The Toronto Blue Jays took a 4-3 victory over the Royals in their regular-season meeting on Friday. It was a close contest that came down to the final moments, with the visitors holding on despite the home crowd's support. And here's the thing — the Royals had looked strong enough to earn something from this one.
The two sides had already faced each other earlier on the same day, when Toronto ran out 9-2 winners. By then the pattern was clearer: the Blue Jays were finding their rhythm while the Royals were struggling to contain them. To be fair, the hosts had shown flashes of quality in their recent games.
The Royals' recent form has been patchy. They beat the Marlins 7-3 on Wednesday but lost two games against the same opponents and also fell to Cleveland and Cleveland again in their last five outings. The Blue Jays, meanwhile, have been winning more often than losing — three victories in their last five games, including that heavy earlier win on Friday.
Our forecast tipped a home win with 51 per cent confidence. We fancy the Royals at their own ground, but sometimes the table goes out of the window in these games. The visitors were on a good run and they showed it when it mattered.
The result leaves the Blue Jays with momentum going into the weekend. The Royals will need to regroup quickly if they want to turn things around. And here's the thing — one game doesn't define a season, but neither does it help when you're already searching for consistency.