Sept. 24 and courtesy of MLB.com unless otherwise noted.