TORONTO -- For the vast majority of the American League Championship Series, the Kansas City Royals have looked like the better, more balanced, more focused and determined team. With the exception of six innings they spent flailing against David Price in Game 2, and Johnny Cueto's forgettable outing in Game 3, the Royals have set a standard the Toronto Blue Jays have been unable to match.
At the risk of getting overly presumptuous, one question reigns supreme: Will the Royals soil the carpets with Champagne at the Rogers Centre, or wait to make life miserable for the clubhouse attendants at Kauffman Stadium later this week?
The Royals left no doubt about their ultimate intentions Tuesday with a 14-2 victory that cleared out the Rogers Centre in bits and pieces and prompted Toronto manager John Gibbons to summon infielder Cliff Pennington to record the final out in the top of the ninth. They're one win from their second straight World Series appearance -- this one in a Madison Bumgarner-free zone -- and they refuse to even contemplate the idea of coming up short.
The sight of all these young, spirited players spreading their wings has made an indelible impression on the veterans in the Kansas City clubhouse. During the Kauffman Stadium portion of the proceedings, Ben Zobrist marveled at the way Kansas City's 20-somethings have warmed to the October stage and elevated their games when it matters most. After Tuesday's win, it was pitcher Chris Young's turn to gush over the team dynamic.
"I think you saw it last year,'' Young said. "There's a comfort level these guys have, where they know this is something special. I don't know how to explain it, but it really is tremendous. They come to play every day, yet they're still relaxed. There's no nerves.
"Maybe it's because they trust each other. They know that if they don't get the job done, the guy behind them will. It's not just about the baseball talent. It's about the character of the individuals. I've never seen anything like it with a baseball team.''
The Royals were regarded as a dangerous entity entering the postseason because of their strong bullpen and athletic defense. But the Kansas City offense has been the true October revelation, summoning one productive at-bat after another to seize the narrative from Toronto's power-laden, more acclaimed lineup.
It all begins with shortstop Alcides Escobar, the accidental leadoff man, who continues to set the tone out of the No. 1 spot. Escobar is hitting .417 with a .611 slugging percentage in 36 postseason at-bats, and all he did Tuesday was reach base three times and contribute two sacrifice flies. According to the Elias Sports Bureau, Escobar is the first player in major league history to hit safely to lead off the first inning in four straight games in a postseason series. "When you have a guy at the top of the lineup who does these kind of things, you're up for a good ride,'' right fielder Alex Rios said. "He did it tonight and he's been doing it the whole time. It's been amazing.''
It's about Rios, who keeps churning out hits at Rogers Centre to a deluge of boos from Toronto fans, who followed him during his early years as a Blue Jay, and Lorenzo Cain, who extended his postseason hitting streak to 13 games with a pair of singles in Game 4. Indeed, the Royals flogged R.A. Dickey and the Toronto bullpen in Game 4 even though Eric Hosmer, Kendrys Morales and Mike Moustakas -- Kansas City's Nos. 4-5-6 hitters -- went a combined 2-for-13.
Above all, the Royals are thriving behind a collective mentality that allows them to make solid contact whether they swing at the first pitch or foul off one ball after another on the black and extend plate appearances to eight or nine pitches. The Royals have struck out 22 times in four games against the Blue Jays -- a pittance in this day and age.
"Hitting is contagious, and baseball is about momentum,'' Alex Gordon said. "Once we get a couple of hits here and there, everyone feels like they can go up there and continue the trend. We're so locked in and focused on each at-bat, we're not looking ahead or behind. We're living in the moment.''
If imperviousness to physical discomfort says anything about a team's intensity level, the Royals are perfectly willing to pay the price. They derive daily inspiration from catcher Salvador Perez, whose pain threshold knows no bounds. Perez took one foul ball off the chest and another off the mask Tuesday, and kept coming back for more. By all rights, he should be soaking in a hot tub somewhere. But he takes a licking and keeps on ticking. In that same vein, Hosmer made a personal statement in Game 3 when he hit a foul ball in the batter's box that ricocheted up and smacked him in the lip. As blood welled in his mouth, Hosmer waved away the trainer, summoned the hockey player within and dug back into the box.
"We've been here before. We're going to go out and forget about this game and play hard, and hopefully get the 'W' and celebrate in Toronto."Alex Gordon on the Royals' 3-1 ALCS advantage
"For me personally, just seeing the beating that Salvy takes, you have no choice but to stay in there after taking one little foul ball off the mouth,'' Hosmer said. "I got a little flat lip, but nothing too bad. Luckily, it got me in a good spot and I didn't lose any teeth.''
On a cautionary note, Kansas City's starting pitchers have been mediocre at best in this series and throughout the playoffs. Although manager Ned Yost says he expects good things every time Cueto takes the mound, Kansas City's purported ace remains a mystery man. Yordano Ventura has been similarly up-and-down, and the Royals' starters are an aggregate 2-3 with a 5.64 ERA in the postseason.
But the bullpen remains formidable even without erstwhile closer Greg Holland, who is out for the year because of an elbow reconstruction, and Kansas City has enough power arms that Yost can start counting outs around the fourth or fifth and pull his starter at the first sign of trouble.
With their 12-run joyride against Dickey & Co., the Royals didn't even have to use Danny Duffy or closer Wade Davis, who could be available for two innings in Game 5 if necessary. Edinson Volquez, who looked so strong with six shutout innings in Game 1, will try to get the ball to the pen in good shape and end this thing Wednesday.
"We've been here before,'' Gordon said. "We're going to go out and forget about this game and play hard, and hopefully get the 'W' and celebrate in Toronto.''
It's all about the end game, and every step along the way is just another checked box on the Royals' team to-do list. As long as the ALCS ends in a celebration, they don't care if it happens before or after they clear customs.