ALCS Game 4: Inning-by-inning

1Fantastic four

Alcides Escobar did his usual thing. He swung at the first pitch but missed. Then he bunted for a hit. Ben Zobrist then crushed a two-run homer. Lorenzo Cain walked, stole second and took third on Eric Hosmer’s single. Another wild pitch allowed Cain to score as Hosmer took second. Kendrys Morales’ ground-out got Hosmer to third and he scored on Mike Moustakas’ long fly to center. Just like that it was 4-0. Chris Young struck out three and walked one in the the Toronto half.

4-0

KC-TOR

2Rios hits a homer

Alex Rios hit a one-out home run as Toronto starter R.A. Dickey continued to struggle. Escobar was hit by a pitch and moved to second on Zobrist’s ground out. After Cain walked, Dickey was yanked in favor of Liam Hendriks, who picked off Escobar. Chris Young set Toronto down in order.

5-0

KC-TOR

3Blue Jays on the board

After the Royals were set down in order, Toronto put together a rally. With one out, Ryan Goins singled and Revere walked. Josh Donaldson lined a double that bounced over the left-field wall and Goins scored. Jose Bautista’s ground out to Zobrist got Revere home. But Young avoided further damage as Edwin Encarnacion flied to left.

5-2

KC-TOR

4No love for replay

With two outs, Rios singled and was called safe on a steal of second. The Blue Jays challenged and super slow motion did show that Rios’ foot came off the bag. His steal was wiped away. Toronto did nothing against Chris Young.

5-2

KC-TOR

5No news is good news

For the first time, the Royals went down in order. Ben Revere singled with two outs and manager Ned Yost called on Luke Hochevar to face Donaldson. The move paid off as Donaldson popped out.

5-2

KC-TOR

6Force is with Luke Hochevar

It was three up and three down for the Royals again. More importantly, the same was true for the Blue Jays. For Hochevar, it was four batters faced and four retired.

5-2

KC-TOR

7Another four spot

LaTroy Hawkins entered for the Blue Jays and he didn’t get anyone out. Perez walked, followed by singles from Gordon and Rios. That loaded the bases and Ryan Tepera was summoned. Escobar hit a deep play to center that allowed each runner to move up a base, including Paulo Orlando, who was running for Rios. A wild pitch scored Gordon ahead of a Zobrist walk. Cain singled home a run and Hosmer’s fly to right scored Zobrist. All told, it was another four-run inning. Ryan Madson pitched a scoreless frame after giving up a leadoff single. That led to a great defensive play, as Madson snared a comebacker and threw to second where Escobar made a diving grab of the off-target throw for the force.

9-2

KC-TOR

8The fun continues

With one out, Perez doubled, Gordon walked and Orlando singled as the bases were loaded again. Escobar hit a deep sacrifice fly and Gordon scored on a wild pitch. Zobrist and Cain then singled, with the latter bringing home Orlando. That led to an exodus of Blue Jays fans.

12-2

KC-TOR

9Blue Jays wave white flag

The offensive onslaught continued as Kendrys Morales singled. Two outs later, Alex Gordon was hit by a pitch and backup infielder Cliff Pennington was brought in to pitch. Orlando’s single loaded the bases, and Escobar’s single scored a pair of runs.

14-2

KC-TOR

This story was originally published October 20, 2015 at 9:15 PM with the headline "ALCS Game 4: Inning-by-inning."