I don’t know if any of you have heard this, but the Blue Jays and Rangers don’t really like each other. It all started in the ALDS last year when Jose Bautista hit a series-clinching three-run home run and flipped his bat in celebration. In May earlier this year, the Rangers exacted revenge as second baseman Rougned Odor punched Bautista in the face.
Thursday afternoon’s ALDS opener was the first meeting between the Jays and Rangers since Odor landed the infamous punch. Thankfully, neither side got ornery but the Blue Jays jumped out to a 5-0 lead after the third inning and would go on to win 10-1. Bautista tacked on the final three of the Jays’ 10 runs in the top of the ninth inning against reliever Jake Diekman, launching a homer to left field. Bautista did not flip his bat in celebration. As theScore put it, he “quietly [dropped] the bat” after the homer.
.@JoeyBats19 with the big-time contact: https://t.co/Ihl5FW0ySV #ALDS pic.twitter.com/QXKV6JLPyz
— MLB (@MLB) October 6, 2016
Jose Bautista: "We're baseball players not UFC fighters and we come here to play ballgames" #BlueJays
— Ben Nicholson-Smith (@bnicholsonsmith) October 7, 2016
