The Toronto Blue Jays stood up to the challenge for the second straight game. With their season on the line Monday against the Texas Rangers in Arlington, the Jays pulled out an 8-4 victory.
Toronto set the tone with a three-run top of the first inning and didn't let the Rangers back into Game 4. The American League Division Series is now tied, 2-2.
AL MVP candidate Josh Donaldson followed leadoff hitter Ben Revere's base knock with a two-run homer off Texas pitcher Derek Holland to put the Blue Jays up 2-0. Donaldson displayed his power by muscling the offering over the right field fence at Globe Life Park:
TSN's Kevin Gibson noted how successful Toronto has been when Donaldson socks a dinger:
Holland managed to retire Jose Bautista and Edwin Encarnacion after Donaldson lit up the scoreboard, only to allow Toronto first baseman Chris Colabello to go yard and make the score 3-0.
The long-ball trend continued in the second when Kevin Pillar boomed a 416-foot solo shot to left center field. It provided some foreshadowing as Toronto ace David Price caught Pillar's homer before later entering the game in relief:
Encarnacion made it 5-0 with a fielder's choice in the third, and then Colabello plated Encarnacion with an RBI double before Pillar drove Colabello home with a soft single to right.
R.A. Dickey yielded two hits to the Rangers in the bottom of the first but escaped without conceding a run. The veteran knuckleballer gave up only one run on five hits in 4.2 innings before giving way to Price.
Ben Ennis of Sportsnet noted that Dickey received rare support from the Blue Jays' loaded lineup at the best possible time:
The only blemish on Dickey's outing came in the bottom of the third on a wild pitch that allowed Shin-Soo Choo to score. That was rather inconsequential, especially after Pillar notched his third RBI of the day on a seventh-inning single, which plated catcher Russell Martin to make it 7-1.
Price started off fine but struggled the longer he was on the mound. After retiring five of the first six batters he faced, he allowed a double to Rougned Odor and a single to Robinson Chirinos with two outs in the bottom of the seventh. The Rangers added two more runs in the eighth before Price was pulled with one on and two out. He picked up the win but allowed three runs on six hits with two strikeouts in three innings of work.
Blue Jays manager John Gibbons is bound to take heat for his decision to leave Price in the game so long with such a commanding lead. Fox Sports 1's Kevin Burkhardt was among those miffed by Gibbons' strategy:
Dan Szymborski of ESPN offered a humorous theory on Gibbons' polarizing tactic:
Instead of offering the Rangers hope of a rally, Gibbons opted to try to slam the door. It was a bold move, and though Price wasn't lights-out, Toronto won the game.
After Elvis Andrus chased Price with a single that plated Texas slugger Prince Fielder, cannon-armed Blue Jays reliever Aaron Sanchez ended the threat by striking out pinch hitter Drew Stubbs.
Twenty-year-old Roberto Osuna needed only 13 pitches in a perfect ninth to secure the final three outs and force a decisive Game 5.
Toronto will seek to cap an improbable ALDS comeback at the Rogers Centre on Wednesday. Price won't be available to start, which means the Blue Jays will turn to 24-year-old Marcus Stroman, who started Game 2.
After Toronto lost a 14-inning thriller at home to go down 2-0 in the series, it bounced back with two victories on the road.
The Blue Jays have shown they have resilience to go with a magnificent offense, but the Rangers loom as a dangerous underdog and will be looking for their third road win of the series after blowing two chances to advance at their own park.
Postgame Reaction
Former Blue Jays legend Joe Carter was among those to congratulate Toronto on the win:
But most of the notable discussion surrounded the decision Gibbons made to pull Dickey, who was just one out shy of qualifying for a win.
Although he acknowledged he was disappointed to come out of the game, Dickey said: "It's amazing what you can accomplish when you don't care who gets the credit," per Sportsnet's Shi Davidi.
Gibbons said Price won't be available for Game 5, but the superstar southpaw said he would be: "I'll be ready for Game 5," Price said, per the Toronto Star's Bruce Arthur, who added an interesting remark from the Jays skipper:
When Price was interviewed on the field, he seemed a bit dejected or at least not very enthusiastic about his role. His comments, per MLB.com's Gregor Chisholm and T.R. Sullivan, suggested otherwise:
I told them I'd be ready for whatever situation they wanted me in. That was the mindset I brought to the field—just be ready at any point in the game, and that's what I did. [...] Whatever they need. I'm here to help these guys win. That's why they got me. Whatever role I have to play on this team, that's what I'm ready for.
One had to hear Price's deadpan delivery to grasp the context, though. The contrast between what he and Gibbons said about his status for the ALDS finale hints at discord between the two.
All will be forgiven and forgotten if Stroman shuts down Texas in Game 5. If the precocious pitcher gets rocked and Price can't pitch or doesn't pitch well, however, Gibbons will be second-guessed until the Blue Jays open the 2016 campaign.
Price is a free agent this winter too. If a controversial relief outing is his last official appearance in a Toronto uniform, fans will be even more critical of Gibbons.
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