No changes for KC, Toronto in Game 3 lineups
TORONTO -- The Royals and Blue Jays kept their lineups intact for Game 3 of the American League Championship Series from Rogers Centre on Monday (7 p.m. ET air time on FOX Sports 1 and Sportsnet, with game time slated for 8 p.m.).
Kansas City ace Johnny Cueto will be taking the mound opposite fellow right-hander Marcus Stroman.
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Keeping a good thing going
Royals manager Ned Yost has gone with the same lineup for each of his team's first seven postseason games, and that strategy didn't change for the opener from Rogers Centre. With Alcides Escobar leading off, Kansas City is a combined 47 games above .500 since the start of the 2014 season -- even though the slap-hitting shortstop sports a career .298 on-base percentage.
Lorenzo Cain enters Game 3 with an 11-game postseason hitting streak that's tied with Amos Otis for the franchise record. No member of the Royals has more than six career plate appearances against Stroman, and none of their hitters have really dominated this month. Someone new seems to step up every night.
"It's a good sign," Yost said. "Every day is somebody different. Even starting with the Houston series, we haven't had one guy that's just been dominant. Everybody has pulled their weight and done their job."
Royals lineup
1. Escobar, SS
2. Ben Zobrist, 2B
3. Cain, CF
4. Eric Hosmer, 1B
5. Kendrys Morales, DH
6. Mike Moustakas, 3B
7. Salvador Perez, C
8. Alex Gordon, LF
9. Alex Rios, RF
Looking forward to home cookin'
The Blue Jays' bats were mostly held in check at Kauffman Stadium, but now they return to the ballpark that's perfectly suited for their dominant offense. Toronto unsurprisingly led the Majors with 450 runs at home during the regular season. Josh Donaldson (1.046 OPS), Jose Bautista (.989) and Edwin Encarnacion (.930) all had great numbers at Rogers Centre.
The Blue Jays may need a big performance from them if they hope to avoid falling behind 3-0 in this best-of-seven series.
"It's not an elimination game, but they win it, your back's really against the wall," Toronto manager John Gibbons said. "It's important to win. We'll approach it like that. But to be honest, I feel good coming home here. The guys have a good frame of mind, I think, so we'll see what happens."
Blue Jays lineup
1. Ben Revere, LF
2. Donaldson, 3B
3. Bautista, RF
4. Encarnacion, DH
5. Chris Colabello, 1B
6. Troy Tulowitzki, SS
7. Russell Martin, C
8. Kevin Pillar, CF
9. Ryan Goins, 2B