Jose Bautista is a one-man show. His monster solo home run off of Yordano Ventura in the fourth inning served as the Jays’ only offense through the first seven innings. Then, in the eighth as the Jays were staring down the barrel of a 3-1 deficit, Bautista smoked a two-run home run to tie the game up at three apiece off of Ryan Madson.
The lead-erasing home run is a rare sight when hit against a Royals reliever. The Royals were 73-6 when leading after seven innings during the regular season. Manager Ned Yost will draw some criticism for not giving the ball to lights-out closer Wade Davis in the eighth inning. Davis finally did enter with a runner on first base and one out following Madson’s exit. He got Chris Colabello to pop out, then worked around a wild pitch when Troy Tulowitzki fanned at a 3-2 fastball.
Bautista now has four home runs and 11 RBI in 49 plate appearances this post-season. The Jays still need to score at least one more run if they want to keep their World Series hopes alive.