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The Texas Rangers took both games in Toronto for a commanding lead over the Blue Jays as they head to back to play Game 3 tonight in Globe Life Park in Arlington, TX. Left-hander Martin Perez takes the mound tonight for the Rangers against right-hander Marco Estrada as the Jays try to remain alive in the best-of-five series.
Perez, 24, made 14 starts for the Rangers this season, going (3-6) with a 4.46 ERA, 3.40 FIP, 24 walks (2.75 BB/9) and 48 Ks (5.49 K/9) in 78 ⅔ IP, holding opposing hitters to a combined .281/.337/.392 line.
Estrada, 32, was (13-8) in 34 games, 28 starts and 181 innings pitched this season, with 55 walks (2.73 BB/9), 131 Ks (6.51 K/9) and a .206/.270/.372 line against as a starter.
Blue Jays' skipper John Gibbons told reporters on Saturday that Toronto would need the bats to come alive if they're going to make it to Game 4.
"I think we need a big outburst with the bats," Gibbons said.
"Score a lot of runs really. If you look at our season anyway, you know, we score -- we score and win, we score in bunches. That's kind of our trademark. Their pitching's really shut us down the last two games so we need to do that to win and I think hopefully we can do it one time, you know, catch our breath a little bit and gain a little confidence, maybe we can hang in this thing. But that's what it's going to take because really that's the identity of our club."
Perez said he had a plan to go at the Jays' hitters and hopefully help the Rangers to their third straight win.
"I think I have to attack," he said.
"That's the key. Keep the ball down. I have my plan for tomorrow, but, you know, just want to focus down in the zone and throw that pitch what I want to. Command my pitches. And at the end of the 9th we can get a good result."
Perez vs the Blue Jays:
| Blue Jays | PA | AB | H | 2B | 3B | HR | RBI | BB | SO | BA | OBP | SLG | OPS | SH | SF | IBB | HBP | GDP | missG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Josh Donaldson | 16 | 13 | 5 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 1 | .385 | .500 | .846 | 1.346 | 2 | ||||||
| Justin Smoak | 12 | 11 | 4 | 2 | 1 | 3 | .364 | .417 | .545 | .962 | |||||||||
| Ben Revere | 7 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 2 | .250 | .500 | .250 | .750 | 1 | 1 | ||||||||
| Troy Tulowitzki | 6 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 3 | .333 | .667 | 1.333 | 2.000 | 1 | ||||||||
| Russell Martin | 3 | 3 | 1 | 1 | .333 | .333 | .333 | .667 | |||||||||||
| Cliff Pennington | 3 | 2 | 1 | .000 | .333 | .000 | .333 | ||||||||||||
| Total | 47 | 36 | 12 | 5 | 2 | 4 | 9 | 7 | .333 | .478 | .639 | 1.117 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 |
Estrada vs the Rangers:
| Rangers | PA | AB | H | 2B | 3B | HR | RBI | BB | SO | BA | OBP | SLG | OPS | SH | SF | IBB | HBP | GDP | missG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Drew Stubbs | 16 | 15 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 8 | .067 | .125 | .133 | .258 | |||||||||
| Will Venable | 7 | 7 | 1 | .000 | .000 | .000 | .000 | ||||||||||||
| Elvis Andrus | 6 | 6 | 1 | 1 | .167 | .167 | .333 | .500 | |||||||||||
| Shin-Soo Choo | 6 | 5 | 1 | 1 | 3 | .200 | .333 | .200 | .533 | ||||||||||
| Adrian Beltre | 5 | 4 | 1 | 1 | .250 | .400 | .250 | .650 | |||||||||||
| Mitch Moreland | 5 | 5 | 3 | 1 | 2 | .600 | .600 | 1.200 | 1.800 | ||||||||||
| Mike Napoli | 5 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 1 | .500 | .800 | .500 | 1.300 | |||||||||
| Delino DeShields | 3 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 1.000 | 1.000 | 1.000 | 2.000 | |||||||||||
| Prince Fielder | 3 | 3 | 2 | .000 | .000 | .000 | .000 | ||||||||||||
| Cole Hamels | 3 | 3 | 3 | .000 | .000 | .000 | .000 | ||||||||||||
| Hanser Alberto | 2 | 2 | 1 | .000 | .000 | .000 | .000 | ||||||||||||
| Ross Ohlendorf | 1 | 1 | |||||||||||||||||
| Total | 62 | 53 | 9 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 8 | 19 | .170 | .279 | .264 | .543 | 1 |