KANSAS CITY -- Royals flamethrower Yordano Ventura may have temporarily lost the strike zone in the fifth inning, but he maintained his manager's faith, rewarding Ned Yost's trust by traversing murky territory in a one-run game and working around a pair of leadoff walks to keep his club on top of the Blue Jays in Game 6 of the American League Championship Series.
Clinging to a 2-1 lead in a potential clinching game for the Royals, Ventura issued consecutive free passes to Russell Martin and Kevin Pillar to begin the fifth, prompting Yost to get right-hander Luke Hochevar up in the bullpen with the top of Toronto's order looming.