It will be up to the Three Dominicans to get the ball rolling for the Kansas City Royals in the American League Championship Series.
Manager Ned Yost announced Thursday that Edinson Volquez will start Game 1 of the series in Kansas City, Yordano Ventura will start the second game and Johnny Cueto will be on the mound when the ALCS heads to Toronto for Game 3.
Dubbed the "Three Dominicans" by FOX Sports Kansas City reporter Joel Goldberg, all three pitchers hail from the Dominican Republic.
The Royals reached the ALCS thanks to some timely hitting in their three AL Division Series wins and a monster Game 5 start from Cueto, who allowed two runs over eight innings and retired the last 19 batters he faced -- a feat not matched by an AL pitcher since the Yankees' Don Larsen threw a perfect game in the 1956 World Series.
Volquez was the losing pitcher in Game 3 of the ALDS, though he had eight strikeouts in 5 2/3 fairly solid innings (three runs). He will be pitching on the typical four days' rest.
Ventura had a rain-interrupted, two-inning start in the ALDS opener, then got a no-decision in the pivotal Game 4 win in which the Royals overcame a four-run deficit in the eighth inning.
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