Hamels roughed up in career-worst playoff start

The Toronto Blue Jays are throwing some punches of their own in Texas on Thursday, and Cole Hamels was the unlucky recipient.

Toronto chased the Rangers left-hander from Game 1 of their highly anticipated ALDS matchup after Hamels allowed a career postseason worst seven runs - six earned - in 3 1/3 innings. The Blue Jays scored five runs in the third inning, highlighted by a Troy Tulowitzki bases-clearing triple. It was the Blue Jays' first postseason triple since Paul Molitor in the 1993 World Series.

Hamels returned for the fourth inning and surrendered a long home run to Melvin Upton Jr., then allowed Josh Donaldson to plate Devon Travis with a single after the Blue Jays second baseman reached on a throwing error. Reliever Alex Claudio took over for Hamels from there, and he got out of the fourth inning without allowing any more runs.

Hamels' previous career-worst October outing came in Game 3 of the 2009 World Series, when he allowed five earned runs to the New York Yankees; he also allowed five in the infamous Game 5 of last year's ALDS in Toronto, though only two of those runs were earned.

(Video courtesy: MLB.com)