TORONTO (AP) — Whether it’s a long ball by Ben Zobrist, a slashing single from Lorenzo Cain or another exhilarating trip around the bases for Alcides Escobar, these Kansas City Royals are relentless — and one win from a return trip to the World Series.

Zobrist hit a two-run homer on knuckleballer R.A. Dickey’s fourth pitch of the game, Alex Rios connected an inning later and the Royals romped past the Toronto Blue Jays 14-2 on Tuesday for a 3-1 lead in the American League Championship Series.

“We’re very confident,” Rios said. “We have a very well-balanced team from top to bottom.”

Cain scored on a passed ball and Mike Moustakas had a sacrifice fly in an LCS-record four-run top of the first. The 12-run gap represents the largest margin of victory by a road team in AL postseason history and fourth-largest margin in overall playoff history, according to ESPN Stats & Information.

Escobar had four RBIs and Cain drove in three runs as the Royals bounced back from an 11-8 loss Monday. Kansas City led 5-2 in the seventh before breaking away.

Blue Jays infielder Cliff Pennington relieved in the ninth inning, becoming the first primarily position player to pitch in the postseason, STATS said. Greeted by cheers, he allowed two hits and got one out.

“The circumstances aren’t what you want,” Pennington said of his first pitching appearance.

Kansas City can win the pennant Wednesday, when Edinson Volquez starts against Toronto’s Marco Estrada in a Game 1 rematch.

“It’s a do-or-die game for us,” Toronto manager John Gibbons said. “But they do it all year. I think these guys will let this one go and they’ll show up to play tomorrow. … I know these guys will be ready.”

After flashing power to build a 5-0 lead on the long ball, the Royals returned to their pesky ways late in the game against the Blue Jays’ struggling bullpen. They scored nine runs with three more sacrifice flies, a barrage of slashing hits and heads-up baserunning.

“We’re a good offensive team,” first baseman Eric Hosmer said. “Our park, our style of play is a little different. We like to use our legs and be athletic, but when we come to some of these parks where the fences aren’t as deep, we’ve got some guys that can put the ball in the seats.”

Blue Jays fans had seen enough after Cain’s two-run single in the eighth, turning their ever-optimistic cheers to jeers when Mark Lowe replaced Ryan Tepera.

Chris Young, 36, bested Dickey, 40, in a bookish matchup of veteran starters — only the pairing of the Yankees’ Randy Johnson and Detroit’s Kenny Rogers in the 2006 AL Division Series tops the duo for combined age.

But just like his counterpart’s effort in Game 4 of the division series against Texas, the 6-foot-10 Young was lifted one out shy of qualifying for a victory when Ned Yost went to his bullpen with a runner on first with two outs in the fifth. Yost wasn’t willing to take any chances against Josh Donaldson, who already had an RBI double.

“It’s not about personal stuff,” Young said. “It’s just feels great to contribute to such a great team win.”

Dickey never had a chance to get that first playoff victory in a 13-year big league career.

Escobar got a hit leading off for the fourth straight game, starting this one with a bunt down the third-base line. Zobrist connected for his first homer of the ALCS.

Rios homered against his former team in the second for a 5-0 lead. Booed all series by his old fans, he didn’t get any extra satisfaction out of the hit.

“It’s just another team we have to go out and beat,” Rios said.

After Dickey hit Escobar with a pitch — a call that needed replay review to get it right — he walked Cain one out later and was done after 1⅔ innings.

Young used that steep arm angle to outwit the powerful Jays, who were 53-28 at home in the regular season but just 11-14 with the roof closed — which it was Tuesday.

He held them hitless until Ryan Goins’ one-out single in the third. Donaldson drove him home with a ground-rule double down the left-field line on an 83 mph slider. Jose Bautista added an RBI grounder to close the gap to 5-2 and get those white towels twirling at Rogers Centre.

But Luke Hochevar, Ryan Madson, Kelvin Herrera and Franklin Morales shut down the Blue Jays the rest of the way.

Kansas City’s four-spot in the seventh made it 9-2. Escobar and Hosmer had sacrifice flies to deep center, Cain singled to extend his postseason hitting streak to 13 games and Alex Gordon scored on Tepera’s wild pitch.

Cain hit a two-run single in the eighth, and Escobar drove in two off Pennington in the ninth.

“We feel good. We like the way we’re playing right now,” Yost said. “Our offense has been really, really good.”

EMERGENCY

Blue Jays reliever Aaron Loup got a call after the game began and had to leave the team for personal reasons, Gibbons said. The Blue Jays’ manager didn’t know whether he would be allowed to replace the pitcher on the roster.

