First pitch: Sunday, 8:05 p.m. ET
AL Division Series – Game 3
Line: Toronto -130, Texas +120, Total: 9.5

The Rangers will be going for a sweep over the Blue Jays when the teams meet in Texas on Sunday.

Game 2 of this series was extremely exciting and the Rangers would end up winning 6-4 in the 14th inning. 3B Hanser Alberto was the guy that drove in what would be the game-winning run. It was especially big for him, as he made a costly error earlier in the game and was able to save face by coming through in the clutch. The Blue Jays now have their backs against the wall and will have to win two games on the road if they are going to have a chance of winning this series. The starters for this elimination game will be RHP Marco Estrada (12-8, 3.28 ERA, 120 K) for Toronto and LHP Martin Perez (3-6, 4.46 ERA, 48 K) for Texas. One thing favoring Toronto in this game is the fact that the Rangers are just 2-10 against the money line after three or more consecutive Overs in the past two seasons. Texas is, however, 60-54 against the money line as an underdog of +100 or higher this season. RP Brett Cecil (Calf) is out for the series for Toronto after suffering a tear last game and 3B Adrian Beltre (Back) is questionable for Texas in this game.

Marco Estrada will be tasked with trying to save his team from being eliminated on Sunday. Estrada ended the season extremely well, picking up four straight quality starts in a row. He started against this Rangers team in Texas on Aug. 27 and pitched a very solid game, allowing just one earned run with six strikeouts in six innings of work. He’ll need to be as sharp as he was in that game on Sunday. Offensively, SS Troy Tulowitzki (.280, 17 HR, 70 RBI) really needs to step his game up. He was a huge acquisition for this team at the deadline, but he is 0-for-10 with four strikeouts in this series. It will be hard for the Jays to force a Game 4 if he is not producing at the plate. 3B Josh Donaldson (.297, 41 HR, 123 RBI) will be a player to watch in this one. He is 5-for-13 with three doubles, a homer and two RBI against Perez in his career. Toronto will need him to be at his best on Sunday.

Martin Perez didn’t make many appearances this season, but he came on strong at the end of the year and the Rangers will be feeling comfortable with him in this game. In his final two starts this season, Perez allowed just one earned run over 13.0 innings of work. He struck out 10 batters in those games and walked just two as well. Offensively, it’ll be very tough for the Rangers to continue to win games without 3B Adrian Beltre (.287, 18 HR, 83 RBI). Beltre is questionable for this game and will really be missed if he can’t play. One guy who has been a major x-factor in this series is OF Delino DeShields (.261, 2 HR, 37 RBI). He is 5-for-11 with two doubles, two RBI and three runs scored. If he can continue to produce at the plate then the Rangers would have a much easier job making up for the loss of Beltre.