ALDS preview: Blue Jays, Rangers clash in battle of booming offenses

The Toronto Blue Jays and Texas Rangers meet in the ALDS in a matchup of teams with deep and talented lineups that really turned it on in the second half.

Trades for David Price and Troy Tulowitzki put a Blue Jays squad that already featured stars such as Josh Donaldson and Jose Bautista over the top, and with their offense that averages 5.5 runs per game they enter the playoffs as the favorite to win the World Series. Toronto went 48-23 in the second half and they don’t plan on stopping any time soon. No team in baseball hit more home runs this season either, so expect to see a few long balls from the boys in blue.

[Listen: The StewPod talks about the ALDS matchups and picks winners]

Don’t overlook Texas, though. The Rangers won 46 games after the All-Star break and they had the league’s third-most prolific offense this season, scoring 4.64 runs per game. They’ve got established veterans in Prince Fielder, Adrian Beltre and Shin-Soo Choo and their own trade-deadline pitching pickup in Cole Hamels. Don’t forget they also brought Josh Hamilton back, too.

SCHEDULE
Game 1: Thursday, Oct. 8, in Toronto, 3:37 p.m. ET (TV coverage on MLB Network and Sportsnet)
Game 2: Friday, Oct. 9, in Toronto, 12:45 p.m. ET (MLB Network and Sportsnet)
Game 3: Sunday, Oct. 11, in Arlington, 8 p.m. ET (FS1 and Sportsnet)
Game 4*: Monday, Oct. 12, in Arlington, time TBA (Fox or FS1 and Sportsnet)
Game 5*: Wednesday, Oct. 13, in Toronto, time TBA (Fox or FS1 and Sportsnet)
*if necessary

PREVIOUSLY
The Blue Jays won the season series 4-2, taking two of three from the Rangers at home in June and doing the same down in Texas in August.

PITCHING
Game 1: Yovanni Gallardo (13-11, 3.42 ERA) vs. David Price (18-5, 2.45 ERA)
Game 2: Cole Hamels (13-8, 3.65 ERA) vs. Marcus Stroman (4-0, 1.67 ERA)
Game 3: Marco Estrada (13-8, 3.13 ERA) vs. TBD
Game 4*: R.A. Dickey (11-11, 3.91 ERA) ) vs. TBD
Game 5*: TBD

Here’s why the Blue Jays traded for David Price: to go out and win Game 1 of a playoff series. He’ll get his first shot to do so Thursday afternoon. Yovanni Gallardo starts for Texas, trying to give the Rangers an early edge. Game 2 also gives us a special pitching matchup, pitting 2008 World Series MVP Cole Hamels against electric sophomore Marcus Stroman. The Rangers haven’t announced their starters for Game 3 and 4, but it’ll be Derek Holland and Colby Lewis in some order while Toronto will send Marco Estrada and R.A. Dickey out after Stroman. These teams are pretty even in terms of pitching, making each pitch that much more important.

THREE KEYS FOR RANGERS
Choo Choo train: After a sluggish first half, Shin-Soo Choo has been a star since the All-Star break. The Rangers’ right fielder is hit a stunning .343/.455/.560 in 69 second half games, mostly in the No. 2 spot in the lineup, and really lifted his team to another level. Can Choo stay on track in the postseason?

Close it up: Shawn Tolleson has done a bang-up job as Texas’ closer this year, picking up 35 saves to go with his 2.99 ERA. But this Blue Jays’ lineup does damage against the best of the best. If the Rangers have a lead heading into the ninth, Tolleson will have to bring his A-game to seal the deal and silence Toronto’s bats.

Win one on the road: A win in Game 1 or 2 would put Texas in a tremendous position to pull off the upset in the series. A couple early runs off David Price or Marcus Stroman should be enough to quiet a sure to be raucous Toronto crowd in a hurry.

THREE KEYS FOR BLUE JAYS
Troy Tulowitzki’s health: After hurting his shoulder in a game on Sept. 12 and missing two weeks of action, Tulowitzki returned for the final weekend of the regular season. When Tulowitzki is right, he’s among the best players in the game. He looked good in the two games he played, but how will he hold up physically?

The Stro Show: From a torn ACL in February to starting Game 2 of the ALDS, Marcus Stroman has had quite the year. Stroman was expected to miss the entire season when he went down holding his knee in spring training. Yet, here is in the postseason, and given how he pitched down the stretch (4-0, 1.67 ERA), his presence should make the Blue Jays even more dangerous.

Bottom-of-the-order bats: Both known for their defensive skills, when Kevin Pillar and Ryan Goins are producing at the plate, the Blue Jays are near impossible to stop. Goins was really going in August, while Pillar brought the goods in September. If their hits are finding gaps, other teams are going to be in a whole heap of trouble.

FIVE IMPORTANT NUMBERS

• 5: Losses in five career postseason start for David Price dating back to 2010. His lone playoff win came as a reliever for the Rays back in 2008.

• 0: Runs allowed by Yovanni Gallardo in 13 2/3 innings against the Blue Jays this season.

• 3: Blue Jays hitters in the top 10 in home runs in the major leagues: Josh Donaldson (41 home runs, T-5), Jose Bautista (40, 7) and Edwin Encarnacion (39, 10).

• .306: Adrian Beltre’s batting average in 36 at-bats against Price.

• 20: Age of Toronto’s closer Roberto Osuna, the youngest player in MLB.

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Israel Fehr is a writer for Big League Stew on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at [email protected] or follow him on Twitter. Follow @israelfehr