Blue Jays vs. Royals: Keys for Each Team to Win ALCS Game 2

It's up to David Price to stop the Toronto Blue Jays from tumbling into yet another 0-2 hole.

While the American League East champs will be calling on the October underachiever in Game 2 of the AL Championship Series, Yordano Ventura gets the nod for the Royals as the home team looks to claim a commanding lead at Kauffman Stadium.

The biggest key to this Game 2 matchup will be Price's performance, but the Jays will also need some help on the health front if the visitors are going to earn a split before heading north of the border.

Key No. 1 for the Blue Jays: The Regular-Season Version of David Price Shows Up

Tony Gutierrez/Associated Press

The Blue Jays are going to need the regular-season version of Price to make an appearance at Kauffman Stadium for this Game 2 clash.

The lefty reeled off a 9-1 record and a 2.30 ERA in 11 starts for the Jays down the stretch, but he's just not the same guy when the calendar flips to October. Price is lugging around a 5.04 ERA in 12 career postseason outings, and he has run up a 7.20 ERA during three playoff games with Toronto.

Even with those ugly numbers, Price is feeling optimistic as he prepares to take on the Royals.

"Good things are coming, I know they are," Price said, per MLB.com. "I've got confidence in that."

If the 30-year-old is going to avoid losing his seventh consecutive October start, he's going to have to be extra careful when facing Lorenzo Cain and Alex Rios.

Cain is in midst of a 10-game postseason hitting streak, which is the second-best mark in club history, according to ESPN Stats & Info. In 11 at-bats against Price, he owns a .364 average. Rios has faced the starter 25 times and has logged a .360 average. And both the center fielder and the right fielder have taken Price deep.

Key No. 1 for the Royals: Contain Jose Bautista

Kathy Willens/Associated Press

The Jays don't have much experience against Ventura. Heading into this matchup, Justin Smoak leads the team with eight at-bats against the 24-year-old.

While Ventura remains a relative unknown for Toronto, Jose Bautista is one Jay who already seems to have the righty figured out. Joey Bats is 3-for-5 with a jack against the Royals' Game 2 starter.

The Royals pitcher and the Blue Jays slugger also have a history off the diamond. Back in the beginning of August, after a series full of hit batters and high tension, Ventura lashed out at Bautista. In a series of tweets that he ended up deleting and later apologizing for, the second-year starter dubbed the six-time All-Star a "nobody."

Key No. 2 for the Blue Jays: A Quick Recovery for Edwin Encarnacion

Tony Gutierrez/Associated Press

Edwin Encarnacion must have been in a ton of pain when he exited the Jays' 5-0 Game 1 loss in the eighth inning.

According to Gregor Chisholm of MLB.com, the designated hitter had to leave the contest due to a ligament sprain in his left middle finger. With the Jays rebounding from just the squad's second shutout since the All-Star break, the club needs all its bats in the lineup for the Game 2 tilt.

The encouraging news for Toronto is that Encarnacion, who is considered day-to-day, has been gutting this injury out for awhile. The right-handed masher also missed time at the end of July and in September because of a finger issue.

Key No. 2 for the Royals: Jump-Start the Run Game

Charlie Riedel/Associated Press

Price knows just how dangerous the Royals can be on the basepaths.

"They have a lot of team speed. They can cause a lot of trouble for pitcher, whenever they have runners on base," Price told the Canadian Press, via Sportsnet. "You don't want to allow the Royals to get free 90 feet. Whether it's at first base and they steal second, then they're a single away from scoring, or stealing third base where they can produce runs with outs."

With the second-most steals during the regular season, the Royals certainly caused lots of trouble for pitchers. But Price and catcher Russell Martin also caused lots of problems for baserunners.

The left-hander allowed just two stolen bases in 2015, and Martin threw out 44.4 percent of would-be base thieves, the highest mark in the bigs, per Alyson Footer of MLB.com.

With Cain and pinch-running specialists Jarrod Dyson and Terrance Gore set to face off against the stingiest batter in baseball, this is setting up to be one epic battle on the basepaths.

Note: All stats courtesy of Baseball-Reference.com and MLB.com.

If you want to talk baseball, find me on Twitter @KarlBuscheck.