Eleven Years Ago Today
The Blue Jays trailed two games to none in the best-of-five 2015 ALDS against the Rangers. Facing elimination, they pulled off a crucial 5-1 victory.
The game remained tense until Troy Tulowitzki homered in the sixth inning. Despite several opportunities to break the game open, the team grounded into four double plays.
The Jays got on the board in the third. Dioner Navarro doubled, and Kevin Pillar singled to put runners on the corners with no outs. Ryan Goins then hit into a double play,
but at least a run scored.
They added another run in the fourth:
Josh Donaldson led off with a double and advanced to third on Jose Bautista’s flyout. The Rangers intentionally walked Edwin Encarnacion, and Chris Colabello drew an unintentional walk to load the bases. Tulowitzki then walked, bringing Donaldson home.
However, with the bases still loaded, Navarro grounded into a double play.
The pivotal moment arrived in the sixth. Donaldson and Bautista opened with singles, and Edwin walked to load the bases. Colabello then grounded into yet another double play, making it seem like the Jays would squander their chances. From the recap:
Then, in the sixth inning, we get the bases loaded, and Colabello gets to a full count. I was sure he was going to get a hit or a walk. Instead, he hit the ball hard, but right at the first baseman, for a 3-2-3 double play. He couldn’t have hit the ball harder. The BABIP Gods stepped in, and he crushed it into a double play—lots of swearing from me.
Thankfully, Tulo took a full-count pitch over the left-field wall, making it 5-0, and we could relax a bit.
On the mound, Marco Estrada delivered another excellent playoff start: 6.1 innings, five hits allowed (four singles and a double), one earned run, no walks, and four strikeouts.
The bullpen combined for 2.2 scoreless innings, with Aaron Loup, Mark Lowe, Aaron Sanchez, and Roberto Osuna not allowing a single baserunner.
The Jays went on to win the next two games and advance to the ALCS.
From the recap:
Jays of the Day: Estrada (.269 WPA), Tulo (.235), and Pillar (.116, plus a couple of nice catches).
