It wasn't exactly the start the Toronto Blue Jays envisioned.
The Texas Rangers were victorious in Game 1 of the ALDS by a score of 5-3.
Texas held the MLB's top offense to just three runs while scoring five off AL Cy Young candidate David Price. Although the Rangers lost third baseman Adrian Beltre early in the game due to a back injury, Blue Jays' third baseman and MVP candidate Josh Donaldson left in the fifth (head). Outfielder Jose Bautista also left the game (back) in the ninth.
Price surrendered five earned runs on five hits, two walks and two hit batters over seven innings. The last time the left-hander gave up two home runs in a game was on July 28 against the Tampa Bay Rays when he was still pitching for the Detroit Tigers.
His opponent, Yovani Gallardo, let up two earned runs on four hits and one walk over five innings, which is considered a success against the league's best offense on the road. Rangers' manager Jeff Banister removed Gallardo from the game after the fifth for young right-hander Keone Kela, who gave up a solo home run to Bautista, which cut Texas' lead to 4-3. Banister took out Kela an inning later and replaced him with left-hander Jake Diekman, who tossed two scoreless and didn't give up a hit or issue a walk.
Right-hander Sam Dyson closed the game out in the ninth.
Toronto could only muster up six hits and a walk on the day and it didn't help that Price put them in a hole early on. Beltre and outfielder Delino DeShields smacked RBI singles off Price in the third inning to go up 2-0 and then catcher Robinson Chirinos cranked a two-run home run in the fifth to put Texas up 4-1.
Second baseman Rougned Odor finished 1-for-2 with three runs scored and a home run as well.
Edwin Encarnacion gave the Jays hope in the bottom of the ninth with a leadoff single, but Troy Tulowitzki, Justin Smoak and Russell Martin were retired in succession after that hit.
It wasn't a good start for the World Series favorites and it won't get any easier. Texas will send Cole Hamels to the mound tomorrow afternoon at 12:45 p.m. ET to face Blue Jays' right-hander Marcus Stroman, who will be making his postseason debut.
The good news is that Donaldson passed the league's concussion protocol tests and will be re-evaluated tomorrow. He took a knee to the head from Odor when sliding to break up a double play. There hasn't been an update on Bautista yet.
