Kansas City Even the Series

The best-of-five ALDS is even at one game apiece. The Royals beat the Astros in Game 2 on Friday afternoon at Kauffman Stadium (KC 5, HOU 4). They rallied from behind in the middle innings to even the series up. Here are six things to know about Game 2.
1. Cueto was not great, but good enough.
There's no doubt Johnny Cueto's brief stint with the Royals during the regular season was disappointing. He went 4-7 with a 4.76 ERA (87 ERA+) in 13 starts after coming over at the trade deadline -- that includes a 2-7 record with a 6.49 ERA in his final nine starts -- and the Royals decided Yordano Ventura was a better option to start Game 1 of the ALDS.
Cueto got the Game 2 start Friday and was ... okay. I guess that's the best way to put it. He allowed one run in the first, two in the second -- to be fair, the second-inning rally included some soft base hits -- and another in the third to put the Royals in a quick 4-1 hole. Cueto did, however, retire 12 of the final 14 batters he faced, throwing scoreless fourth, fifth and sixth innings in the process.
That was good enough to keep the Royals in the game, and after the sluggish start, that's what the Royals wanted out of Cueto. Stop the bleeding, keep the Astros from tacking on runs, and give the offense a chance to rally. Make no mistake, the Royals traded for Cueto seeking dominance, and he's yet to give them that. His Game 2 start was just good enough to get the team a win though.
2. The Royals stepped out of their comfort zone to tie the game.
The Royals are a contact and speed team at heart. They excel offensively by putting the ball in play -- their team 15.9-percent strikeout rate was by far the lowest in baseball -- so, naturally, they tied the game using a combination of home runs and walks.