The Texas Rangers and the Toronto Blue Jays will face off in Game 5 of their MLB Playoffs 2015 series on Wednesday afternoon. Game 5 of the AL Division Series is a winner takes all game with the two teams locked at 2-2 after the first four encounters. The game has a scheduled start time of 4 p.m. ET and takes place from the Rogers Centre in Toronto, Ontario. The game can be watched on TV on the Fox Sports 1 network or online through live stream via the link below.
Ordinarily in a series, the home team has the advantage when things go down to a winner takes all match up. However, this series has been turned on its head with both teams winning both road games, leaving it anyone's guess as to which team will take the spoils and progress in this year's MLB Playoffs.
The Blue Jays though do have the momentum. After losing the opening two games in front of their home fans it looked like the Rangers would sweep them in this series when things returned to Texas.
However, the Blue Jays have turned things around, winning Game 3 to keep themselves alive, and then smashing the Rangers out of the game in an 8-4 result in Game 4.
That means the Blue Jays now return home with their tails up, and the Rangers are the ones who need to turn things back their way.
Even though no team has won a home game yet in this series, the advantage surely must be with the Blue Jays, who have all the momentum with them, and will be in front of 50,000 screaming fans in Toronto today.
Marcus Stroman will be thrown the ball for the Blue Jays in this must win game, and he is expected to rise to the high pressured occasion and get Toronto over the line.
Blue Jays manager John Gibbons has said, "I don't think it really surprises anybody that knows him, that's been around him. He's got a great arm. He's got great stuff. But there's something different about him, too, and I expect if anybody can rise to the occasion, it would be him."
The Rangers though are used to being written off this season, and they have come through each and every test so far to get to this stage of the postseason. They will dig deep again and it would take a fool to write them off for this game after everything they've achieved this year.
Texas will be sending Cole Hamels out to the mound for this final chance at closing out the series. Hamels needs no introduction and is a seasoned player at dealing with intense and high pressured situations. He of course was the World Series and National League Championship Series MVP in 2008 when with the Phillies, and the Rangers could not have selected anyone better in their current situation.
Rangers pitching coach, Mike Maddux has said about Hamels, "He was well-decorated at a young age, at a youthful time in his career, and I just think that's always carried on. He's definitely a guy who went out there in big moments, he wants to be out there. I think that's what separates him from a lot of people is that he's been there, done that, and he knows what it takes to be successful. He knows what the finish line smells like, what it tastes like."
Today's massive MLB Playoffs 2015 ALDS Game 5 between the Texas Rangers and the Toronto Blue Jays has a start time of 4 p.m. ET and can be watched on TV on the Fox Sports 1 network or online through live stream by clicking here.
