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Toronto Blue Jays Just Got Some Company in Playoff History
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- Toronto Blue Jays Just Got Some Company in Playoff History
(John E. Sokolowski-USA TODAY Sports)
The Toronto Blue Jays just got some unique company in playoff baseball history.
On Saturday night, the Cleveland Guardians defeated the Chicago White Sox in Game 5 of the American League Division Series at Progressive Field.
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With that, the Guardians became the 11th team to lose the first two games of a best-of-five series and win the series. They were just the fourth team to lose the first two games at home and rally to win the series.
Also on the list? The 2001 Yankees, the 2012 Giants and the 2015 Blue Jays.
About the 2015 Blue Jays
The Jays went 93-69 this season, winning the American League East under manager John Gibbons. This version of the Jays was a powerful offensive team that got 41 homers and a league-best 123 RBIs from Josh Donaldson, as well as 40 homers and 114 RBIs from Jose Bautista. Edwin Encarnacion hit 39 homers and drove in 111.
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Donaldson the MVP Award in the American League.
Bautista also led the league in walks. Mark Buehrle won 15 games and Marco Estrada won 13 on the pitching side of things. A young Marcus Stroman went 4-0 and future All-Star Liam Hendriks went 5-0 out of the bullpen.
David Price was acquired at the trade deadline from the Detroit Tigers, going 9-1 with a 2.30 ERA in 11 outings.
About the ALDS comeback
Price took the loss in Game 1 at Rogers Centre as the Jays lost 5-3 against the Texas Rangers, and then Toronto lost 6-4 in 14 innings in Game 2.
However, the Jays rallied for a 5-1 win behind Estrada in Game 3 in Arlington and then Price led them to an 8-4 win in Game 4.
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In Game 5, the Blue Jays won 6-3 with Aaron Sanchez earning the win and Cole Hamels taking the loss. The lasting image of this game was Jose Bautista's legendary bat flip home run against Sam Dyson. He was 2-for-4 with four RBIs in total.
What happened next?
The Blue Jays advanced to the American League Championship Series, where they were beaten by the Kansas City Royals in six games. The Royals went on to beat the New York Mets in the World Series.
Toronto got to the ALCS again the next year, but lost to the Cleveland Guardians.
Toronto got back to the ALCS - and the World Series - in 2025, but fell in seven games to the Los Angeles Dodgers.
