Johnny Cueto threw eight dominant innings Wednesday night which allowed the resilient Royals to rally once more for a 7-2 victory over the Houston Astros that sent them back to the American League Championship Series.
Cueto allowed two hits, a single by Evan Gattis followed by Luis Valbuena's second-inning homer, before retiring the final 19 batters he faced. He struck out eight without a walk in the kind of clutch performance the Royals expected when they got him from the Reds.
When Wade Davis breezed through the ninth, the Royals poured onto the field to celebrate.
The Royals trailed the Astros 2-1 in the fifth when Alex Rios led another comeback with a go-ahead, two-run double. Eric Hosmer and Ben Zobrist also drove in runs, and Kendrys Morales capped the festive night with a three-run homer off Dallas Keuchel in the eighth to put it away.
Toronto earned its first trip to the American League Championship Series since Carter's World Series-ending drive in 1993, overcoming one of the craziest plays in playoff history when Bautista hit a three-run homer after three Texas Rangers errors for a 6-3 victory Wednesday in the deciding Game 5 of the Division Series.
Bautista's homer capped an event-filled, 53-minute seventh inning that took a turn when Toronto catcher Russell Martin's seemingly routine throw back to the pitcher deflected off batter Shin-Soo Choo and allowed the tiebreaking to score.
The Blue Jays filed a protest after an umpire review ruled Rougned Odor was allowed to cross home plate. Toronto fans pelted the field with debris during the 18-minute delay.
The Rangers started the bottom half by making errors on three straight groundballs, and Toronto rallied. Benches cleared twice in the Blue Jays' half of the inning.
Roberto Osuna got the final five outs for his first postseason save.
>>Mets, Dodgers Look To Punch Ticket To NLCS
The New York Mets will visit the Los Angeles Dodgers for Game 5 of their NLDS tonight. The Cubs await the winner, while the Blue Jays and Royals are gonna square off over in the AL.
Zack Greinke did face the Mets earlier this season, getting the ball in Game 2. He allowed two home runs in the second inning, but that was pretty much it. In all, he gave up those two runs on just five hits while walking none and striking out eight.
In Game 1, Jacob deGrom outdueled Clayton Kershaw by allowing a run on five hits and a walk in seven innings. He struck out 13. This was a carry-over from deGrom's success against the Dodgers in the regular season.
The one time deGrom saw the Dodgers during the regular season was on July 26. He went 7 2/3 scoreless innings and only coughed up two hits. They were both singles. He struck out eight.
The game is set for 8:07 p.m. ET/5:07 p.m. PT. It will air on TBS.
