Statcast tracks Royals' blanking of Blue Jays
The Royals shut down a potent Blue Jays offense Friday, limiting them to just three hits and no runs in Game 1 of the American League Championship Series.
Kansas City blanked Toronto, 5-0, thanks to a stellar outing from starting pitcher Edinson Volquez and some stout defense behind him, including an impressive running grab from right fielder Alex Rios.
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Here's a Statcast™ look at Rios' play, Volquez's outing and big blast from Friday's game.
Rios tracks down line drive
With Rios patrolling the outfield, finding gaps in Kansas City's defense can be difficult. Chris Colabello experienced this firsthand in the second inning Friday when he lined a hard-hit ball 318.9 feet into right-center, where it was recovered with ease by Rios.
Volquez's 81.6-mph knuckle-curve left Colabello's bat at 98.3 mph. Rios covered 59.8 feet with a route efficiency of 92.6 percent to secure the backhand grab. Rios flashed his speed, topping out at 17.8 mph.
Volquez brings the heat
Volquez capped his six scoreless innings in Game 1 by firing a sinker past Troy Tulowitzki for a called strike three. The pitch left Volquez's hand at 95.3 mph, and it registered a spin rate of 2,237 rpm.
It was a fitting end to the night for Volquez, who threw his seven-fastest pitches of the season on Friday night. Volquez, whose highest tracked velocity entering Friday night was 96.72 mph, rifled seven pitches in Game 1 of at least 96.74 mph.
Perez adds to lead with homer
Catcher Salvador Perez extended the Royals' lead to 3-0 with a fourth-inning homer, his third of the postseason.
Perez's latest shot, which came on a 90-mph offering from Marco Estrada, jumped off the bat at 102.9 mph and traveled a projected 394 feet on its way to clearing the left-center-field wall. The projected distance was 10 feet farther than the 384-foot homer he hit in Game 2 of the AL Division Series, but six feet shy of the 400-foot blast he hit in Game 4 of that same series.