The crowd should be in a frenzy from the first pitch as the Texas Rangers have a chance to sweep Toronto tonight and advance to the ALCS.
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Dickey was with the Rangers for five seasons – the most among the five teams he has pitched for.
Which is why manager John Gibbons spoke of using his ace, David Price, in relief behind Dickey in Game 4 if the series continued, and even for a batter or two in Game 3, if Price might be the last-ditch option to rebuff a Texas rally and stave off elimination for the Jays.
But the atmosphere surrounding this series has now changed once again, and unless the Rangers can find a way to silence this powerhouse offense of the Blue Jays then they could see this one going all the way to a Game 5 and with all momentum back with Toronto. Game 4 goes Monday at Globe Life Park in Arlington. The previous mark was two, which happened five times. But after falling in Games 1 and 2, people started losing faith in the Jays.
“Tulo needed that, he really did”, said Gibbons.
Said Rangers manager Jeff Banister, “We knew it was going to be a tough series”. Beltre, injured when sliding into second base as Prince Fielder hit into an inning-ending double play in the first, had difficulty running and was replaced by rookie Hanser Alberto in the bottom of third. On Sunday, he struck out four and walked none in 6 1/3 innings. He got his first big league win with the Rangers in 2003 and became a knuckleball pitcher two years later.
Four Texas relievers combined to throw 2 2/3 scoreless innings. But he answered the fans in the bottom of the inning with a fine running foul catch at the seats.
Tulowitzki, who was picked up by the Jays in late July, managed to put of 4 RBI’s last night, including a big 3 run homer in the sixth. Pillar led off with a bloop double, went to third on a sacrifice by Ryan Goins and scored when Ben Revere grounded a single through the drawn-in infield. But the right-hander retired Delino DeShields to end the third inning and didn’t allow a baserunner to get past second until Elvis Andrus and Josh Hamilton knocked him out of the game with a pair of one-out singles in the seventh. Chi Chi Gonzalez came on to face Edwin Encarnacion, who fell behind 0-and-2 before drawing a 10-pitch walk to load the bases. Martin Perez will start for Texas against Marco Estrada. It marked the Jays’ third all-time three-run homer in the playoffs, joining Candy Maldonado in the 1992 AL Championship Series and Joe Carter’s winning blast in the 1993 World Series.
In fact, his record after the all-star break this year virtually mirrored his Cy Young season over the same stretch.
Sunday marked the 32-year-old’s first playoff start after four relief appearances for Milwaukee in 2011. “He was ready to go in the game the second time”. Toronto came to Texas down two games to none in the American League Division Series.
The N.L. division series have the day off Sunday, so here’s a guide to follow along with the A.L. series.
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Although the Blue Jays did squander three great scoring opportunities in the fourth and fifth inning, there was a lot to like about the Jays in this game.
