Blue Jays even playoff series with Rangers
ALDS heads back to Toronto for deciding Game 5 after Jays win 2 in Texas
After twice being on the brink of playoff extinction, the Blue Jays are now one win away from the American League Championship Series.
Backed by early Josh Donaldson, Chris Colabello and Kevin Pillar home runs, R.A. Dickey and David Price combined for 7 2/3 innings as Toronto defeated the Texas Rangers 8-4 to tie their AL Division Series at two games apiece.
The deciding Game 5 goes Wednesday at the Rogers Centre, with hope of a happy ending for Toronto's first foray into the playoffs in 22 years. The home team has yet to win in the series.
Price relieved Dickey with two outs in the fifth and the Jays leading 7-1, meaning Marcus Stroman will likely start Wednesday in what could be a rematch of Game 2 against Cole Hamels.
Price threw 50 pitches over three innings, giving up three runs on six hits with two strikeouts. Aaron Sanchez and Roberto Osuna finished it off for the Jays.
"Sometimes the best way to win games is to not let teams back into it," said Toronto manager John Gibbons when asked why he turned to Price out of the bullpen. "I told Price if we get you up [in the bullpen] you're going in."
"[Brett] Cecil down, [Aaron] Loup out today, it was hard for me to do, but I thought that was the best way to win the game."
Toronto outhit Texas 12-11.
It was Price's first relief outing in five years. He made five playoff relief appearances in 2008 with Tampa Bay.
The six-foot-six left-hander, the losing pitcher in Game 1, is now 2-6 all-time in the post-season. The two wins are both as a reliever and the six losses all as a starter.
After losing the first two games 5-3 and 6-4 in 14 innings in Toronto, the Jays had taken one step out of the hole they had dug themselves when they defeated Texas 5-1 Sunday on the strength of Troy Tulowitzki's three-run homer.
On Monday, they smacked the Rangers about from the get-go. Texas' ever present NeverEverQuit Twitter hashtag suddenly was the Jays' domain.
Toronto led 3-0 before Dickey set foot on the mound. It was 4-0 after two innings and 7-1 after three. Things settled down after that.
The Jays, who managed three home runs in the first three games, matched that total in two innings Monday for a franchise playoff record. It marked the first time the Blue Jays have hit three homers in a post-season game. The team had nine two-homer games.
Toronto led the majors with 232 homers during the regular season.
Globe Life Park, a steamy sea of Rangers red and blue with white rally towels twirling, rocked as a ZZ Top track teed up the first inning in 32-degree Celsius heat. But the sellout crowd of 47,679 fell quiet very quickly and some left early.