Rangers recap: Blue Jays clobber Holland, even series, 8-4

The Toronto Blue Jays bats finally awoke and that was bad news for Texas Rangers pitching. Toronto knocked starter Derek Holland out in the third inning as the Blue Jays evened the best-of-five series with an 8-4 win Monday afternoon at Globe Life Park. Game 5 is at 3:07 p.m. Wednesday at Rogers Centre in Toronto.

Pitching: Holland allowed six earned runs, including three in the first and was pulled before recording an out in the third inning. Holland allowed five hits, including three home runs. Josh Donaldson’s two-run homer came on Holland’s fifth pitch of the game. Chris Colabello made it 3-0 in the first with a solo shot to right. In the second, Kevin Pillar made it 4-0 with solo homer to left. Donaldson walked to start the third and Edwin Encarnacion followed with a double to left and that was it for Holland. Colby Lewis came in and the Blue Jays scored on a fielder’s choice to short to lead 5-0. Lewis allowed one run on three hits and three walks over three innings. Ross Ohlendorf pitched a scoreless sixth. Jake Diekman allowed a run on when Russell Martin doubled and scored on Pillar’s single to make it 8-1.

Hitting: Shin-Soo Choo singled three times, including with two outs in the third that led to Texas’ first run. Choo moved to third on Adrian Beltre’s single to right and scored on a wild pitch by R.A. Dickey to pull the Rangers to within 7-1. In the seventh, pinch-hitter Mike Napoli hit into a 4-6-3 double play after a lead-off single by Elvis Andrus, but the Rangers managed a run after Odor doubled and scored on Robinson Chirinos’ single to left to make it 8-2. Texas added two more in the eighth, which started with a Choo single. Choo moved to third on Fielder’s single and scored on Mitch Moreland’s groundout. Fielder later scored on a single by Andrus to make it 8-4. Dickey left with two outs in the fifth inning leading 7-1. David Price took over and allowed three runs on six hits over three innings.

Notable: Lewis entered in the third for his first-career postseason appearance. It’s the first time he’s worked out of the bullpen since Sept. 26, 2007 ... Diekman allowed a one-out double in the seventh after retiring the first 13 batters he faced in the ALDS ... Blue Jays’ three homers are the most in a playoff game for the club.

This story was originally published October 12, 2015 at 6:30 PM with the headline "Rangers recap: Blue Jays clobber Holland, even series, 8-4."