For the second straight year, the Kansas City Royals are headed to the American League Championship Series. Johnny Cueto threw eight innings of two-hit ball, and Kendrys Morales hit a three-run home run in the eighth inning to cap the Royals' 7-2 victory over the Houston Astros in Game 5 of their divisional series.
The Royals provided a look at the on-field celebration:
The Astros got their only two runs in the second inning, when Luis Valbuena hit a two-run homer. They wouldn't have another baserunner for the final seven innings. Cueto struck out eight batters and didn't walk any in a performance that will undoubtedly erase concerns regarding his struggles in a Kansas City uniform.
Jeremy Guthrie, leading the postgame celebration, gave a shoutout to the Royals starter, per Fox Sports Kansas City:
"He showed up," Royals pitching coach Dave Eiland said of Cueto, according to the Kansas City Star's Andy McCullough.
Royals owner David Glass had similar praise to heap on the Game 5 winner, per the Kansas City Star's Sam Mellinger:
Alex Rios came through with arguably the biggest hit of the night in the fifth inning, hitting a two-run double to give the Royals a lead they would not relinquish. Rios, who went 2-for-3, was the only Royal with multiple hits. Eric Hosmer and Ben Zobrist also drove in runs, the latter closing the series with the team's highest batting average.
The Royals will move on to play the Toronto Blue Jays, who earned a 6-3 win over the Texas Rangers in their own Game 5 earlier Wednesday evening. As noted by ESPN Stats & Info, it's a rematch of their 1985 series—which also doubles as the last time Kansas City won the Fall Classic:
It's more than enough reason for players and fans alike to celebrate, as highlighted by Fox's MLB feed:
Very few of the players had any interest in leaving the field, per of the Kansas City Star:
Even the city's Twitter feed got into the mix, posting a video of fans celebrating:
When the Migos hit? When the Migos hit, indeed:
Unlike last year, these Royals are not a fun small-ball outfit making their way through the playoffs despite all logic. Kansas City has been a World Series favorite all year. It finished the season with the American League's best record, acquired high-profile veterans such as Cueto and Zobrist for an all-in push and brought back most of its key contributors from 2014.
The Royals will, however, be playing a Blue Jays team that's gone equally all-in for 2015. Toronto added David Price and Troy Tulowitzki at the deadline, moves that make the Cueto-Zobrist pairing pale in comparison. Both Price and Tulowitzki have had their postseason struggles—Price currently carries a 7.20 ERA, while Tulowitzki is hitting .095—but Toronto is as formidable a challenger as the Royals will face in the AL.
After the way both needed five games to get through the ALDS, it's possible we'll be looking at another seven-game classic 30 years later to match their last playoff series.
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