Final: Blue Jays 6, Rangers 3
WP: Aaron Sanchez (1-0, 0.00 ERA) LP: Cole Hamels (0-1, 2.70 ERA) SV: Roberto Osuna (1)
TORONTO – Making his 15th career postseason appearance, the first of which being on the brink of elimination, left hander Cole Hamels suffered the defeat as a result of costly, late errors by the Texas Rangers.
A controversial play in the top of the seventh inning, which caused the Toronto Blue Jays to file a protest, proved to be inconsequential as their four-run rally during the next half-inning sent them to their first American League Championship Series in 22 years.
Cole Hamels: "It's hard to be politically correct. It's tough to see. A lot of us on our team don't carry ourselves that way."
— Jeff Wilson (@JeffWilson_FWST) October 15, 2015
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | R | H | E | |
| Rangers | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 8 | 3 |
| Blue Jays |
0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 4 | 0 | X | 6 | 7 | 1 |
Before Hamels even stepped on the mound, he had a one-run lead to work with. The first batter of the game, rookie center fielder Delino DeShields, laced a double to left field for his third extra-base hit of the series.
Two batters later, designated hitter Prince Fielder grounded into a fielder's choice to first base, which concurrently scored DeShields from third.
The Rangers and Blue Jays exchanged runs in the third inning with a solo home run by right fielder Shin-Soo Choo and a RBI-double by right fielder Jose Bautista, respectively.
The game would remain 2-1 in favor of Texas until the bottom of the sixth, when designated hitter Edwin Encarnacion tied the game with a 457-foot blast to left field.
This was Hamels' second surrendered home run of the series, and the 11th overall for his postseason career.
Tempers flared during the next half-inning.
With two outs and second baseman Rougned Odor on third, an intended throw from catcher Russell Martin to relief pitcher Aaron Sanchez ricocheted off the bat of Choo in the batter's box. The ball traveled to third base, allowing Odor to come home on the play and give the Rangers a 3-2 lead.
Umpires reviewed the play and upheld the ruling on the field. Martin was credited with the error.
CBSSports.com's Matt Snyder describes the bizarre play:
Immediately after the throw hit Choo, home plate umpire Dale Scott threw his hands in the air. After Rangers manager Jeff Banister argued, Scott conferred with his entire umpiring crew and they ruled that the ball was live and Odor's run counts.
Per MLB rule 6.03a, so long as the batter hasn't intentionally interfered with the throw, this is a live ball.
Here's the pertinent part of the rule:
"If a batter is standing in the batter's box and he or his bat is struck by the catcher's throw back to the pitcher (or throw in attempting to retire a runner) and, in the umpire's judgement, there is no intent on the part of the batter to interfere with the throw, the ball is alive and in play."
Following the ruling, the Blue Jays filed a protest, and LHP Brett Cecil was ejected.
To begin the bottom of the seventh, Toronto committed three consecutive fielding errors, which loaded the bases with nobody out.
Hamels retired former teammate Ben Revere on a force-out at home, and was subsequently pulled by Rangers' manager Jeff Banister in favor of RHP Sam Dyson.
Dyson was not effective in recording the final two outs to preserve the lead. The next batter, American League Most Valuable Player candidate, third baseman Josh Donaldson, grounded into a fielder's choice RBI at second, tying the game at three.
Bautista then broke the game wide open, as he delivered a 442-foot, three-run blast to center field.
The Rangers were never able to overcome their 6-3 deficit, as Blue Jays' closer Roberto Osuna struck out each of the four batters he faced.
For the first time since 1993, the Blue Jays were headed to the ALCS.
Starting Pitchers
| IP | H | R | ER | BB | SO | HR | ERA | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cole Hamels | 6.1 | 4 | 5 | 2 | 2 | 8 | 1 | 2.70 |
| Marcus Stroman | 6.0 | 6 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 4 | 1 | 3.46 |
- Hamels: L; 111 pitches, 72 strikes; 9 groundouts, 4 flyouts; 28 faced batters
- Stroman: ND; 98 pitches, 68 strikes; 11 groundouts, 3 flyouts; 25 faced batters
Out of the 'Pen
Rangers
- Sam Dyson (7th): 0.2 IP, 3 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 0 BB, 0 SO, 1 HR, 2.45 ERA
- Jake Diekman (8th): 1.0 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 0 SO, 0 HR, 1.50 ERA
Blue Jays
- Aaron Sanchez (7th, 8th): 1.1 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 0 ER, 1 BB, 1 SO, 0 HR, 0.00 ERA
- Roberto Osuna (8th, 9th): 1.2 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 4 SO, 0 HR, 0.00 ERA
At the Plate
Rangers
- Delino DeShields: 1-4, R, 2B, .292 AVG
- Shin-Soo Choo: 1-4, R, HR, RBI, .238 AVG
- Prince Fielder: 1-4, RBI, .150 AVG
Blue Jays
- Jose Bautista: 2-4, R, 2B, HR, 4 RBI, .273 AVG
- Edwin Encarnacion: 2-2, R, HR, RBI, 2 BB, .333 AVG
- Chris Colabello: 2-4, .375 AVG
What's Next:
- American League Championship Series, Game 1
- Friday, October 16, 2015; TV: FS1
- Texas Rangers vs. TBD
Matt Rappa (@mattrappasports) is managing editor of Philliedelphia.com.
