After posting AL's best record, Rangers' exit 'hurts'

Texas went an AL-best 95-67 during the regular season and would've had home-field advantage through the World Series, but Toronto is advancing to the AL Championship Series after a three-game sweep of the ALDS. The Rangers are headed back to Texas to face a long offseason.

"We go home," manager Jeff Banister said. "It doesn't feel good for us [coaches], it doesn't feel good for those players. I'm just as disappointed as anyone in that clubhouse. It's a challenge, because when you get in these things and you're in a playoff situation, they end so abruptly. There are no real words to ease the feelings at all."

The Rangers' bullpen was magnificent after starter Colby Lewis allowed five runs in two-plus innings. Banister pieced it together with six relievers, who got it to extra innings by holding the Blue Jays to one unearned run through seven innings.

"This was disappointing," catcher Jonathan Lucroy said. "We didn't play up to our ability this series, bottom line. It's not always the best team that wins, it's the hottest team. And we just got cold at the wrong time."

Matt Bush was especially good out of the bullpen, retiring Toronto in order in the eighth and ninth inning. Banister sent him back out for the 10th against the big bats in the Blue Jays' order, and it didn't work out.

"He came to me early and said, 'Look, I'm strong, I'm ready to go, my arm feels good,'" Banister said.

Bush had not pitched more than two innings all season.

"I felt great," Bush said. "A lot of adrenaline and a lot of excitement. … I felt great."

Josh Donaldson led off the 10th with a double, the first hit off Texas' bullpen since the sixth inning. Edwin Encarnacion was walked intentionally and Jose Bautista struck out.

Russell Martin followed with a hard grounder that Elvis Andrus backhanded in the hole and threw low to Rougned Odor for the force at second. Odor fired to first to try to complete the inning-ending double play, but his throw pulled first baseman Mitch Moreland off the bag. It also short-hopped him. Moreland blocked the ball, but it rolled far enough away for Donaldson to bolt home. Moreland's throw was late and the game was over.

"If I don't keep that ball in front of me, it goes to the wall," Moreland said. "I wanted to keep it in front of me. It just got a few feet away from me. I figured he was going to try it."

That was one of two defensive plays that cost the Rangers. The other was in the sixth inning, after Texas, trailing, 5-2, after three innings, went ahead on Odor's two-run home run in the fourth and Moreland's two-run double in the sixth.

That output gave the Rangers a 6-5 lead, but they couldn't hold it. The Blue Jays loaded the bases with one out in the sixth on a single by Troy Tulowitzki off Jeremy Jeffress, a double by Melvin Upton Jr. off Jake Diekman and an intentional walk to Kevin Pillar.

Keone Kela came in to pitch and got Darwin Barney to pop out. But his first pitch to Ezequiel Carrera got away from Lucroy for a passed ball and the tying run scored. Carrera flied out to end the inning.

"It's tough," Lucroy said. "I haven't really watched it. It was just one of those things that was baseball. I tried to knock it down, and it just got away. They were one play better than us."

And the Rangers' season was over.