ALDS 2016: 5 reasons Blue Jays will win

Oct 4, 2016; Toronto, Ontario, CAN; Toronto Blue Jays designated hitter Edwin Encarnacion (10) is mobbed by teammates after he hit a walk off home run to beat the Baltimore Orioles in the American League wild card playoff baseball game at Rogers Centre. Mandatory Credit: Nick Turchiaro-USA TODAY Sports /

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Oct 2, 2016; Boston, MA, USA; Toronto Blue Jays starting pitcher Aaron Sanchez (41) pitches during the first inning against the Boston Red Sox at Fenway Park. Mandatory Credit: Bob DeChiara-USA TODAY Sports /

2. Superior rotation depth

There’s a simple reason the Texas Rangers have played so many one-run ballgames this year — their starting rotation falls off drastically behind Darvish and Hamels. That has resulted in a ton of back-and-forth battles with the offense pulling out late wins. The Rangers rotation posted a 4.38 ERA on the season, good for 16th in all of baseball, and that’s including sub-3.40 ERAs from both Hamels and Darvish.

Honestly, how confident can a manger feel heading into a playoff series knowing that he will have to hand Martin Perez or Colby Lewis the ball in a pivotal Game 3? Not very. Lewis and Perez are both soft-tossers who have to rely on deception and soft contact to succeed, exactly the type of pitchers the Blue Jays feast on.

The Blue Jays, meanwhile, will counter with J.A. Happ, having an incredible season, Francisco Liriano, pitching the best baseball of his career, big-game Marcus Stroman, Marco Estrada, and have the hammer in Aaron Sanchez. Sanchez won the AL ERA title, and throws a two-seamer that rivals Zach Britton’s for 100 pitches, not 15.

On paper, the Blue Jays and Rangers match up evenly across the board in most aspects, but the starting rotation is the exception. The Blue Jays have a decided advantage when it comes to the guy taking the ball in the first inning, and that could decide the series. The Rangers will be forced to push Hamels and Darvish to pitch more than one game in a short series, while the Blue Jays can allow their normal rotation to play out.

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