Major League Baseball ALDS Game 1

Stroman also went seven, giving up four runs (three earned) on five hits, walking two and striking out five.

Two starters acquired with October in mind, Johnny Cueto of the Royals and Kazmir of the Astros, pitched largely to a stalemate Friday, which meant the outcome hinged on the bullpens.

Kela got the win with a scoreless inning Friday, but he didn’t show quite the composure of fellow rookie Alberto.

Cito Gaston, who managed the Blue Jays to back-to-back World Series titles in 1992 and 1993, threw out the ceremonial first pitch to veteran left-hander Mark Buehrle, who is not on Toronto’s playoff roster.

Two batters later, Edwin Encarnacion hit a shot to the centre field warning track that could have ended the game, but instead just ended the inning. Martin said he’d likely have gotten thrown out for arguing a few of the calls made by home plate umpire Vic Carapazza. But the fact remains the Jays are hitting a lusty.

But for a while this year, he made us question that idea.

“Today was a great ball game… they outlasted us”, he added. “Initially, I wasn’t quite sure”.

Alberto hit the third of three straight singles surrendered by Toronto reliever LaTroy Hawkins to score Rougned Odor from second base. Gomez was initially ruled safe, but the call was overturned upon review.

Further, Texas had no home runs in this game, prompting television announcer Bob Costas to use the phrase, “death by a thousand cuts” in describing how the Rangers were beating the Blue Jays in their own backyard – again. “That’s the best offence in baseball, to be able to keep them in check a little bit is a big, big plus for us”. “I know it’s not protocol”, said Bautista. Aaron Loup is the only other lefty reliever on the Toronto Blue Jays ‘ ALDS roster. After an unexpected Game One win against David Price and the Toronto Juggernauts, the Rangers have an edge going into Hamels’s first postseason start with Texas.

“I saw it during the game”, he said. “When I get on base, good things happen”. “We still have a chance”.

The controversy occurred in the top of the 14th when the Rangers, who can close out the series Sunday night in Arlington, Texas, scored two runs to drain the remaining enthusiasm out of what had been a raucous sellout crowd of 49,716 at Rogers Centre. It wasn’t for the 2012 San Francisco Giants, the 2001 New York Yankees or the 1999 or 2003 Boston Red Sox.

Toronto came back to tie it with two more runs in the bottom of the second. “I would have liked to have gone out a third time, too. Now?” Will our fans ever get an answer? You might even suggest they played around with the integrity of the game the way they jeopardized, and eventually lost, home-field advantage while losing four of the last five games, a couple of them with what amounted to a junior varsity lineup.

Should Toronto come out of Texas with two wins, they will return home for a fifth and deciding game on Wednesday. Have they been the easiest games to play?

Now, the Jays need to have three Saturdays from 1985 in a row… “I heard guys say he was out. I don’t know. Maybe you should ask the people that are in charge”.

Whether those words will hold true remains to be seen.

I must agree with Sam Bhachech – one of only a handful of fans found watching the Blue Jays game at a sports bar in our huge Canadian city that is supposedly starved for baseball: “This city will always be Habs first and everything else second”. That would be different than former general manager J.P. Ricciardi, who lived in Oakville one year at Glen Abbey golf course and then spent the rest of his tenure as Jays GM living in Worcester, Mass.