With the series tied up at 2-2, the Toronto Blue Jays and Texas Rangers enter a decisive Game 5 in hopes of heading into the ALCS. The Blue Jays saved themselves with back-to-back dominant pitching from former Cy Young winners as they aim to use home-field advantage to make it into the ALCS against the Texas Rangers.
Watch Rangers vs. Blue Jays Game 5, live stream from Fox Sports 1.
The Blue Jays will put Marcus Stroman on the mound who has come a long way from almost missing the entire season. The starting pitcher suffered a torn ligament in his left knee during Spring Training and many believed he was done for the year. The pitcher was able to make a surprising comeback in September and ended the season going 4-0 with a 1.67 ERA to get into the playoff rotation. The pitcher certainly has the pressure on him. He is following a strong performance from David Price as he is responsible for getting the Blue Jays into their first AL Championship series since 1993.
"I'm just so excited for this opportunity," Stroman said, via ESPN.com. "Those dog days at Duke when it's kind of tough to get through a workout with the knee pain, that's what you kind of have in the back of your mind to keep you going."
The Rangers will counter with Cole Hamels. The Rangers have full faith in the pitcher who was the 2008 World Series MVP. In playoff starts, Hamels is 7-4 in 14 starts in the postseason with an ERA of 3.05. In Game 2 of the series, Hamels gave up just two runs in seven innings while striking out six players. He will be going up against a top lineup in the Blue Jays who have been hitting .278 as a rotation while leading the division in on-base percentage and slugging percentage. Pitching against the team is no easy task for any pitcher.
If the Rangers are going to win this game, they first need Hamels to keep up the dominating postseason play. The pitcher is certainly familiar with big games. However, they also need Prince Fielder playing better. With the Blue Jays working with players like Josh Donaldson and Jose Bautista, Fielder is supposed to be the other big batter in the series, but instead he is 1-for-15 in the season. They need him hitting better than .188 in postseason play.
