Toronto at Kansas City

Toronto at Kansas City

This is Missed It. Toronto at Kansas City, Saturday, September 5, 97 and partly cloudy at Kauffman Stadium, with the Blue Jays. You missed it? Here's the whole game, as it happened.

Pregame

Toronto Blue Jays at Kansas City Royals. We are on the road tonight, and we have a good feeling about this one. The bats have been talking, the gloves have been working, and we are ready to see what this ballgame has in store for us. Kansas City is going to give us everything they have, and we are going to give it right back. It is a beautiful night for baseball, and we are here for all nine innings of it. Let us get this one going.

Innings 1-3

We start this ballgame with the top of the first, and we waste no time at all. Two outs on the board, a runner on, and Alejandro Kirk steps in. Kirk takes a swing and sends a soft ground ball to third baseman Josh Rojas. Rojas fields it, but the throw is off. Vladimir Guerrero Jr. comes racing home, and he scores. Kirk is safe at second on the throwing error by Rojas. Just like that, we are on the board. One to nothing, Blue Jays. The crowd is buzzing, and we are not done yet. That is the kind of start we needed. Two runs in the first, and we are feeling good. Score is two to nothing. But Kansas City answers right back in the bottom of the first. No outs, two on, and Jac Caglianone steps up. Caglianone hits a ground ball to second baseman Ernie Clement, and it gets through. Carter Jensen scores, and Bobby Witt Jr. advances to third. Two to one, and the Royals are right there. Then Salvador Perez comes up with no outs and two on. Perez lines one to right fielder Nathan Lukes, and Bobby Witt Jr. scores. Caglianone moves to third. Two to two, and this game is tied just like that. We are in a fight now, and we know it. With one out and two on, Michael Massey steps in. Massey hits a ground ball to first baseman Vladimir Guerrero Jr., who fires to third baseman Kazuma Okamoto. Caglianone is out at home. That is a huge play for us. The momentum is shifting back our way. Then with two outs and the bases loaded, Josh Rojas flies out to left fielder Myles Straw. Inning over. We escape the jam, and the score stays tied at two. That is how you battle. The top of the second comes and goes. Five batters for us, no runs. The bottom of the second, Kansas City sends three batters to the plate, and they get nothing. Score is still two to two. We are grinding, and we are staying patient. Top of the third, we get back to work. Five batters, and we push one across. We take the lead, three to two. The bottom of the third, Kansas City sends three batters up, and they get nothing. We hold the line. Three to two, Blue Jays, and we are feeling it.

Innings 4-6

Top of the fourth, we send three batters to the plate and come away empty. Kansas City gets their chance in the bottom of the fourth. One out, bases empty, and John Rave steps in. Rave gets a pitch he likes and sends it deep to right field. That ball is gone. Home run. The game is tied at three. That one stings. We had the lead, and now we are back to even. But we do not panic. This is a long game, and we have plenty of baseball left. Top of the fifth, three batters for us, no runs. Bottom of the fifth, three batters for Kansas City, no runs. We are locked in a battle here. Every pitch matters, every swing matters. Score is still three to three. Top of the sixth, we get something going. No outs, a runner on, and Andrés Giménez steps in. Giménez lines one to left fielder Isaac Collins, and Kazuma Okamoto moves to second. We have two on and nobody out. This is our chance. But then Ernie Clement strikes out swinging. The momentum stalls. We still have two on with two outs, and Brett Bateman steps in. Bateman grounds out, second baseman Michael Massey to first baseman Vinnie Pasquantino. Inning over. We had our shot, and we could not cash in. That one is going to sit with us for a moment. Bottom of the sixth, Kansas City sends four batters up, and they get nothing. We head to the stretch, tied at three.

The Stretch

So here we are, three to three, and this game has been a battle from the very first pitch. The play that turned the first half for us, the one that changed everything, was Jac Caglianone's ground ball in the bottom of the first. Carter Jensen scored, Bobby Witt Jr. moved to third, and the Royals tied it up. That was the moment Kansas City told us they were not going anywhere. But we have answered every time they have pushed. We have held them when we needed to, and we have scratched out runs when we had to. Now it is about who wants it more. We need one more push. We need one more big swing, one more clean inning, one more moment to call our own. This game is there for the taking.

