Troy Tulowitzki’s three-run homer in the sixth gave the Toronto Blue Jays a comfortable five-run lead and their bullpen made it stand. Toronto stayed alive with a 5-1 win over the Texas Rangers Sunday night at Globe Life Park.
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Today at 4:07 p.m. ET on Fox Sports 1, the Blue Jays will try to capitalize on their rousing Game 3 win in Game 4 of the ALDS vs. the Rangers.
Estrada had little margin for error as the Jays offence, despite a slew of chances, only backed him with single runs in the third and fourth inning until Tulowitzki’s first post-season hit as a Jay. The move paid off when he collected a bases-loaded walk in the fourth inning that put Toronto up 2-0.
Rangers starter Martin Perez was on the hook for four runs in total on six hits and three walks with two strikeouts in five innings of work. He’s 7-for-24 against the knuckleballer with two doubles, a home run and four walks.
Righty Chi Chi Gonzalez replaced Perez and walked Encarnacion to load the bases, but got Colabello to ground into Toronto’s fourth double play of the game. Perez’s night was officially over in the sixth inning, and he allowed six hits and four earned runs.
Toronto got to cut the lead in half after Ben Revere scored after Edwin Encarnacion singled on an infield base hit. If Dickey pitches well, Price could still be used in a high-leverage situation against lefties like Shin-Soo Choo, Prince Fielder and Josh Hamilton, given the injury to Brett Cecil earlier in the series.
“Every game in the playoffs you want to have that feeling of a must win, just for the simple fact that you want to really get after it and don’t get flat”, said Josh Hamilton, who snapped an 0-for-31 postseason slump with a fifth-inning single.
At this stage the Blue Jays seem willing to do anything, with starter Marco Estrada tasked with getting them through Game 3.
Texas manager Jeff Bannister said that nobody should be surprised that the Blue Jays did not simply throw in the towel after losing the first two games of the series last week in Toronto.
The Rangers may be up 2-0 in their best-of-five series, but they are not taking anything for granted.
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Odor scored after a sacrifice fly by Hanser Alberto, but the Blue Jays scored twice in the same inning to tie the game at 3-3. A winner-take-all contest would be played Wednesday In Toronto, where Texas won the first two games. But the Jays managed just two runs, with double plays in all three innings limiting the threats. Chi Chi Gonzalez tried to sneak a 3-2 change-up past him, but he sat back on him and turned on it into the left field seats. If the Jays are going to crack this game open offensively, their MVP candidate will be right in the middle of it. R.A. Dickey and Derek Holland are expected to start for the Blue Jays and Rangers respectively. He hit 100 miles per hour three times in Game 2. I’ve said this before, it’s a different group in there. This was just the third post season 3 run homer in Blue Jays History.
