Blue Jays walk off 7-6 winners in the 10th inning, sweep Rangers to advance to the ALCS

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The Blue Jays did not need to turn around an entire series to skip past the Rangers to advance to the ALCS this time. The Jays took a 2-0 series lead with a 10-1 victory in Game 1 and a 5-3 victory in Game 2. In Game 3, they fought tooth and nail with the Rangers before walking off 7-6 winners on an exciting final play in the bottom of the 10th inning.

The Rangers took their first lead of the ALDS in the top of the first inning when Carlos Beltran drove in Carlos Gomez with a ground out, but it was short lived. The Blue Jays responded with three runs in the bottom half as Edwin Encarnacion blasted a two-run home run — his first at-bat at the Rogers Centre since his memorable walk-off AL Wild Card game homer against the Orioles — and Russell Martin hit a solo homer of his own to make it a 3-1 ballgame after one.

Elvis Andrus drilled a solo homer to cut the Rangers’ deficit in half in the top of the third inning to 3-2. But once again, the Jays immediately responded in the bottom half. Josh Donaldson dropped a ground-rule double down the right field line to plate Ezequiel Carrera, and Encarnacion brought Donaldson home with a single to center.

The Rangers continued to claw back in the fourth. With Adrian Beltre on first base and one out, Rougned Odor slapped a line drive homer out to center field, making it a 5-4 ballgame. In the sixth, the Rangers finally regained the lead with a two-out rally. Odor walked and Jonathan Lucroy singled, forcing starter Aaron Sanchez out of the game. Reliever Joe Biagini came in but served up a two-run double to Mitch Moreland.

Stop me if you’ve heard this one before: the Jays did not let the Rangers hold the lead for long. Facing Rangers reliever Jeremy Jeffress, Troy Tulowitzki hit a one-out single. Manager Jeff Banister brought in lefty Jake Diekman, so Jays manager John Gibbons countered by pinch-hitting Melvin Upton, Jr. for Michael Saunders. The chess game paid off for Gibbons, as Upton hit a double to left field, putting runners on second and third with one out. Diekman intentionally walked Kevin Pillar to load the bases before departing. Keone Kela came in and got Darwin Barney to pop up to third baseman Adrian Beltre, seeming to open up some light at the end of the tunnel, but Kela would uncork a wild pitch while facing Carrera, allowing Tulowitzki to score the tying run, putting the game at a 6-6 deadlock.

From there, it was a battle of the bullpens. For the Jays, Jason Grilli, Brett Cecil, and Roberto Osuna combined for three scoreless innings.  Keone Kela tossed 1 2/3 scoreless innings while Matt Bush tossed a pair of scoreless frames himself. Bush came back out for the 10th inning and immediately found himself in hot water. Donaldson laced a double to right-center, forcing Bush to walk Encarnacion to set up a potential double play or at least a force at three bases. That brought up Jose Bautista, who Bush was able to strike out. Martin stepped to the plate and battled against Bush. After going from down 1-2 to a full count, Martin fouled off two pitches, then put a 98 MPH fastball in play, appearing to be an inning-ending 6-4-3 double play. Shortstop Andrus fed to second baseman Odor, who made a throw wide of first base, pulling Moreland off the bag. Donaldson never stopped running, rounding third base and motoring towards home. Moreland regained his balance but Donaldson dove into home plate in plenty of time.

Banister had the umpires review the play for possible interference, but none was found, officially making the Blue Jays ALDS winners, sweeping the Rangers in three games. The Blue Jays will await the winner of the Red Sox/Indians ALDS series, which the Indians currently lead two games to none. The ALCS will begin this Friday. The Blue Jays are back in the ALCS for the second consecutive season. They lost last year in six games to the Royals, the eventual World Series champions.

Astros star Altuve has surgery on broken thumb, a WBC injury

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Houston Astros star Jose Altuve had surgery Wednesday on his broken right thumb, an injury that occurred in the World Baseball Classic and will significantly delay the second baseman’s 2023 debut.

The Astros announced that the 32-year-old Altuve had the procedure done in Houston and will stay there to begin his rehabilitation, with only one week left in spring training. The Astros will fly there on Sunday following their final Grapefruit League game in Florida, before playing a pair of exhibitions against their Triple-A team, the Sugar Land Space Cowboys, in Texas.

Altuve was hit by a pitch on Saturday while playing for Venezuela in the WBC. He might not be ready to return to the lineup until at least late May. The eight-time All-Star and 2017 American League MVP batted .300 with 103 runs, 28 homers and 18 steals for the World Series champion Astros last season. Mauricio Dubón and David Hensley are the leading candidates to fill in for Altuve at second base.

Altuve isn’t the only Major League Baseball star who was hurt in WBC play, of course. Mets closer Edwin Díaz will miss the 2023 season because of a torn patellar tendon in his right knee as the freak result of an on-field celebration following a WBC win by the Puerto Rico national team.

BROWN DOWN

The Astros also scratched right-hander Hunter Brown from his scheduled start Wednesday against the Mets in Port St. Lucie, Florida.

Manager Dusty Baker told reporters that Brown, who is ranked by MLB as the organization’s top prospect and competing for the last spot in the rotation, has discomfort in his lower back.

NOT QUITE READY

The New York Mets sent catcher Francisco Álvarez to Triple-A Syracuse, quashing for now the possibility of putting the prized 21-year-old on the opening day roster.

Álvarez, who made his major league debut with the Mets near the end of last season, had just three hits in 28 at-bats in Grapefruit League exhibition games. Ranked by MLB as the third-best prospect in baseball, Álvarez batted .260 with 27 homers and 78 RBIs in a combined 112 minor league games in 2022 at Double-A and Triple-A.

The Mets have newcomer Omar Narváez, a 2021 All-Star with the Milwaukee Brewers, as their primary catcher with Tomás Nido likely to play mostly against left-handed pitchers.

Speaking of the Mets, Díaz turned 29 on Wednesday – a rather subdued milestone for the right-hander considering his situation. Diaz nonetheless posted in Spanish an upbeat message on his Twitter account, thanking God for another year of life and describing his health as good and his outlook as positive in this initial stage of the roughly eight-month rehabilitation process.