The Sequence

Top of the seventh, and this is where the game gets decided. No outs, a runner on, and Vladimir Guerrero Jr. steps in. Guerrero challenges the pitch result, and the call on the field is confirmed. Guerrero is called out on strikes. But in the middle of all that, George Springer steals second base. We still have a runner in scoring position, and we are not going away. Two outs, two on, and Kazuma Okamoto steps up. Okamoto takes a swing and sends a ground ball to center fielder John Rave. It gets through. George Springer scores, and Nathan Lukes moves to third. Four to three, Blue Jays. That is the run we needed. That is the hit we have been waiting for. The dugout is alive, and we are back on top. Bottom of the seventh, Kansas City sends four batters up, and they get nothing. We hold the line. Four to three, and we are four outs away. Top of the eighth, we send four batters up, and we come away empty. We leave it to our defense. Bottom of the eighth, no outs, two on, and Vinnie Pasquantino steps in. Pasquantino grounds into a double play. Pitcher Tyler Rogers to shortstop Andrés Giménez to first baseman Vladimir Guerrero Jr. Nick Loftin moves to third, but Matthew Lugo is out at second, and Pasquantino is out at first. That is the play of the game. That is the momentum swing we needed. The Royals had something brewing, and we snuffed it out. The crowd is quiet now, and we are one inning away. Top of the ninth, four batters for us, no runs. We leave it all on the field. Bottom of the ninth, Kansas City sends three batters up. Three batters, and they get nothing. The game is over. We did it.

Wrap-up

Final score, Toronto Blue Jays four, Kansas City Royals three. We came into their house, we took their best shot, and we walked out with the win. This one was a grind from the first pitch to the last, and we never stopped fighting. That is Blue Jays baseball. That is who we are. We take this one, and we move on to the next.

Outro

That was Toronto at Kansas City, from the Blue Jays side. This has been Missed It. Every game, both sides, at missed it dot net. Produced by James Barrett.

Toronto at Kansas City

This is Missed It. Toronto at Kansas City, Saturday, September 5, 97 and partly cloudy at Kauffman Stadium, with the Royals. You missed it? Here's the whole game, as it happened.

Pregame

It's a fresh one here at the K, and we've got a good one on our hands. The Toronto Blue Jays are in town to take on our Kansas City Royals. Both sides are looking to make a statement, and we've got the bats ready to go. The energy is building, the crowd is filing in, and it's time for nine innings of Royals baseball. Let's get after it.

Innings 1-3

Top of the first, and Toronto comes out swinging. Two outs on the board, a runner on, and Alejandro Kirk steps in. He sends a soft ground ball to third, and Josh Rojas has to make a play. He doesn't. The ball gets through, Vladimir Guerrero Jr. comes in to score, and the throw from Rojas sails. Kirk moves up to second on the throwing error. Just like that, it's one to nothing, Blue Jays. A tough break, a play we needed to make, and we didn't. We're down early, but there's a lot of baseball left. Bottom of the first, and we answer right back. No outs, two on, and Jac Caglianone digs in. He gets a ground ball to second, and it finds a hole. Carter Jensen comes flying home to score, and Bobby Witt Jr. advances to third. The place is on its feet. We're on the board, and we've got runners in scoring position with no one out. This is exactly the kind of response you want to see. The dugout is alive, the crowd is louder, and we're right back in this thing. And we're not done. No outs, two on, and Salvador Perez steps to the plate. He gets a line drive to right field, and it's a laser. Bobby Witt Jr. scores easily, and Jac Caglianone moves up to third. Tie game. Two to two. The K is rocking. We've answered their punch with one of our own, and now we've got the heart of the order coming up with a chance to take the lead. This is Royals baseball, and we're not backing down. But then, the momentum shifts. One out, two on, and Michael Massey hits a ground ball to first. Guerrero Jr. fields it, fires to third, and they get Jac Caglianone at the plate. He's out. The rally stalls. We had a chance to break this open, and we couldn't get the run home. The air goes out of the building just a little. We're still tied, but that one stings. We needed that run, and we didn't get it. Two outs now, and the bases are loaded. Josh Rojas steps in with a chance to be the hero. He gets a pitch he can handle, but he sends it to left field. Myles Straw is there, and he makes the catch. Inning over. We leave the bases loaded. We had them on the ropes, and we couldn't deliver the knockout punch. It's still two to two, but it feels like we let one slip away. We'll get another chance. Top of the second, and Toronto sends five batters to the plate. They don't score. We hold the line. Bottom of the second, we go three up, three down. No runs. Still tied at two. Top of the third, and Toronto gets one across. They take a three to two lead. Bottom of the third, we go down in order again. Three batters, no runs. We're down by one, and we need to find our swing again. The bats have gone quiet since that first inning explosion, and we need to wake them up.

