Blue Jays' Sanchez seeks sweep vs. Texas, Lewis
ARLINGTON -- Down 2-0 in a five-game set, history doesn't smile kindly on the Rangers' chances as they head to Toronto for Sunday's resumption of the American League Division Series. Unless you like recent history, of course.
"I learned something last year," Blue Jays skipper John Gibbons said after Toronto topped Texas, 5-3, in Friday afternoon's Game 2 to take a two-game lead. "You know what? You've got to win three games. They've got a great team over there. You don't lead the American League, a powerhouse league, you don't luck into that."
Game 3 will be at 7:30 p.m. ET at Rogers Centre, and it will be televised on TBS in the United States as well as on Sportsnet (English) and TVA (French) in Canada. The game will also be broadcast in Spanish on MLB Network.
It's only been 12 months since this situation was reversed. The Rangers won the first two ALDS games on the road last year, 5-3 and 6-4, and rolled back home to Arlington looking for a series-clinching win that never came.
Teams that lost the first two Division Series games at home in the 2-2-1 format during the Wild Card era are 2-14, though one of the two to run against that tide was Toronto in 2015.
"We're up against it," Rangers manager Jeff Banister said. "We've got to win three in a row. We were on the other side of that last year. We've been in situations where we won three games in a row before. We've got to start with one."
The Rangers definitely have their work cut out as they'll not only face a raucous Rogers Centre crowd, but a red-hot pitcher in right-hander Aaron Sanchez.
The 24-year-old Sanchez (15-2, 3.00 ERA in 30 starts) closed out his first All-Star season by going 2-0 with a 1.42 ERA in his last three outings, a stretch in which he allowed just 11 hits with eight walks and 21 strikeouts over 19 innings.
Sanchez pitched nine games in the playoffs last year in relief, allowing seven hits and one unearned run in 7 1/3 innings. He appeared in all five ALDS games against the Rangers, giving up just three hits and the one run in 5 1/3 innings and earning the victory in the series-clinching Game 5 win.
Sanchez started twice against Texas in May this season, with two no-decisions. He pitched seven innings in a 4-3 Blue Jays win on May 4 at Rogers Centre in which he allowed seven hits and three runs, and he went 6 2/3 frames in Toronto's 7-6 loss at Globe Life Park on May 15, giving up seven hits and six runs with four walks and six strikeouts.
The Rangers will pin their hopes on 37-year-old right-hander Colby Lewis, who went 6-5 with a 3.71 ERA in 19 starts this season. Lewis missed three months with a strained right lat muscle and went 0-4 with a 6.38 ERA in four starts after rejoining the rotation on Sept. 11.
Lewis does have good history against most of the Blue Jays' right-handed sluggers, however, and he is 4-1 with a 2.38 ERA in nine postseason appearances, including eight starts.
"We think he is healthy," Banister said. "He feels good and has been stretched out enough. He is experienced, and given the right-handed set of hitters Toronto has, he is one of our best options."
Edwin Encarnacion is 2-for-17 (.118) with a one home run against Lewis, while Josh Donaldson is 2-for-16 (.125) and Troy Tulowitzki 2-for-13 (.154). Jose Bautista has hit .278 (5-for-18) with two homers against the veteran.
But all those numbers don't hide the biggest challenge for Texas now, which is dealing with the 0-2 deficit. The Rangers led the Majors with 49 come-from-behind wins this year, and now that resiliency will be put to the ultimate test.
"It's an uphill battle, one that is going to be a challenge," said Banister. "But our guys will continue to play all the way through."
Greg Johns has been a reporter for MLB.com since 2011. Follow him on Twitter
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