The Toronto Blue Jays beat the Cleveland Indians 5-1 in game four of the American League Championship Series. The series is now 3-1 and all of a sudden the Jay's hopes are as high as ever.
Although still down 2 games and will face the brink of elimination again in game 5, the Jays are confident they have the tools to pull it off. The last team to come back from a 3-0 deficit in the ALCS was the 2004 Boston Red Sox, who beat the New York Yankees in seven games (4-3). Prior to the game, Josh Donaldson called for a players-only meeting and gave a speech to his teammates.
"If I were to lose today, there was no way that I was going to leave this series not feel like I had an impact on it," said the 2015 American League Most Valuable Player who is also in the mix for that award this year. Donaldson put his money where his mouth is. In the third inning, he hit a solo home run against Indians' ace pitcher Corey Kluber, who was chasing the record for the longest scoreless streak in the postseason by an Indians' pitcher. As he was rounding the bases, he was clearly pumped up and kept shouting, "Let's go!".
Donaldson's home run gave the Jays' their first taste of the lead for the series. They also scored more runs in this game compared to the first three games combined. In the fifth inning, he made a spectacular play that prevented the Indians from tying the game. Carlos Santana hit a hard-hit groundball towards the left field but Donaldson was quick to react and made a diving catch and threw Santana out at first which sparked the chants of "MVP! MVP! MVP!" yet again.
The Jays starting pitcher Aaron Sanchez also gave a strong showing, allowing only two hits and one run in six innings. Sanchez complemented Donaldsons efforts. "Big-time players make big-time plays in big-time games," Sanchez said. Game 5 will be played in Rogers Centre. Marco Estrada will suit up for the Jays while the Indians will give the ball to rookie left Ryan Merritt.