Innings 4-6

Top of the fourth, Toronto sends three batters to the plate, and we hold them. No runs. We need to get something going. Bottom of the fourth, one out, bases empty, and John Rave steps in. He gets a pitch he likes, and he doesn't miss it. He sends it deep to right field, and it's gone. Home run. Tie game. Three to three. The K erupts. That's how you answer. One swing, and we're right back in it. Rave rounds the bases, and the dugout is ecstatic. We needed that, and he delivered. Top of the fifth, Toronto goes down in order. No runs. Bottom of the fifth, we go down in order too. Still tied at three. Top of the sixth, and Toronto starts to threaten. No outs, a runner on, and Andrés Giménez lines one to left. Isaac Collins can't get there, and Kazuma Okamoto moves up to second. Two on, no outs. This is a big spot. We need a stop. Ernie Clement steps in, and he swings at strike three. One out. Big strikeout. We needed that. Two outs now, two on, and Brett Bateman grounds one to second. Michael Massey fields it, fires to first, and Vinnie Pasquantino makes the catch. Inning over. We escape. No runs. We held them, and we kept this game tied. That was a huge stand by this pitching staff. Bottom of the sixth, we send four batters to the plate, but we can't push a run across. Still three to three as we head to the stretch.

The Stretch

So here we are, tied at three. The first half of this game has been a battle, and the play that turned it was Jac Caglianone's single in the first inning. Down two to nothing, no outs, two on, and he finds the gap. Carter Jensen scores, Bobby Witt Jr. moves to third, and we're right back in it. That hit changed everything. It woke up this offense and this crowd. We've traded blows since then, but we're still standing. We need to keep the pressure on, keep the bats alive, and find a way to push across that go-ahead run. This one is there for the taking.

The Sequence

Top of the seventh, and this is where the game gets decided. No outs, a runner on, and Vladimir Guerrero Jr. digs in. He challenges a pitch, the call on the field is confirmed, and he's called out on strikes. But George Springer takes off and steals second. One out, a runner in scoring position. We need to bear down. Two outs now, two on, and Kazuma Okamoto steps in. He gets a ground ball to center field, and John Rave can't get there. George Springer scores, Nathan Lukes moves to third. Four to three, Toronto. That one hurts. We had a chance to get out of it, and they found a hole. We're down by one, and we're running out of time. Bottom of the seventh, we send four batters to the plate. No runs. Still down by one. Top of the eighth, Toronto goes down in order. We're still in this. Bottom of the eighth, and we need a rally. No outs, two on, and Vinnie Pasquantino steps in. He grounds into a double play. Tyler Rogers to Andrés Giménez to Vladimir Guerrero Jr. Nick Loftin moves to third, but Matthew Lugo is out at second, and Pasquantino is out at first. The rally dies. We had two on with no one out, and we couldn't get a run home. That's the ballgame right there. We had our chance, and we couldn't take it. Top of the ninth, Toronto sends four batters to the plate. No runs. We've got one last chance. Bottom of the ninth, three batters. No runs. Ballgame. Four to three, Toronto.

Wrap-up

And that's the one that got away. We fought, we clawed, we tied it up, but we couldn't get that last run across. Four to three, Toronto by one. We had our chances, and we left too many on the table. It's a tough one to swallow, but we'll be back at it tomorrow. This one stings, but we don't quit. We're Royals, and we'll keep fighting.

Outro

That was Toronto at Kansas City, from the Royals side. This has been Missed It. Every game, both sides, at missed it dot net. Produced by James Barrett.