The latest on the League Championship Series. The Royals and Blue Jays are set for Game 4 of the ALCS in Toronto, first pitch is 4:07 p.m. The Mets and Cubs play Game 3 of the NLCS in Chicago with a scheduled start of 8:07 p.m. Here’s a look at what’s happening (all times EDT):
5:00 p.m.
That’s all for knuckleballer R.A. Dickey. He was lifted with two outs in the second inning, having allowed five runs and four hits to the Royals in Game 4 of the ALCS. Dickey’s brief outing comes a day after Royals starter Johnny Cueto failed to get an out in the third inning.
Dickey fell one out shy of a victory in ALDS Game 4 at Texas. He was taken out by manager John Gibbons with a six run lead in the fifth inning. He didn’t get close this time.
Alcides Escobar led off with an infield hit and Ben Zobrist followed with a homer on the game’s fourth pitch. Lorenzo Cain walked and scored on a passed ball. Eric Hosmer singled and scored on a sacrifice fly. Alex Rios led off the second with another home run to make it 5-0.
4:30 p.m.
Toronto lost one of its two replay challenges when Royals outfielder Lorenzo Cain was called safe at home plate on a passed ball by catcher Russell Martin in the first inning of Game 4.
Kansas City jumped to a 4-0 lead on Blue Jays knuckleballer R.A. Dickey. Alcides Escobar singled and Ben Zobrist homered on Dickey’s fourth pitch. Cain walked, stole second, went to third on Eric Hosmer’s single and slid home just ahead of Dickey’s tag on a Martin’s passed ball.
Blue Jays manager John Gibbons asked for a review, but replays confirmed that Cain’s left foot touched the plate just before a sliding Dickey tagged him on the upper thigh.
Mike Moustakas hit a sacrifice fly, giving Kansas City a four-run edge before right-hander Chris Young’s first pitch.
4:06 p.m.
“Game of Thrones” fan R.A. Dickey threw his warm up pitches to the popular HBO fantasy show’s theme music. The Blue Jays starter has said he would love to be an extra on the show.
3:51 p.m.
It’s 59 degrees Fahrenheit and cloudy in Toronto but the roof is closed again. It was closed Monday night for Game 3 of the ALCS, too, even though it was 57 degrees at first pitch β that’s 12 degrees warmer than it was for Game 2 at Citi Field in New York for the Mets-Cubs NLCS game on Sunday.
“I was in New York on Saturday night and 12 degrees was not enough,” Commissioner Rob Manfred said Tuesday.
Major League baseball determines if the roof will be open or closed for postseason games, and Manfred was at Rogers Centre for Game 4. He said it was raining earlier on his way to the ballpark.
“Why would you take a chance with a game this important. Now, whether it actually rains enough to interfere with play who knows but, again, when you have a roof why would you take a chance with it,” he said. “My general thinking on things like this is things like this is that the individual clubs locally know best what should happen in their stadium.”
The Blue Jays were 38-14 with it open and 11-14 closed, and 4-0 with a combination of the two.
It was a balmy 68 degrees at first pitch today.
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12:45 p.m.
Blue Jays manager John Gibbons said closer Roberto Osuna and setup man Aaron Sanchez are both ready to pitch despite nagging finger injuries. Osuna has a cracked fingernail and Sanchez a blister.
Both right-handers got two outs as Toronto beat the Royals 11-8 Monday night, cutting Kansas City’s series lead to 2-1 in the best-of-seven set. Osuna allowed a two-run homer to Kendrys Morales in the ninth.
Gibbons said he would not hesitate to use Osuna and Sanchez three days in a row before the next ALCS off day.
Left-hander Brett Cecil, who tore his left calf in Game 2 of the Division Series, is to throw off the mound Tuesday for the second time and hopes to return for the World Series if Toronto advances.
Outfielder Ben Revere, who jarred his back running the bases Monday, is back in the lineup as the leadoff hitter for Game 4.
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12:39 p.m.
About 3 1-2 hours before Game 4 at Rogers Centre, Kansas City catchers Salvador Perez and Drew Butera did drills at home plate while the grounds crew watched. In the outfield, Blue Jays left fielder Ezequiel Carrera showed off his juggling skills with a soccer ball. He was joined relievers Roberto Osuna and Ryan Tepera.
