October Confidential: Blue Jays vs. Royals
In a rematch of the 1985 American League Championship Series, the Blue Jays and Royals square off after each team rallied to seal thrilling victories in their respective ALDS.
What's the best way to beat each of these teams? To find out, we asked players from across their respective divisions to give the inside intel on how these clubs can be beaten. Our sources were granted anonymity in exchange for their candor.
TORONTO BLUE JAYS
Troy Tulowitzki
"If anything with him, he really balances out the Blue Jays lineup. You see the four or five guys they run out in a row and he does some big things for them. If anything, I feel like he's getting better pitches to hit now. He's a guy like Donaldson, you have to minimize the mistakes to. You have to get ahead and get in a count where he's a little more defensive."
-- AL East pitcher No. 1
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Edwin Encarnacion
"You can see what you can do by the first pitch and how he swings and his takes. I've always stayed away, away, away, just to try to get him to roll over it. It looks like he's made a pretty conscious effort to stay on balls away and he's obviously got power too. I think he hits those off-speed strike pitches really well. You've got to make sure he's respecting the fastball before you do anything off-speed. He's another guy, if you walk him, take that over a home run."
-- AL East pitcher No. 2
Roberto Osuna
"He's going to attack you. A lot of fastballs. He's got 97, 98, 99. He's got a very explosive fastball and he's got a good slider too. He throws all three of his pitches, so when you're going up to hit, just be ready, because it's coming over the plate and you don't know what pitch it is. He's coming right at you."
-- AL East position player
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KANSAS CITY ROYALS
Lorenzo Cain
"He's a guy who, even being a three-hole hitter this year -- I think he's got career highs in homers -- is still a guy that's going to change a game with his legs and cover a ton of ground in the outfield."
-- AL catcher
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Wade Davis
"Try to hit the first pitch he throws. You might have a slightly better shot, but not much. He's a really tough guy. He's got plus pitches. Pretty much everything he's got, he's going to come right at you. He doesn't mess around. He's going to come right at you with everything he's got."
-- AL catcher
Kendrys Morales
"He's obviously a good RBI guy. Against us he had a lot of very key at-bats driving in runs. Driving in 100 runs with 20-some home runs, he's getting RBIs from more than just home runs. He's definitely a guy you don't want to face with runners in scoring position."
-- AL Central catcher
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