It was bound to happen on Monday.
The Rangers and all of their fans were going to be taken back to an awful place when the Rangers and Blue Jays met for the first time since that fateful October afternoon last year when the Blue Jays won Game 5 of the ALDS in heartbreaking fashion.
And worse yet, it had to be in Toronto — the scene of the crime.
As the game wore on, we were given deja vu several more times, but none more than in the eighth inning with the Rangers clinging to a 2-1 lead after rookie sensation Nomar Mazara's go-ahead homer in the top half of the inning.
Sam Dyson pitched the eighth. The same Dyson who allowed this to happen:
It wasn't all pretty. He walked the leadoff man and allowed a single to Josh Donaldson to bring up you know who, and once again with two runners on base. The crowd in the Rogers Centre went nuts, and it was on. Dyson got him to line out before getting out of the inning unscathed and with the 2-1 lead intact.
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"Baseball has a way of presenting certain scenarios, and it's why this is such a great game to play," Rangers skipper Jeff Banister told reporters after the game. "You get those one-on-one battles and story lines. It's a challenge emotionally and a challenge mentally. I loved that we came in here and played a great game, made some great defensive plays and walked away with a team win."
It was just one win and nothing more than the Rangers' 15th win of the year. But it was more than that to those guys in the Rangers' clubhouse, no matter what they might try to tell you.
