Jays send Estrada to the mound against Royals for Game 1 of ALCS

KANSAS CITY, Mo. – Marco Estrada will start Game 1 when the Toronto Blue Jays open their American League Championship Series in Kansas City on Friday.

Left-handed ace David Price will start Game 2, followed by young righty Marcus Stroman and veteran knuckleballer R.A. Dickey.

Blue Jays manager John Gibbons said Thursday that the rotation will allow all the starters to get their required rest before they throw.

Estrada was solid in Toronto’s win in Game 3 of their AL Division Series against Texas. He gave up five hits and one earned run over 6 1/3 innings with four strikeouts and no walks as the Jays beat the Rangers 5-1 to start their comeback from 2-0 down in the series.

Dickey started Game 4 and staked the Jays to a 7-1 lead before being pulled by Price with two outs and one man on in the fifth inning.

That meant the 40-year-old was denied a win in his first post-season start. Price ended up throwing 50 pitches in relief, making him unavailable for Wednesday’s deciding game.

“Probably not a relationship-building move,” manager John Gibbons said of his pitching strategy at the time. “But a team win, that’s what I was looking for.”

Gibbons’ strategy paid off when Stroman kept the Rangers at bay through six innings in the deciding game. Aaron Sanchez came on to get the win and Roberto Osuna picked up the save in Toronto’s 6-3 win that sent them to the ALCS.