It took 14 innings, but the Texas Rangers found a way to come out on top Friday and will head home with a 2-0 lead in the American League Division Series.
A day after Rougned Odor hit a game-changing home run, the 21-year-old second baseman made a difference with his legs. He scored twice in the team's 6-4 win over the Toronto Blue Jays, including the go-ahead run in the 14th inning off a single by Hanser Alberto.
Kevin Burkhardt of Fox Sports noted the difference Odor made:
A Delino DeShields infield hit that followed helped extend the lead to two runs, and Ross Ohlendorf struck out three in the bottom of the inning for the save.
The ending was not without controversy, however. Toronto was close to getting Odor at second base for the third out in the 14th inning, but he was ruled safe.
"From what we saw on the board, it looked like there might have been a little gap," manager John Gibbons said, per ESPN.com's Gordon Edes. "Whether enough to overturn or not, apparently not. So that's the way it goes."
Brad Townsend of the Dallas Morning News shared his thoughts:
"I would like to hear an answer from the replay booth in New York on why they made that decision," Jose Bautista said, according to Edes. "I know that's not part of the protocol, and it seems to be convenient that it's not."
Odor ultimately came around to score on the following at-bat.
The loss puts the Blue Jays, one of the favorites to win the World Series, one game away from elimination. This is what happens when the best offense in the majors is shut down for the final nine innings of a game.
MVP candidate Josh Donaldson hit a home run in the first inning but finished 1-for-6 in the loss.
Afterward, Gibbons didn't have any special answers for the current predicament:
In any case things must turnaround quickly after a second game in a row failed to go according to plan.
Neither starting pitcher factored into the decision despite going deep into the game. Cole Hamels battled through seven innings while allowing four runs (two earned) with no walks and six strikeouts. Marcus Stroman gave up four runs (three earned) while striking out five in seven innings.
Instead, it all came down to the bullpens closing out a wild, back-and-forth game.
After the Rangers' 5-3 win in Game 1, the start of Friday's game was a nightmare scenario for the Blue Jays. The first three batters of the game got hits off Stroman, helping the road team build a 2-0 lead in the first inning.
Baseball Tonight broke down the ugly start for Toronto:
Donaldson got one run back with a home run in the bottom of the inning, but Odor came through on the basepaths to score the third run of the game for the Rangers. ESPN's Jim Bowden cleverly summed up the second-year player's impact:
Fortunately for Toronto, Stroman was able to settle down after a rough few innings and started to get easy outs. He retired 14 straight batters during the middle innings and kept the Rangers from pulling away in the game.
Former pitcher Dirk Hayhurst explained the difference as the game went on:
The Blue Jays also had early success against Hamels and tied things up with two runs in the second inning. They finally managed to go ahead in the fifth inning, when Ben Revere singled home Kevin Pillar. Gregor Chisholm of MLB.com described the atmosphere at the moment:
Although the 4-3 lead held until the eighth inning, a Mike Napoli pinch-hit single against Brett Cecil brought home DeShields and tied things up at 4-4.
This led to a battle of the relievers, featuring impressive showings from both sides. Jake Diekman and Shawn Tolleson each threw two shutout innings for the Rangers, while closer Roberto Osuna and Aaron Sanchez both pitched more than one inning of scoreless ball.
Tim Harper of the Toronto Star pointed out the importance of the bullpen as the innings piled up:
No one would get the big hit for a while, and as the game progressed, it started reaching historic levels, according to Sportsnet Stats:
While the hometown fans expected a walk-off home run, the Rangers came through with the clutch hits, using their speed over power.
The series will have a day off Saturday to account for travel before resuming with Game 3 on Sunday at 8:10 p.m. ET in Arlington, Texas.
Unlike the series' previous four starting pitchers, the two men who will be on the mound Sunday have been with their teams all year long. Marco Estrada will start for the Blue Jays after the best year of his career, tallying a 3.13 ERA and 1.04 WHIP.
The Rangers might have less confidence in Martin Perez and his 4.46 ERA, but the fact that he threw seven innings of one-run ball in his final start of the season has to be encouraging.
In reality, though, the series will come down to the offenses and their ability to come through in big moments. If the Blue Jays don't start manufacturing more runs, this could wind up being a three-game sweep for the Rangers.
Follow Rob Goldberg on Twitter for more year-round sports analysis.
Read more MLB news on BleacherReport.com
- Login to post comments