Kansas City Royals: Revisiting the 2015 ALCS Game 5

2 of 4

(Photo by Tom Szczerbowski/Getty Images) /

With a Game 4 win, the Kansas City Royals have put themselves one win away from an American League Pennant and a second chance to the take the World Series.

In Game 4 of the 2015 ALCS, the Kansas City Royals knew they had to get a quick lead on the Blue Jays and shut down their bats quickly. The Royals did just that with a four-run first inning that ultimately let to a 14-2 win over Toronto.

Now that the Royals had a third ALCS win under their belt, they could see the light at the end of the tunnel. The Royals only needed to secure one more win to win the Pennant for the second year in a row. The only thing standing in their way was a Blue Jays team refusing to go down without a fight.

In Game 5 for the Blue Jays, Marco Estrada got the start. Estrada had put together a good year in Toronto, striking out 131 over 181 innings and finishing the regular season with a record of 13-8 with an ERA of 3.13. For the Royals, Edinson Volquez would take the mound. Volquez had been a solid pitcher for the Royals in 2019 striking out 155 over 200 innings and finishing the season with a 13-9 record and an ERA of 3.55.

To continue pushing forward in the postseason, the Royals knew they needed a strong start from Volquez and another great night and the plate from their lineup. On October 21, 2015, in front of 49,325 fans packed into the Rogers Centre in Toronto, Game 5 of the ALCS got started.

To start the game, both pitchers knew their teams would be counting on them to keep them in the game from the beginning.

Game 5 got off to a very quiet start as both pitchers showed up to give their team a chance to take home the win. Following each other’s lead, the first, second and third innings took off with a battle between the pitchers.

In the top of the first, Estrada started off pitching Alcides Escobar into a groundout. He followed up with two strikeouts to Ben Zobrist and Lorenzo Cain. Volquez answered back. He pitched Ben Revere into a groundout, followed up by a strikeout to Josh Donaldson and a popfly from Jose Bautista.

In the top of the second, Estrada again shut down the Royals bats, retiring all three batters he faced. Volquez started off the inning fine with a popfly from Edwin Encarnacion. With one out, Volquez threw an 0-2 pitch to Chris Colabello, who knocked the ball to left-center for a home run. Volquez quickly shut down the inning, giving up a walk to Dioner Navarro, but recording the other two outs without further damage.

Related Story. Revisiting the 2015 ALCS Game 2. light

The third inning followed up much like the first. Estrada went three up three down to retire his ninth straight batter of the game. Wanting to keep his team in the game, Volquez tightened up the screws. He followed Estrada, retiring all three batters he faced to end the third with the Blue Jays up 1-0.

The pitchers continued to impress in the later innings of Game 5, but as the game progress, the Royals would have to hope they could keep up with Toronto.

In line with the first few innings of Game 5, the fourth and fifth innings continued to be a pitching clinic from both sides. Showing their pitching power and abilities, both started to shut down the bats of their opponents.

In the top of the fourth, Estrada gave up a single for Escobar. He quickly turned the inning around, though, pitching Zobrist into a double play, and Cain into a popfly. To finish out the fourth, Volquez retired all there Blue Jays he faced for a quick inning.

In the fifth, the starters switched places. This time, Estrada sat the three Royals he faced with a groundout and two fly balls. Volquez recorded two quick outs, then gave up a single to Kevin Pillar. To answer back, he recorded the next out, closing out the fifth.

To begin the sixth, Estrada again sat three Royals batters in order, adding to the impressive game he was putting together. In the bottom of the sixth, Volquez began to struggle. He started the inning with a walk to Ben Revere, followed up with a hit by pitch on Josh Donaldson and another walk to Jose Bautista, loading the bases. Encarnacion stepped to the plate, eventually taking a walk, allowing Revere in for the score.

Related Story. Revisiting the 2015 ALCS Game 3. light

The Royals answered by replacing Volquez with Kelvin Herrera. Herrera started off strong with a strikeout. He was unable to stop the momentum, though, giving up a double to Troy Tulowitzki, allowing Donaldson, Bautista, and Encarnacion to score. Herrera pulled it together and recorded the next two outs on two strikeouts, closing the sixth with Toronto on top, 5-0.

After a four-run bottom of the sixth from Toronto, the Royals desperately needed to start hitting to get themselves back in the game.

In the top of the seventh, Marco Estrada continued to impress. Other than giving up a walk to Cain, Estrada finished out the inning without giving up a run. For the bottom of the seventh, the Royals replaced Herrera with Danny Duffy. Duffy started the inning well, striking out the first two batters he faced. He started to stumble, though, giving up a double to Donaldson followed by a double to Bautista, driving in Donaldson for the run. Duffy was able to figure it out, striking out Encarnacion and ending the seventh without further damage.

As the eighth inning started, the Royals were starting to run out of time to get ahead for the win. Estrada continued to pitch for Toronto, recoding two outs to start. Salvador Perez, hoping to get things going, stepped to the plate and launched a home run into the stands with the first pitch he saw. To follow, Alex Gordon knocked a single to right. The Blue Jays replaced Estrada with Aaron Sanchez at this time. Alex Rios kept the line moving, with a single to right, but Sanchez was able to record the last out.

At the bottom of the eighth, Duffy stayed in for the Royals. Continuing to pitch strong, Duffy started with a strikeout, allowed a single from Tulowitzki, then struck out Navarro. Duffy looked to have the inning wrapped up when Pillar doubled to center batting in Tulowitzki. Fortunately, Pillar was tagged out trying to reach third, ending the inning at 7-1.

For the top of the ninth, the Blue Jays brought in Robert Osuna to end the game. Only having to throw a few pitches, Osuna pitched all three Royals he faced into groundouts, ending game 5, and forcing an ALCS Game 6.

dark. Next. Revisiting the 2015 ALCS Game 4

The Royals were unable to continue their hot hitting streak and dropped game 5 to Toronto. Luckily for the Royals, Game 6 of the ALCS would be played back at home in Kauffman Stadium. The Royals hoped to finish out the ALCS and advance to the World Series after another matchup between the young Yordano Ventura and the Veteran David Price in Game 6.

Home / KC Royals News

With a Game 4 win, the Kansas City Royals have put themselves one win away from an American League Pennant and a second chance to the take the World Series.

To start the game, both pitchers knew their teams would be counting on them to keep them in the game from the beginning.

The pitchers continued to impress in the later innings of Game 5, but as the game progress, the Royals would have to hope they could keep up with Toronto.

After a four-run bottom of the sixth from Toronto, the Royals desperately needed to start hitting to get themselves back in the game.

Schedule