ARLINGTON, TEXAS—The The Blue Jays were simply looking for a hero on Sunday night, someone to keep them from falling off the precipice of elimination, to step up and produce at key moments where the highest-scoring team in baseball had failed in Games 1 and 2 of their American League division series.

They found that hero in Troy Tulowitzki.

All that the Jays wanted heading into the night was to live to fight another day and that’s what they have earned the right to do, with a 5-1 victory in Game 3 of the ALDS behind the subtle pitching of right-hander Marco Estrada and a clutch, three-run, two-out homer by Tulowitzki.

The Jays had been nursing a nervous two-run lead in the sixth that could and should have been much higher, save for opportunities lost, so when they loaded the bases with nobody out and the Rangers completed a first-to-home-to-first double play, it seemed their woes would continue.

Tulowitzki, who just returned to action on the final weekend of the regular season against the Rays, had been hitless in the first two games of the series when he stepped in to face right-hander Chi Chi Gonzalez with Jose Bautista on third and Edwin Encarnacion on second.

With the count full, the intense Tulowitzki lined a pitch into the first few rows of the left-field stands and the score was 5-0. There must have been an audible sigh of relief in the Toronto dugout. Tulowitzki was acquired from Colorado as one of the top two-way shortstops in the game, but it was mostly his defence that had helped the Jays to a 31-9 record when he was in the starting lineup.

“It was huge and, in the moment, I was definitely pumped up,” Tulowitzki said. “Got back to the dugout and everybody was excited. It was a little breathing room. That’s the goal when you’re down 2-0. Coming into Texas, we were hoping to get on the board first and we did that tonight, kind of what they did to us in Toronto. Hopefully we can do the same thing and get back to Toronto.”

The heart of the Blue Jays lineup is what had carried the Jays at big moments all year. Within that group of five big bats, there is an appreciation when one of them steps forward to lead the way.

“That was one of those big blows for us right there,” third baseman Josh Donaldson said. “You know, I felt like we still should have scored some more runs out there tonight. A couple of baserunning errors here or there, but it was nice to come out with the win tonight.”

The Jays had chosen right-hander Marco Estrada for Game 3, with R.A. Dickey being handed the Game 4 assignment. Estrada only joined the rotation in early May, after rookie Daniel Norris was sent to the minors (and eventually traded to Detroit in the deal that brought David Price to Toronto). He went on to establish personal single-season highs in starts (28), wins (13) and innings pitched (181). He held hitters to a .203 average, leading the AL.

In fact, of the four playoff starters in the Jays’ rotation, three were not there the first month. Estrada was in the bullpen, Marcus Stroman was injured and Price was with the Tigers.

Estrada was in control through six innings, before allowing a couple of line drive singles to Elvis Andrus and Josh Hamilton, replaced by left-hander Aaron Loup after just five hits and 88 pitches.

“It was unbelievable,” Gibbons said. “He’s been doing that all year. A do-or-die game, it doesn’t surprise me he stepped up. You could tell early in, he was on. We talked about guys with nerves or guys a little too emotional. How it would affect them. I didn’t see that out of him at all.”

Loup pumped strikes in on his one batter, Rougned Odor, who grounded to Tulowitzki to drive in a run. Right-hander Mark Lowe struck out catcher Robinson Chirinos to end the threat. Aaron Sanchez and Roberto Osuna ended it.

The Jays opened the scoring for the first time in the series. Dioner Navarro laced a line drive that momentarily fooled Delino DeShields, Jr. and one-hopped the wall, as the burly trundled into second base. An infield single by Kevin Pillar to a diving Elvis Andrus placed runners at the corners for Ryan Goins. The second baseman grounded into a double play with Navarro scoring.

The Jays had a chance to put some distance between themselves and the Rangers in the fourth inning. Donaldson led off with a double to right centre past a diving DeShields. Martin walked Encarnacion intentionally with one out and then Chris Colabello and Tulowitzki also were issued bases-on-balls, with the latter forcing in a run. But Navarro then grounded into a double play.

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The Jays continued to squander scoring opportunities in the fifth inning. Pillar grounded a single to centre that DeShields allowed to go through his legs. Goins sacrificed him to third, then a soft broken bat linedrive by Ben Revere fooled Pillar and he was caught two-thirds of the way home.

Game 4 will be Monday at Globe Life Park, with the Jays having a chance to tie the series.