ALDS Game 3: Blue Jays walk off in extra innings
The Toronto Blue Jays walked off the Texas Rangers in the 10th inning and are onto the ALCS.
After two snoozers, the Texas Rangers and Toronto Blue Jays finally delivered a game full of feverish rallies and late-game fireworks. Game 3 of the ALDS did not disappoint, with a back-and-forth affair ending on a wild walk-off dash home from second base by Josh Donaldson.
With the score tied 6-6, the Rangers stuck with rookie pitcher Matt Bush. Bush was working in uncharted territory, but had struck out four batters in his first two innings of work. Donaldson led off the inning with a double to center field. Edwin Encarnacion was walked intentionally to set up the force play. Then, Bush pumped a 98-mph heater past last year’s hero Jose Bautista.
With one out and the winning run in scoring position, Russell Martin stepped in against the hard-throwing rookie. Bush jumped ahead in the count, but Martin battled to a full count. On the eighth pitch of the at-bat, Martin grounded in the hole to shortstop Elivs Andrus who got the second out at second base. Rougned Odor made the relay throw to first base to attempt the double play, but his throw pulled first baseman Mitch Moreland off the bag and rolled up the line.
Donaldson never stopped running, and scored all the way from second base, easily beating the throw home with a headfirst slide. The series officially came to an end on an E-4. Bush was the hard-luck loser after pitching phenomenally for nearly three innings. Roberto Osuna took the win for Toronto.
For the first time in three games, the Rangers were actually able to jump out to a first-inning lead. After drawing a walk, Carlos Gomez stole second and then advanced on consecutive groundouts by Ian Desmond and Carlos Beltran. The run marked the first time the Rangers drew first blood in the series.
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Not to be outdone, the Blue Jays came roaring back with three runs of their own in the bottom of the first inning. Encarnacion hit a two-run home run. The blast made Encarnacion the first Toronto player to hit three home runs in the first four games of a single postseason. Two batters later, Russell Martin followed with a solo home run of his own.
After a scoreless second, the third inning brought more scoring. Elvis Andrus homered off Aaron Sanchez in the top half to bring the Rangers back within a run, 3-2. In the bottom of the third, however, the Blue Jays appeared to put the game out of reach, battering Texas starter Colby Lewis with two straight hits to start the inning.
Ezequiel Carrera led off with a single and stole second before scoring on a ground-rule double off the bat of Josh Donaldson. Lewis left the game after Donaldson’s double and allowed five runs on five hits with two strikeouts.
As they have done all year, the Rangers refused to roll over after finding themselves down 5-2. In the top of the fourth, Odor drilled a 400-foot home run to dead center to make it 5-4. The score would stay the same until the top of the sixth.
With two outs and the bases loaded, Mitch Moreland drove a Joe Biagini offering to the gap in left-center field. Blue Jays center fielder Kevin Pillar nearly made a game-saving catch, but the ball fell in for a double, making it 6-5 in favor of the Rangers.
The Blue Jays wasted no time knotting the score in the bottom of the sixth. Troy Tulowitzki singled with one out and then moved to third on a double by pinch hitter Melvin Upton. Kevin Pillar was walked intentionally by Jake Diekman, and the Rangers called on Keone Kela with the bases loaded and one out. Kela retired the first batter he faced, but with Carerra batting, he unleashed a 98-mph fastball that went to the backstop, allowing Tulowitzki to score.
The Blue Jays advance to face the winner of the Boston-Cleveland series. The Indians currently hold a 2-0 lead over the Red Sox.
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