Royals vs. Blue Jays: Latest Social Buzz Ahead of ALCS Game 4

After being kept relatively quiet for the first two games of the American League Championship Series, the bats of the Toronto Blue Jays came alive against the Kansas City Royals at the Rogers Centre on Monday night. That trend will continue in Game 4 if Toronto fans have any say in the matter. 

The Blue Jays will be seeking to even the series against the Royals when the two sides meet on Tuesday afternoon. First pitch is scheduled for 4:07 p.m. ET. 

After scoring only three runs, all of which were tallied in a Game 2, in their two defeats at Kansas City, the Blue Jays enjoyed an offensive explosion against Johnny Cueto and the Royals on Monday. Troy Tulowitzki and Josh Donaldson both hit home runs in what was a six-run inning for the hosts. The Blue Jays had a 9-2 lead by the end of the frame.

What should have been a blowout win for the Blue Jays became interesting in the top of the ninth. Toronto reliever Liam Hendriks gave up three hits and three runs, all earned, before he was replaced by Roberto Osuna. Osuna got the final two outs to secure the victory for the Blue Jays. 

"

The @BlueJays hit their stride in game 3. #ALCS pic.twitter.com/1swPEYNQqR

— FOX Sports Live (@FOXSportsLive) October 20, 2015"

Hours before the New York Mets and Chicago Cubs will begin Game 3 of the NLCS on Tuesday evening, two former Mets will take the hill in Toronto. R.A. Dickey will get the ball for the Blue Jays. The Royals will entrust Chris Young to help guide the club one game closer to a World Series berth. 

Dickey, per Stats LLC (h/t ESPN), would have to be considered the favorite of the two starting pitchers: 

"

Dickey is 3-0 with a 2.73 ERA in his last four starts against the Royals, pitching seven scoreless innings of two-hit ball against them in a 5-2 victory Aug. 2. Ben Zobrist is a .154 hitter against him in 39 at-bats and Alex Rios is at .208 in 24 at-bats as the Kansas City hitters who have faced him the most.

Dickey went 6-0 with a 1.94 ERA in eight home starts since the All-Star break. His postseason debut was an 8-4 Game 4 division series victory at Texas last Monday in which he gave up one run in 4 2/3 innings.

Young hasn't pitched since he struck out seven in four innings of relief Oct. 8 in the Royals' division series opener against Houston. He is 1-1 with a 3.00 ERA in two starts versus Toronto over the last two seasons.

"

Young will be seeking to reward manager Ned Yost's faith in him. According to Brendan Kennedy of the Toronto Star, the lengthy right-hander does have solid numbers against several members of the Toronto lineup. Josh Donaldson, Jose Bautista, Edwin Encarnacion and Troy Tulowitzki have, per Kennedy, picked up only seven hits in 47 career at-bats against Young. 

Kennedy also pointed out why Royals' fans may be chewing on their fingernails whenever Young prepares to throw a pitch against the Blue Jays: "(Young) has given up a distressing—if you’re a Royals’ fan—amount of hard contact this year. Only two American League starting pitchers have given up more hard-hit contact than he has."

It is easy to understand why fans of the Blue Jays would be confident heading into Game 4. The Rogers Centre has been a nightmare for opposing players over the past 18 innings of baseball played there. Ask members of the Texas Rangers, particularly those who were on the field in the seventh inning of Game 5 of the American League Division Series, if you need to be sold on that take. 

The Blue Jays did not just light up the scoreboard against the Royals in Game 3. Toronto made history in the process. 

As ESPN senior writer Jim Caple stated in his Game 4 preview, the Blue Jays are still waiting for one man to break out of a hitting funk: 

"Jose Bautista has been huge for the Jays over the years and had that crucial homer in the division-series finale, but he has only one hit so far in the ALCS. He does have six walks, so perhaps it’s just that the Royals are pitching him very carefully. Time for anther bat flip?"

Unless you have completely ignored baseball over the past week, you can likely envision the Bautista bat flip that went viral without trying all that hard. You may, however, have forgotten that Bautista had at least one hit in every game of the ALDS. Bautista picked up six knocks in that series, and he homered twice. 

"Great players tend to rise in huge situations." That commentary, found on the video of the Bautista blast from Game 5 of the NLDS, has been proven true throughout the postseason. Tulowitzki rose to the occasion for the Blue Jays on Monday. Jacob deGrom and Daniel Murphy have repeatedly done so for the Mets this month. 

The spotlight may again shine on Mr. Bautista on Tuesday. 

The Blue Jays have been the hottest ticket in Toronto during the playoffs. Camera crews found fans at the Oct. 14 Toronto FC-New York Red Bulls MLS match leaping in celebration when the Blue Jays beat the Rangers that evening. The energy at Rogers has been special as of late.

That energy combined with the awakened Toronto bats will even the ALCS on Tuesday.