Facing must-win, Estrada has Blue Jays’ confidence

TORONTO — In the moments immediately following the victory that extended their season at least one more day, the Blue Jays weren’t pretending to know much about Ryan Merritt, the left-handed rookie who will stand between them and a return flight to Cleveland in Wednesday’s Game 5 of the American League Championship Series.

What they do know, however, is that Marco Estrada has been tabbed as their postseason ace for a reason. The right-hander has proven his ability to deliver in pressure-packed situations on many occasions, and with the Blue Jays unwilling to watch the Indians celebrate on their field, they will ask him to answer that call once more.

• ALCS Game 5: Wednesday at 4 p.m. ET on TBS/Sportsnet/RDS

“All I can tell you is I’ve seen him the last two years — when the team needs something, he comes through,” manager John Gibbons said. “That can even be during [the] regular season. I expect he’ll be good tomorrow. It won’t be easy, but you always expect that, really, out of all your guys. He’s one guy, you see him doing that time and time again.”

Game Date Time Matchup TV/Highlights Gm 1 Oct. 14   CLE 2, TOR 0 Gm 2 Oct. 15   CLE 2, TOR 1 Gm 3 Oct. 17   CLE 4, TOR 2 Gm 4 Oct. 18   TOR 5, CLE 1 Gm 5 Oct. 19 4 p.m. CLE@ TOR TBS/SNET/RDS *Gm 6 Oct. 21 8 p.m. TOR @ CLE TBS/SNET/RDS *Gm 7 Oct. 22 TBD TOR @ CLE TBS/SNET/RDS * If necessary | All times listed ET • ALCS …

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