ALDS Game 2 matchup: Ace Hamels faces resurgent Stroman

LHP Cole Hamels (13-8, 3.65 ERA): Hamels is coming off his best start as a Rangers pitcher, his compete game in the clincher on Sunday. He held the Angels hitless the final 7  2/3 innings. That was against a primarily right-hitting lineup. Same is the case against the Blue Jays, who led the major leagues with 232 homers.

“I don’t think it really matters, lefty, righty,” Hamels said Thursday. “You have to be able to throw pitches and execute pitches no matter where they’re standing.”

The Blue Jays’ roster is hitting a combined .303 against Hamels, with four homers, including two from Troy Tulowitzki.

RHP Marcus Stroman (4-0, 1.67 ERA): He returned to the Blue Jays roster on Sept. 12 after tearing his left ACL in March and won all four games he started. He’s allowed only two runs over his past three starts (22 innings) combined, including eight innings of five-hit ball on Sept. 30 when he struck out eight. The Rangers’ combined batting average against Stroman is .095. Only Adrian Beltre and Josh Hamilton have hits against him. He held Texas scoreless on four singles over seven innings on July 19, 2014, in Toronto, his lone start against the Rangers.

This story was originally published October 8, 2015 at 1:55 PM with the headline "ALDS Game 2 matchup: Ace Hamels faces resurgent Stroman."