Blue Jays need bounce-back game to avoid going down 0-2 again

We know the Toronto Blue Jays are more than capapable of reeling off a few wins in a row. It was just last series that we saw the them rally from a 2-0 deficit to take three straight from the Texas Rangers and move onto the ALCS.

But it’s certainly not a habit they want to get into, especially not against these Kansas City Royals who have been here before and are intent on defending their American League crown and returning to the World Series.

And after losing Game 1 to the Royals 5-0 on Friday at Kauffman Stadium, the Blue Jays need a bounce-back in Game 2 to avoid falling in that 2-0 hole once again.

[Check it out: We ranked all 25 possible World Series matchups]

The best offense in baseball couldn’t muster a single run in six innings against an impressive Edinson Volquez and that predictably continued when Kansas City turned the game over to their bullpen. They had just three hits on the night. Sure, they also had five walks, but three of them belonged to base-on-balls-machine Jose Bautista. Now the Blue Jays have done a great job all season of responding after down performances at the plate – the few that they had – but there’s some justified cause for concern.

Cleanup hitter Edwin Encarnacion left the game in the eighth after aggravating an injury to his middle finger on his left hand that makes it difficult for him to grip the bat. The Blue Jays are saying Encarnacion is day-to-day and his availability for Saturday’s game is unclear. If he can play, he clearly won’t be at his best. And while Troy Tulowitzki continues to play, he’s by his own admission not fully recovered from the shoulder injury he suffered in mid-September and won’t be completely healthy until the offseason.

Tulowitzki went 0-for-4 in Game 1, dropping his slash line in six postseason games to .080/.148/.200. Even a lineup as deep and powerful as Toronto’s will feel the affects of not having two of their key cogs at their optimum capabilities.

This is a confident bunch, though. and their track record can’t be questioned. The Blue Jays’ hitters feast on fastballs and Royals starting pitcher Yordano Ventura throws a ton of them. If they can jump on the young right-hander early, it won’t take long before Friday night’s hitting woes are way back in their rearview mirror.

Having David Price take the mound with something to prove following another shoddy playoff outing should give them a boost too. Beyond that, the motivation for Game 2 is obvious enough: heading back to Toronto for three games will feel a heck of a lot better with the series tied 1-1 than with the Royals leading 2-0. Their first objective? Putting their first run of the series on the board.

More MLB coverage from Yahoo Sports: