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Royals can’t clinch ALCS in Toronto, back to KC for Game 6

Royals can’t clinch ALCS in Toronto, back to KC for Game 6

TORONTO (AP) — If the Kansas City Royals are going to clinch a trip to their second straight World Series, it’ll happen in front of their home fans.

Marco Estrada made certain it didn’t happen in Canada.

After scoring 22 runs in the previous two games, the Royals were held in check by Estrada, who came up with a superb start in the most important outing of his career, stopping Kansas City’s hit parade and helping the Toronto Blue Jays send the AL Championship Series back to Missouri.

Estrada pitched one-hit ball into the eighth inning, giving Toronto’s tattered bullpen a rest, and the Blue Jays beat the Royals 7-1 Wednesday to close to 3-2 in the best-of-seven.

“Estrada threw a great game,” Royals first baseman Eric Hosmer said. “We just couldn’t do anything offensively.”

Estrada faced the minimum 20 batters before Lorenzo Cain walked with two outs in the seventh. Closer Roberto Osuna was perfect in the ninth.

Toronto’s sharp pitching held Cain hitless, snapping his team record 13-game hitting streak in the postseason.

Yordano Ventura will start for the defending AL champions on Friday in Game 6 against Toronto left-hander David Price, the Game 2 loser.

“We’re excited to go home,” Royals pitcher Danny Duffy said. “We wish we could have got it done today but we didn’t.”

Hosmer said the same.

“Nothing but positivity,” Hosmer said. “We’ve got a 3-2 lead and we’re heading back to Kansas City. That’s where we play our best baseball so everyone is still feeling pretty good.”

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