TORONTO — Where to start?
More or less by definition, a division series that goes to five games and then ends up tied in the seventh inning was anyone’s to take. As it turned out Wednesday night, this division series was Toronto’s, and after 21 years out of the postseason, the Blue Jays—with an assist from the umpires, the baseball gods, and the Rangers’ defense—packed enough action for several different Octobers into one deranged inning.
After a stunning, confusing umpire’s ruling that looked like it would be a decisive factor, the fateful frame included fans throwing trash onto the field (and onto fellow fans), a symphony of Rangers errors, a home run for the ages and the bat-flip of the decade, a benches-clearing argument, another benches-clearing argument over something even sillier, and finally a 6–3 Blue Jays win and a delirious celebration at the Rogers Centre.