Gordon Edes, ESPN Staff Writer 8y

David Price still not right in October: Rangers take opener from Blue Jays

TORONTO -- Regardless which uniform he wears, October failure continues to hound the otherwise-splendid left-handed pitcher David Price.

A loser four times as a postseason starter for the Tampa Bay Rays and once for the Detroit Tigers, Price was beaten again Thursday afternoon by the Texas Rangers, who survived the loss of star third baseman Adrian Beltre to score a 5-3 victory over the Blue Jays in Game 1 of the American League Division series before a disbelieving crowd of 49,834 in the Rogers Centre.

Price gave up RBI singles to Delino DeShields and Beltre in the third, then home runs to the bottom two hitters in the Rangers' lineup — a two-run home run to No. 9 hitter Robinson Chirinos in the fifth and a solo home run to No. 8 hitter Rougned Odor in the seventh.

In six postseason starts, Price, who was 9-1 with a 2.30 ERA for the Jays after a trade-deadline deal sent him north of the border from Detroit, is now 0-6 with a 4.79 ERA as a postseason starter. His only victory in October came in relief as a rookie against the Boston Red Sox in 2008.

The Jays face Rangers ace Cole Hamels in Game 2 on Friday with the possibility that MVP favorite Josh Donaldson will not be available. Donaldson took a knee in the head from Rangers second baseman Odor while breaking up a double play on Jose Bautista's ground ball in the fourth and was lifted for a pinch hitter the following inning.

The Jays announced they had taken Donaldson out for precautionary reasons and late in the game announced that he had cleared concussion tests but would be evaluated again Friday. Bautista also came out of the game in the ninth with what the club described as a minor cramp in his right hamstring.

Beltre came out of the game after his RBI single in the third with what was described as a back strain. Beltre was hurt, according to Rangers officials, while sliding into second base in the first inning on a double play.

Thumbs up: Bautista, in his first postseason action after 12 seasons and 1,403 regular-season games, hit a long home run to lead off the sixth against Rangers reliever Keone Kela, drawing the Jays within a run at 4-3. An infield hit by Edwin Encarnacion accounted for Toronto's first run in the fourth, and doubles by Russell Martin and Kevin Pillar in the fifth accounted for another run. The doubles were the first extra-base hits allowed by Rangers starter Yovani Gallardo in three starts against Toronto this season.

Thumbs down: Price walked two and hit two batters while giving up five hits in his seven innings. The Jays brought the tying run to the plate when Encarnacion led off the ninth with a single, but Rangers closer Sam Dyson set down the next three Jays in order.

What's next: The Jays will send Marcus Stroman, who made a remarkable recovery after spring training surgery, to the hill to face left-hander Hamels.

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