Relax: They’re down, not out
FOR A WHILE, IT FELT LIKE THE WORLD WAS ENDING. BUT THIS SERIES IS JUST GETTING STARTED
Toronto waited 22 years for this. Well, not this, exactly. There was a moment where the first Toronto Blue Jays playoff game in over two decades appeared to morph from disappointment to disaster, a grease fire that spreads to the drapes. Things went wrong. Then more things. The roof was closed, for some stupid reason, but it felt like it was caving in.
“It’s not the end of the world,” said catcher Russell Martin, in French, after a 5-3 loss to the Texas Rangers in Game 1 of the best-of-five American League Division Series. “I can only speak for myself, but I’m ready for (Friday) already.”
Before anybody hyperventilates, this wasn’t fatal. It was just an awful way to play the first playoff baseball game in more than 20 years. That’s all.
“I know it’s there,” said ace David Price, who became the first pitcher in majorleague history to lose his first six postseason starts, and admitted to some healthy, natural nerves. “I know it’s there. Hopefully (a win) comes in my next start. And if not, my next one, and my next one.”
There’s no guarantee Price will start another game for the Blue Jays, and that’s up to everyone else. Price just wasn’t very good: he hit three batters all season, and two on Thursday. He al- lowed home runs to the number eight and nine hitters in the Rangers lineup. He wasn’t an ace. It happens.
Price faltering is one thing. Watching the probable MVP Josh Donaldson get kneed in the head trying to break up a double play, collapse to the turf for a second, grimace as he left the field, play one inning at third before being removed for what manager John Gibbons said was light-headedness: that looked like disaster.
It was a lot like Troy Tulowitzki being injured by a charging Kevin Pillar: good intentions, bad result. Pillar pointed out that had Hanser Alberto — the replacement for Rangers third baseman Adrian Beltre, who left with back spasms — not bobbled the ball to third a little, then the play at second wouldn’t have been as close.
“I think if he peeks in there, and realizes that, I don’t think he might have to go as hard as he did,” Pillar said. “But that’s the kind of guy he is, and it led to a run.”
Bad luck, bad play. Then Jose Bautista wasn’t in right field for the top of the ninth, and it felt like the Jays were just another Toronto team. It had been so big, so anticipated. Three hours before the game started they wheeled out the carts with the cotton candy and the popcorn, the peanuts and Cracker Jacks, into the square outside the building. Inside, they drew the batter’s boxes, groomed the infield, dusted off home plate. There were 49,834 crammed under the dome, and everyone stood for the anthems, and the AL East banner was unfurled in centre field.
“There’s a lot of emotions there,” Pillar said. “You look up there and you understand that’s forever, and you’re part of that.”
And then, that familiar feeling: the floor falling away, and the city’s sports fans clawing at the air. It felt very Toronto. The Raptors lose at the buzzer in Game 7, or get swept; the Leafs were up 4-1, once upon a time. Step right up to the plate, lads. Your turn.
Except this isn’t over, and is probably a long way from over. Bautista only left because of a mild cramp in his left hamstring; he is expected to play Game 2. Price wasn’t an ace, but Marcus Stroman will start Game 2, and as Pillar says, “Stroman’s a big-time pitcher. He’s an ace on most teams.” He’s better than Cole Hamels, it says here.
Donaldson is the question mark. He passed concussion protocols, likely after sneaking back out to play the fifth inning, and at least one teammate said “he seemed fine” after the game.
Donaldson is expected to play Game 2, but passing protocols doesn’t mean he won’t wake up on Friday with symptoms. He will be checked in the morning, and we’ll see.
But even if Donaldson were out, the Jays still have the two best hitters in this series, and better starting pitchers, starting Friday. They can still win this thing. The last two months weren’t an accident. These aren’t the Leafs, or the Raptors.
“You know what? This is a deep team,” said Pillar.
There’s an old curse that gets ascribed to the Chinese, but whose actual origin is a mystery: may you live in interesting times.
Well, playoff baseball is back in Toronto, and it’s interesting as hell. Game 2 goes Friday.
Biggest game in 22 years, since the last one.