Unlikely cast lifts Rangers to Game 2 win, 2-0 ALDS lead

The prevailing storyline for the Texas Rangers entering Game 2 of the American League Division Series was Cole Hamels, the hero of the regular-season finale and the postseason ace who was going to carry his team to a victory Friday.

The left-hander pitched well, allowing only two earned runs in seven innings, but he wasn’t the star of the game and was long gone by the time the cast of stars emerged in extra innings.

Try rookie Hanser Alberto. Or rookie Delino DeShields. Or rookie Keone Kela. Or the second-year player who’s youngest of all, Rougned Odor. Even well-traveled 33-year-old Ross Ohlendorf gets to take a bow.

An improbable cast carried the Texas Rangers to a 6-4, 14-inning victory for a 2-0 lead in the best-of-five series that seemed improbable Thursday morning at Rogers Centre, where the now fighting-for-their-playoff-lives Toronto Blue Jays won 53 times in the regular season.

The seldom-used Alberto, playing only because Adrian Beltre is down with a lower back strain, delivered the go-ahead single with two outs in the 14th, and DeShields raced to first for an infield single and a second run that gave Ohlendorf some cushion as he recorded the second save of his eight-year career.

“You look up and down the lineup and you track us throughout the year, it’s not surprising that somebody at the end of that bench or the end of that lineup contributes to what we’ve got going on,” manager Jeff Banister said.

“You look at our game today and when you think about the contributors in our game today, really, we’re talking about everybody other than that core group of players. That’s who we are. That’s how we play the game of baseball.”

The final three half-innings were full of all kinds of intrigue, beginning with Kela confronting Josh Donaldson after the MVP candidate voiced displeasure because he felt he had been quick-pitched. That prompted a clearing of the benches and bullpen.

Kela got out of the inning — on an Edwin Encarnacion fly ball that DeShields caught with his back close to the center-field wall. Afterward, Kela declined comment on the fracas.

“The intensity of these games, there are competitors who run at a high level, and things happen,” Banister said.

Elvis Andrus and Josh Hamilton were quick outs to start the 14th, but Odor reached on an infield hit and went to second as Chris Gimenez followed with a single to right.

Blue Jays right fielder Jose Bautista threw behind Odor at second, and Odor barely got back. The play was close enough for the Blue Jays to challenge as it appeared Odor’s foot came off the bag while shortstop Troy Tulowitzki attempted a tag.

“I was safe,” Odor said. “I knew I never got off of the base. I know I was on the base the whole time.”

The call stood, and Odor scored as Alberto followed with a liner to center field. DeShields then legged out a bouncer to second, allowing Gimenez to make it 6-4.

Alberto, who was using DeShields’ bat, hadn’t had a base hit since Aug. 30. He also drove in a run in the second with a sacrifice fly that was just deep enough for Odor to slide home safely.

“In the postseason, everybody’s really important,” Alberto said. “I was just looking for a fastball every time, so I finally got it, put a good swing, and thank Odor because he was hustling.”

The Rangers gave the ball to Ohlendorf, who was last seen Saturday surrendering a four-run ninth-inning lead to the Los Angeles Angels. But he had only one hiccup Friday, hitting catcher Russell Martin with a 1-2, two-out pitch, en route to his first career postseason save.

Ohlendorf’s inning was the last of seven scoreless by five relievers after Hamels left to start the eighth. Sam Dyson had a scoreless eighth, Jake Diekman touched 100 mph three times in two perfect innings, and Shawn Tolleson worked two more scoreless frames ahead of Kela.

Hamels allowed four runs, two unearned because of an Alberto error to start the second inning, and was trailing 4-3 when he exited.

Mike Napoli delivered a pinch RBI single in the eighth, and the Rangers have won the last 11 times Hamels has started.

“The bullpen definitely kicked it in gear and really picked up everybody,” said Hamels, who threw 114 pitches. “It’s not the easiest lineup, especially in this type of scenario where you’re on the road, in an incredibly loud stadium, and they [the relievers] just came through. They kept some of the best hitters in the league from hitting homers and scoring runs.”

The work of the bullpen wasn’t entirely unexpected until Ohlendorf’s save. He was part of the improbable cast of stars on their way back to Arlington with a 2-0 series lead.

The Rangers have two chances at home to win one game and end the series.

“I’d prefer not to come back,” left fielder Josh Hamilton said.

This story was originally published October 9, 2015 at 8:30 PM with the headline "Unlikely cast lifts Rangers to Game 2 win, 2-0 ALDS lead."