KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- After a scare they never expected, the Kansas City Royals got the victory and the return to the World Series they had anticipated.

An eighth-inning RBI from Eric Hosmer was the difference in a 4-3 victory for the Royals, who eliminated the Toronto Blue Jays from the American League Championship Series 4-2.

A stingy Royals bullpen gave up a late lead when the Blue Jays' Jose Bautista hit a two-run home run in the eighth inning off reliever Ryan Madson. With the score tied 3-3, the game then went into a 45-minute rain delay.

The Royals were only five outs from the victory when Bautista took Madson deep. It was just the third time since the start of last season the Royals' bullpen had blown a save with a lead of two runs or more from the eighth inning on.

The Royals grabed the lead again on Hosmer's RBI single in the eighth inning when Lorenzo Cain scored all the way from first base.

The bullpen redeemed itself in the ninth inning, but barely. The Royals had the tying run on third base with nobody out, but Wade Davis got two strikeouts and a ground ball to end the game.

Thumbs up: Not only did Davis perform a great escape in the ninth inning to seal the victory, it was the most unusual of outings. He first came on in the eighth to retire the Blue Jays, but the game went into a 45-minute rain delay. When play resumed, not only did Hosmer get his RBI, Davis returned after not pitching for over an hour.

Thumbs down: The Royals' bullpen has been so good and Madson has been a major part of that success. The postseason, however, hasn't been kind to the right-hander. Madson has now given up five runs in 5⅓ innings of these playoffs.

Up next: With four days before the start of the World Series, the Royals have their choice of going with Edinson Volquez or Johnny Cueto in Game 1 of the World Series. The decision won't be a simple one. Cueto is 3-4 with a 4.02 ERA in 11 career starts (65 innings) against the Mets. Volquez is 2-5 with a 5.70 ERA in nine starts (42 2/3 innings).