Blue Jays' Bullpen in Trouble Without Lefties

What was the Texas Rangers' big kryptonite all season long?

If you guessed hitting left-handed pitching, you're absolutely correct.

If you remember back to Game 1, the Blue Jays lost their best left-handed reliever — maybe best reliever altogether — Brett Cecil to a torn calf muscle, and they replaced him on the ALDS roster with a righty. Now, the only lefty reliever they have, Aaron Loup, has left the team for a family medical emergency.

That's highly unfortunate for Loup, but it's also highly unfortunate for Toronto.

That means the only lefty reliever the Blue Jays have is David Price, who manager John Gibbons said was unavailable for Game 5 after he pitched a few innings of relief on Monday afternoon in Game 4. And even if that was gamesmanship (I'm betting it was), the Rangers have killed Price in this series.

Of course, all of this might not matter if Marcus Stroman tosses a gem, but if he gets in trouble and it becomes a bullpen game, the advantage shifts to Texas in overwhelming fashion.

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