Hanser Alberto singled in the go-ahead run in the 14th inning and the Texas Rangers went on to defeat the Toronto Blue Jays 6-4 on Friday to take a 2-0 lead in the American League Division Series.
Advertisement
It wasn’t supposed to be this way.
BRIEFLY: Josh Hamilton went 0-for-6 and is hitless for his last 30 at-bats in post-season play.
The Rangers are back in the postseason as the AL West Champs.
Estrada was particularly strong in 15 starts after the All-Star break.
Blue Jays star Josh Donaldson in his hot-selling Roots Blue Jays Jacket made at the Roots factory in Toronto. They’ve got to check and see something happened.
The offense in this game got going right off of the bat for both teams. I didn’t get a chance to look at the replay. They can keep coming.
It came down to a battle of the bullpens. The previous play had ended in controversy after Odor appeared to be tagged out sliding into second base after advancing on a single by Chris Gimenez.
Odor, who had beaten out an infield hit, had headed to second on a base hit to right by Chris Gimenez and rounded a couple of steps beyond the bag.
“He had to go figure out what he was good at again“, Rangers manager Jeff Banister said.
The toughest part to stomach is that even a steady Marcus Stroman start wasn’t enough to get it don for the Blue Jays. They could win the first two or lose the first two.
Kela (1-0) was credited with the win in a game that took 4:57 to complete. I DO cheer for the Jays, especially when they’re in the playoffs.
Here’s all the game info you need, along with listings for the TV broadcast and live stream services. Good pitching, great fielding, managerial moves and tactical hitting.
The bench emptied with one out in the 13th after Donaldson hit a blast just foul to left-field with one out. Nothing came of the incident, however.
“I think about it as great for baseball”, said Manfred. He didn’t back down, I didn’t back down. Revere stole second and, with two out, designated hitter Edwin Encarnacion was intentionally walked before Tulowitzki bounced out to second to end the inning.
The Rangers scored twice in the first.
The bullpen also has done a fantastic job.
Blue Jays catcher Russell Martin saw Carapazza’s strike zone both as a hitter and from behind the plate and thought it was inconsistent.
“He felt fine today so he should be in good shape”, said Gibbons. But Cecil could not hold down the fort. Delino DeShields led off the first inning with a line drive to right field. Cecil was injured in a rundown with Napoli for the final out of the inning and limped off the field with the help of trainers. Gloom envelops the Rogers Centre.
Cole Hamels, the veteran Texas lefty, was Stroman’s equal.
And not only that, you botch the first ball hit to you, a routine grounder that you turn into an error that leads to two runs and costs your team the lead. Running to second, Odor noticed that the whole left side of the infield had converged on the chopper, and so he raced his way to third before the Jays could recover. He said he pulled it off in spring training when he was with the Minnesota Twins in 2012.
Kela got the win with a scoreless inning Friday, but he didn’t show quite the composure of fellow rookie Alberto. Stroman also went seven, giving up four runs (three earned) on five hits, walking two and striking out five.
Stroman retired 14 straight before walking Mitch Moreland with two out in the sixth. He followed that with a Elvis Andrus strikeout, pounding his chest as he left the mound.
Troy Tulowitzki came into the American League Divisional Series nursing a crack in his scapula after a scary collision a few weeks back with center fielder Kevin Pillar.
Advertisement
Colabello, playing first base like Dominik Hasek, was a one-man wrecking crew for Toronto.
