“I’ve said all year, once I’ve gotten to know these guys, there’s something different about this group”, Gibbons said.
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The Cubs bashed their way to the brink of the National League Championship Series – and into the record book – as the Cubs set a postseason mark with six home runs in beating the St. Louis Cardinals 8-6 for a 2-1 lead.
“You see the dads wearing Expos hats, and the kids wearing Blue Jays hats”, Alex Betz, a Jays supporter who moved to Montreal from Toronto two months ago. With a cushion like that, even in the playoffs, you can afford to give a starter you trust a little rope. “We either win and stay or you go home”.
Pillar upped the lead with a 412-foot solo shot in the second inning that was caught by Price in the Jays bullpen in left-centre.
Game 5 will be in Kansas City on Wednesday night.
Toronto Blue Jays starting pitcher Marcus Stroman smiles during a…
The Toronto Blue Jays did what they do best in game two of the ALDS and that’s hit the ball and light up the scoreboard.
Stroman tore the ACL in his left knee in spring training, but returned late in the regular season and made his playoff debut while taking a no-decision in Game 2 of this series.
In preparing for Game 5, Royals management have charted contingency plans for an emergency in every inning. Shin-soo Choo (.274, 97 Rs, 22 HRs, 83 RBIs, 4 SBs) has been successful at the plate for the Rangers, going 3 for 4 Monday with two runs.
“I wouldn’t necessarily count on it”, Gibbons said. “We’ve been good at home all year…” At that point, there’s nobody out in the bottom of the seventh and Price has thrown 14 pitches.
“That’s great. If you could script it, obviously, that’s what you’d want”, said Donaldson, who has reached safely in five of his last nine appearances, including two homers in the series. Analysis can only go so far, the win will go to whichever team executes their game plan and comes up clutch with runners on base.
“We did it in 2010, so why not 2015?”
“We factored it in when we were looking to acquire starters”, Anthopoulos said, “but you had no assurances and no guarantees”. “That’s a comforting feeling that we’ve got a guy on the mound that’s going to go for us that has been here, has done it, and is quite capable of continuing to do it”.
Texas was able to redeem itself with a 5-1 win in Tampa Bay in Game 5 before their season ended in the World Series. Plus, R.A. Dickey had been a horse in the second half, averaging more than six and a half innings per start with an ERA of 3.04.
In Friday’s game two start, Stroman tossed seven strong innings, allowing three earned runs and striking out five. His only other postseason victory was also in relief.
“Look, he’s a tough opponent”, Rangers manager Jeff Banister said Tuesday as his team worked out in Texas before flying to Toronto. “I’ll let you know when I wake up tomorrow”.
Ultimately, though, Texas is wisely leaning on Hamels’ sterling October resume and the fact that the team has won his last 11 starts dating back to August. 17.
Left-hander Cole Hamels gets the start for Texas on Wednesday and is the opposite of Stroman in terms of experience.
“Has there ever been a game where one Cy Young (winner) has handed the ball to another one?”
The Cubs get to recover after a raucous night that included the franchise’s first postseason series clinch at historic Wrigley Field.
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“From my standpoint his job was to win the game”, Anthopoulos said.
