Blue Jays lose Donaldson, Bautista, baseball game

Well that went poorly. The Toronto Blue Jays couldn’t overcome an early deficit on Thursday in game one of the ALDS, eventually falling 5-3 to the Texas Rangers. David Price was unable to give the Blue Jays the performance they’d hoped for from their ace, but Toronto may have lost more than just the game. While signs are optimistic for game two, both Josh Donaldson and Jose Bautista left with injuries.

Game Notes:

• You’ll hear 45 different theories on why David Price wasn’t quite right today, but the bottom line is: he wasn’t. Price was leaving the ball up throughout the early innings, and hit Rougned Odor twice. Both times, Odor would come in to score, so those free runners really tilted this game.
• Texas looks aggressive with their run game, so the hit-and-run could play a leading role as they try to chip away at the Blue Jays. 
• Adrian Beltre was the first man to leave the game with an injury after he barely made it to first base on a single in the third. He appeared to hurt himself sliding into second base earlier, and this isn’t a guy who leaves ball games. Keep a close eye on his status.
• Josh Donaldson would then be taken out of the game for “precautionary” reasons after taking a hard knee to the head while breaking up a double play at second base. Ken Rosenthal reported that he’s passed MLB concussion protocol and will be monitored overnight. Very good news.
• Yovani Gallardo survived the first three innings without being touched, despite failing to miss a single bat. Toronto looked much better in their second trip through the lineup, but never got the opportunity to fully ramp up.
• The big blow of the game came in the fifth inning, a two-run blast off the bat of Robinson Chirinos to move the score to 4-1.
• Jose Bautista delivered a solo bomb, but after appearing to tweak something in the 8th inning, he didn’t take the field for the 9th. Dalton Pompey took his place, so that’s another thing to keep a worried eye on. The latest word is that Bautista was dealing with hamstring tightness, and could still play tomorrow.

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