|
 David Price got the result he usually has when he pitches in the
postseason.
The result was a 5-3 victory by the Texas Rangers in the first game
of the American League Division Series against the Toronto Blue Jays
on Thursday.
Gallardo, the Rangers right-hander, held the Blue Jays to four hits
and two runs over five innings and has won all four of his career
starts against the Blue Jays.
"The ball was up in the zone a little bit but we stayed with the
game plan and got some ground balls whenever I needed to and limited
the damage," Gallardo said.
Price, the Blue Jays left-hander, allowed five hits that included
two home runs and five runs in seven innings to run his postseason
record to 1-6.
"I just didn't pitch the way I'm capable of," Price said.
Rangers catcher Robinson Chirinos hit a two-run homer and second
baseman Rougned Odor hit a solo shot.
Price was pitching with 11 days off after missing his final start of
the season but said that was no factor.
"It was just nerves those first couple of pitches," he said.
Right fielder Jose Bautista hit a solo home run for Toronto.
Both teams lost players to injury. The Texas Rangers lost third
baseman Adrian Beltre to a stiff lower back when he slid into second
in the third and it was not certain when he might return.
"We'll know more tonight and also in the morning where he's at,"
Rangers manager Jeff Banister said.
Blue Jays third baseman Josh Donaldson took a knee in the head when
he slid hard into second base to break up a possible double play in
the fourth.
"He came out, precautionary, I think he got a little light-headed,"
Blue Jay manager John Gibbons said. "They checked for a concussion
and he apparently passed all the tests so that's good news."
Bautista came out of the game after the eighth with a hamstring
cramp but was expected to play Friday.
The Rangers took a 2-0 lead in the third.
Price hit Odor with a pitch to open the inning. Odor took second
when Chirinos grounded out to third and scored when center fielder
Delino DeShields singled through a hole left when second baseman
Ryan Goins broke toward the bag at second.
Goins said it was going to be a pickoff play from catcher Russell
Martin, something they've run before. "He got a pitch you'd expect
him to pull, a changeup, but he found the hole," Goins said.
DeShields took second on a groundout to short by right fielder Shin
Soo-Choo and scored on a single to center by Beltre.
Beltre left the game in the middle of the third with lower-back
stiffness and was replaced at third base by infielder Hanser
Alberto.
"Obviously we want Adrian in the game," Banister said. "He's the
heart and soul of this club."
The Blue Jays scored a run in the fourth on an infield hit by
designated hitter Edwin Encarnacion that brought home left fielder
Ben Revere, who led off with a single.
[to top of second column] |
Donaldson followed with a walk. Donaldson made a crushing slide at
second on a fielder's choice grounder to third by Bautista.
Donaldson took a knee in the head from Odor on the play and came out
of the game for pinch-hitter Ezequiel Carrera in the fifth.
Infielder Cliff Pennington took over at third base in the sixth.
With runners at the corners, Encarnacion hit a trickler to third
that Alberto could not field as Revere came home with the first Blue
Jays run against Gallardo in his three starts against them this
season.
Chirinos put the Rangers ahead 4-1 with a home run to left in the
fifth after Odor was hit by a pitch for the second time in the game.
"I've known Dave since 2010 when I got traded to Tampa Bay,"
Chirinos said. "I know the way he pitches and how he likes to attack
the hitters. I was taking that first pitch and looked for a fastball
middle in. I was able to square it up and hit it out of the park."
The Blue Jays scored in the fifth on doubles by Martin and center
fielder Kevin Pillar.
Bautista greeted right-handed reliever Keone Kela with a home run to
open the bottom of the sixth to cut the Rangers' lead to 4-3.
Odor restored the two-run lead when he lined a one-out homer to
right in the seventh.
Left-hander Jake Diekman set down the Blue Jays in order in the
seventh and again in the eighth.
Right-hander Sam Dyson took over in the ninth for the Rangers and
gave up a leadoff single to Encarnacion but nothing else to secure
the save.
"I liked the effort and I liked our intensity," Martin said. "They
played a little better than we did. Everybody's different. I'm over
it and ready to come out tomorrow."
NOTES: Rangers manager Jeff Banister said LHP Martin Perez (3-6,
4.46 ERA) will start the third game of the series to be played
Sunday in Arlington, Texas. ... Blue Jays manager John Gibbons said
C Dioner Navarro will be behind the plate Sunday when RHP Marco
Estrada starts Game 3. They worked well together during the season.
... SS Troy Tulowitzki batted fifth in the Blue Jays lineup because
of his career batting average (.407, 11-for-27) against Rangers
starter RHP Yovani Gallardo. It was the third game for Tulowitzki
since he suffered a broken left shoulder blade in a Sept. 12
collision with CF Kevin Pillar at Yankee Stadium. ... LHP Cole
Hamels (13-8, 3.65) will start Game 2 of the ALDS on Friday for the
Rangers and the Blue Jays will send out RHP Marcus Stroman (4-0,
1.67).
[© 2015 Thomson Reuters. All rights
reserved.]
Copyright 2015 Reuters. All rights reserved. This material may not be published,
broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
 |