UP NEXT

Volquez pitched two-hit ball for six innings in a 5-0 win in the opener and recalled telling catcher Salvador Perez, “I feel sexy throwing down and away.” Estrada gave up three runs and six hits in 5⅓ innings.

— Associated Press —

TORONTO (AP) — Josh Donaldson and the slugging Toronto Blue Jays were eager to return to their homer dome after dropping the first two games of the AL Championship Series in Kansas City.

They showed everyone why.

The Blue Jays came out swinging and their rowdy fans were singing from the start, with Donaldson and Troy Tulowitzki connecting in a six-run third inning as Toronto roughed up Johnny Cueto and the Royals for an 11-8 victory that cut Kansas City’s series lead to 2-1.

Ryan Goins also homered and had a two-run single a game after his misplayed pop fly set off Kansas City’s winning rally Sunday.

The resilient Royals tried to come back this time, too, scoring four runs in the ninth before Roberto Osuna closed it out.

Veteran knuckleballer R.A. Dickey will try to get the Blue Jays even in the best-of-seven series Tuesday afternoon. He faces Kansas City’s 6-foot-10 right-hander Chris Young in Game 4.

Despite being outhit 15-11 by the pesky Royals, Toronto pounced on Kansas City’s pitching in the first ALCS game in Toronto since 1993 for their most runs ever at home in the postseason — after scoring just three in two games in Kansas City.

The Blue Jays needed them, too. Kansas City scored four times off starter Marcus Stroman and then added four in the ninth, capped by Kendrys Morales’ two-run homer off Osuna.

Seemingly not distracted by the contentious federal elections that were being held in Canada on Monday, 49,751 fans serenaded Cueto with a sing-song “Cueto-Cueto!” chant from the game’s first pitch and never quieted down.

The Royals took a quick lead when Alcides Escobar led off the game with a sinking liner that went under right fielder Jose Bautista’s glove for a triple off Stroman. Ben Zobrist drove in Escobar with a grounder, but that was the only advantage Kanas City would hold in having its nine-game ALCS winning streak snapped. The string dated to the 1985 series against Toronto.

Blue Jays center fielder Kevin Pillar quashed that rally with a fantastic, over-the-shoulder catch that sent him crashing into the wall.

After an easy first, Cueto appeared flustered by the crowd. Eleven of his remaining 13 batters reached and at one point in the third inning he threw his hands up in frustration after gesturing for a new cycle of signs from catcher Salvador Perez.

Goins singled in two runs in the second after Tulowitzki singled with one out and Russell Martin was hit by a pitch that knocked off his left elbow guard. Goins pulled into second on the throw home and shouted and pumped his arms.

David Price, the losing pitcher in Game 2, led the cheering from the top step of the dugout.

When Goins scored on Donaldson’s hit, he was greeted first by the enthusiastic Stroman.

Entering in a 4-for-29 postseason slump, Tulowitzki connected for the Blue Jays’ first ALCS homer after Edwin Encarnacion singled and Chris Colabello walked to start the third.

Tulowitzki got a rare playoff ejection for arguing balls and strikes before the top of the eighth. He struck out looking in the seventh.

Cueto was coming off a dominant eight-inning performance in Game 5 of the ALDS, retiring his last 19 batters. But after giving up Pillar’s RBI double in the third, he was done.

The dreadlocked Dominican gave up six hits and eight runs in two-plus innings. He walked four and hit a batter with a pitch. As fans sang Cueto off the field, he smiled and tossed his gum near the Royals dugout.

Donaldson connected two batters after Kris Medlen entered for a 9-2 lead, and Goins homered off Medlen in the fifth as Toronto matched its postseason best with three homers in a game. The Blue Jays also hit three against Texas in Game 4 of the ALDS.

Stroman gave up two runs in the fifth on a wild pitch and an RBI single in an uncharacteristic performance for the 24-year-old who returned from a torn knee ligament in March to go 4-0 down the stretch and get the win in Game 5 of the ALDS. He allowed four runs and 11 hits.

But many Blue Jays fans were confident enough with a 10-4 lead to sing “Happy Birthday” to Bautista when he came to bat in the sixth. Bautista drove in a run in the eighth.

UP NEXT

The bookish Young, a Princeton grad, and Dickey, who has talked about his desire to be a teacher, were twice teammates, with Texas (2003-04) and the Mets (2011-12). Young hasn’t started since Oct. 2, but pitched in relief in Game 1 of the Division Series. Dickey was lifted with two outs in the fifth against Texas in the Division Series with Toronto leading by six runs.

— Associated Press —