Ten Years Ago Today
Josh Donaldson raced home from second base on a grounder to shortstop, clinching Game 3 of the ALDS for the Blue Jays and completing a sweep of the Rangers.
With the game tied in the 10th, Donaldson led off against Matt Bush—whose name keeps coming up for all the wrong reasons—with a double. The Rangers then intentionally walked Edwin Encarnacion, who was red-hot in the series. Jose Bautista struck out on a full count, capping a tough 0-for-5 night. Next, Russell Martin hit a double-play
ball to Elvis Andrus at shortstop. Andrus tossed to Rougned Odor, but Odor’s throw to first was wild. Mitch Moreland managed to block the errant throw, but Donaldson never hesitated, sprinting home and beating the play at the plate.
The Rangers challenged Encarnacion’s slide at second, but even Joe West got the call right.
For the second straight year, the Rangers’ infield miscues helped the Blue Jays win.
It was a thrilling, back-and-forth contest.
Aaron Sanchez got the start for Toronto, surrendering a single to Carlos Gomez, who swiped second and came around to score on a pair of groundouts, giving the Rangers an early lead.
The Blue Jays answered with three runs in the second. Ezequiel Carrera led off with a single, then, after one out, Edwin Encarnacion launched a home run. Russell Martin followed with another homer after the next out.
The Rangers trimmed the deficit in the third when Elvis Andrus belted a solo home run.
Toronto tacked on two more in the bottom half. Carrera again led off with a single, stole second, and scored on Donaldson’s ground-rule double. Donaldson then came home on an Encarnacion single.
In the fourth, Carlos Beltran walked and Rougned Odor followed with a two-run shot, narrowing the lead to 5-4.
The Rangers surged ahead in the sixth. With two outs, Sanchez walked Odor and allowed a single to Jonathan Lucroy, ending his night. Joe Biagini entered but gave up a two-run double to Moreland, putting Toronto behind 6-5.
Sanchez finished with 5.2 innings pitched, allowing 3 hits, 4 walks, 5 strikeouts, and 2 home runs—charged with 6 earned runs, two of which scored after he exited.
Toronto tied the game in the bottom of the sixth. Troy Tulowitzki singled with one out, advanced to third on Melvin Upton’s double, and after an intentional walk to Kevin Pillar, reliever Keone Kela uncorked a wild pitch.
The bullpen stepped up: Jason Grilli tossed a scoreless inning, and Roberto Osuna delivered two more shutout frames.
Matt Bush provided two scoreless innings for Texas, but faltered in the tenth.
There was a certain satisfaction in seeing Odor’s error seal the series for Toronto.
Several Blue Jays stood out in the series:
- Ezequiel Carrera hit .333/.429/.583 and drove in four runs.
- Josh Donaldson hit .538/.471/.846, hit four doubles, and scored four runs. He shined defensively and, of course, provided the game-winning dash.
- Edwin Encarnacion posted a .417/.500/.917 line, with two home runs, four runs, and four RBIs.
- Troy Tulowitzki hit .462/.462/.846, adding a triple, a home run, and five RBIs.
- Marco Estrada worked 8.1 innings of four-hit ball in his start, continuing his playoff brilliance.
- Roberto Osuna tossed 3.2 scoreless innings, surrendering just one hit and striking out four.
Facing the Rangers in the ALDS for the second consecutive year, the Blue Jays created memories to last a lifetime.
Relive the iconic play:
