No fireworks as Rangers slide by Blue Jays
Bautista’s bat flip no longer an issue as Texas pays first visit north of border
Prior to his first game back at the Rogers Centre since that chaotic Game 5 of the American League Division Series, the man on the receiving end of Jose Bautista’s bat flip was in no mood to rehash the past or reflect on what Monday’s return to Toronto might mean for the Texas Rangers.
“It’s just a baseball game, that’s all,” said Sam Dyson, the Rangers reliever, while rummaging in his locker and refusing to look at his questioner. “You try to score more runs than they do and that’s about it.”
Asked if this game felt any different given what happened the last time he was in town, Dyson — who was actually drafted by the Blue Jays and made his big-league debut in Toronto four years ago — sarcastically avoided the question while also taking a bizarre swipe at the city.
“I took a trip here in the off-season just to hang out for a couple days, just to bask in all of its glory,” he said, unconvincingly. What did he do on this winter visit? “Same thing I usually do when I’m here. Sit in my hotel room, eat some food, not a whole lot. I’m not a big sightseer. You can see all the sights out the hotel window.”
Highlights from the surreal seventh inning of last year’s tension-riddled Game 5 played intermittently on the visiting clubhouse TV, which was tuned to the MLB Network.
But the Rangers’ players, their heads buried in their phones, didn’t seem to notice.
Similarly, none of the anticipated bad blood between the two clubs surfaced in Monday’s rematch, which had a handful of exciting moments, but was a far quieter affair than the riotous elimination game back in October.
This one ended differently, too, with the Jays falling 2-1.
Dyson had a chance at a rematch against Bautista in the eighth inning on Monday night, and this time he came out the victor, drawing a flyout from the Jays right fielder, who couldn’t come through with the tying run in scoring position.
Dyson wriggled out of a bases-loaded jam of his own making, preserving the Rangers’ slim lead with help from rookie right fielder Nomar Mazara, who not only hit the gamewinning homer in the top of the eighth, but threw out Michael Saunders trying to tag home on Troy Tulowitzki’s shallow fly in the bottom half.
The Jays looked like they might once again benefit from some seventh-inning magic on Monday when they were aided by a Rangers’ miscue. Texas should have taken a 2-1 lead on a sacrifice fly by Rougned Odor with the bases loaded and just one out, but for some reason Rangers centre fielder Delino DeShields tried to tag up to second base and was thrown out by Kevin Pillar before the runner from third could score. The run was initially ruled to have scored, but overturned after a replay review.
But the Jays couldn’t take advantage, as their early-season offensive woes continued, wasting the best start of the season for R.A. Dickey.
Jays hitters managed little against Rangers starter A.J. Griffin and his slow, swooping curveball. The Rangers’ righty, not known as a strikeout artist, earned nine Ks against the Jays in just six innings. The Jays continue to whiff at an alarming rate, racking up double-digit strikeouts for already the 12th time this season.
Dickey, meanwhile, pitched into the seventh inning for the first time this season, holding the Rangers to a single run on six hits and three walks. He limited base-runners and induced lots of weak contact, his only blemish a solo homer to backup catcher Brett Nicholas.
The 41-year-old knuckleballer is happy to be out of April, historically his worst month. Monday marked a good first step towards righting his season.
Before the game, manager John Gibbons said he didn’t expect any payback from the Rangers.
“I think they got more to worry about,” he said.
“And we do, too.”
“I took a trip (to Toronto) in the off-season just to hang out for a couple days, just to bask in all of its glory.” A SARCASTIC SAM DYSON