The Royals struck first in the American League Championship Series, shutting out the Blue Jays 5-0 in Game 1 on Friday and handing the Jays just their second goose egg since July's trade deadline.
Edinson Volquez hurled six shutout innings, allowing just two hits while striking out five as he became the fourth Royals pitcher ever with a scoreless start of six or more innings in the postseason (Yordano Ventura, Bret Saberhagen, Danny Jackson).
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Kelvin Herrera, Ryan Madson and Luke Hochevar finished the three-hit shutout for Kansas City as manager Ned Yost preserved closer Wade Davis for Saturday's Game 2.
Here are our five takeaways from Game 1:
1. Volquez picked right up where Johnny Cueto left off. Entering with a 8.76 postseason ERA, Volquez conquered his postseason demons much like Cueto did Wednesday when he captured his first playoff win in a dominant performance in Game 5 of the ALDS against the Astros. Volquez did allow four walks, including two to start the sixth, but struck out Edwin Encarnacion before getting Chris Colabello to line out and Troy Tulowitzki to strike out.
2. Losing Encarnacion to a finger injury would be devastating. The Blue Jays slugger exited Game 1 with a ligament strain in the middle finger on his left hand. An injured bottom hand on Encarnacion's power bat could be a big blow to the Jays' offense that finished the regular season first in homers, RBIs, walks and OPS. He is considered day to day.
3. Salvador Perez is one tough dude. A week removed from a possible concussion in the ALDS and a serious bout with a stomach infection that caused vomiting and diarrhea, Perez remained behind the plate and even joined in on the Royals' scoring with a solo homer in the fourth. But the All-Star backstop was banged up again when his hand was clipped on a Josh Donaldson backswing. Despite the pain, Perez stayed in the game.
4. Lorenzo Cain may be en route to another ALCS MVP. He may have to battle with Alcides Escobar, who went 2 for 3 with two doubles, for the award. Cain extended his postseason hitting streak to 10 games with his RBI single in the third and is batting .357 against the Jays in 2015.
5. Tensions remained calm ... for now. In their final meeting of the season Aug. 2, the benches cleared after three batters were plunked at Rogers Centre. After the game, Volquez called Donaldson "a little baby" for complaining about being pitched inside. Royals manager Ned Yost said Thursday that his club will continue to pitch inside aggressively, but seeing how the Blue Jays emptied the benches multiple times in the ALDS with the Rangers, it may only be a matter of time.
What's next: Game 2 on Saturday at 4 p.m. ET on Fox Sports 1. Royals Opening Day starter Yordano Ventura (13-8, 4.08 ERA in regular season) will take the hill against Cy Young Award candidate David Price (9-1, 2.30 ERA with Toronto in regular season). Price is after his first postseason win after going 0-6 with a 5.23 ERA in his previous career postseason starts.