The Kansas City Royals defeated the Toronto Blue Jays, 5-0, in Game 1 of the American League Championship Series behind an outstanding pitching performance. 

The Royals rode the momentum from their American League Division Series win against the Houston Astros. In that series, the Royals were down two games to one, but came back and stole the next two games to win the series in Game 5. 

In the third inning, Alcides Escobar drove in Alex Gordon with a double to right field, making it a 1-0 game in favor of Kansas City. Just one batter later, Lorenzo Cain picked up an RBI single, which gave the home side a 2-0 lead. 

Escobar finished the ALDS with a .286 batting average while Cain owned a .450 slugging percentage, which was third on the team for the five game series against Houston. 

Another big time player on Friday night was the Royals starting pitcher, Edinson Volquez. The right-hander was dealing against Toronto as he pitched six innings of shutout ball. His only blemishes were two hits and four walks. 

Volquez worked deep into the counts and took his time crafting each and every pitch. He was taken out earlier than expected due to his 111 pitch count, which rose because of 23 foul balls. 

The big hit came from catcher Salvador Perez. The 25-year-old launched a solo home run to left center to make it a 3-0 lead for the Royals in the fourth inning. Perez hit 21 home runs during the regular season and continues to be a "go-to guy" at the plate. 

The Royals chased starting pitcher Marco Estrada in the sixth inning. The Blue Jays pitcher finished with 5.1 innings pitched and three runs on six hits. The home run to Perez put a damper on his night. 

The bullpen was dominant for the final two outs of the sixth and the seventh inning. The eighth inning, however, was a different story. 

Blue Jays skipper John Gibbons went with veteran LaTroy Hawkins to try and keep it a three run deficit. The 42-year-old gave up an RBI double to Eric Hosmer, which was followed by a sacrifice fly off the bat of Kendrys Morales. The two runs gave the Royals a 5-0 lead heading into the ninth inning. 

Kelvin Herrera and Ryan Madson pitched a clean sheet for the seventh and eighth innings. Ned Yost called Luke Hochevar for the ninth against Toronto. The 31-year-old who finished just 16 games this regular season, threw a perfect ninth inning to shut the door and take Game 1 of the ALCS. 

On a side note, Toronto's designated hitter Edwin Encarnacion left the game with a finger injury in the eighth inning. The X-rays came back negative with just a ligament sprain in his left middle finger. The slugger will be day-to-day going forward. 

For Game 2, the Royals will send out Yordano Ventura, who will be opposed by left-hander David Price, who was acquired from the Detroit Tigers over the trade deadline this season.