ARLINGTON -- The Rangers made two changes in the lineup for Game 2 of the American League Division Series against Blue Jays left-hander J.A. Happ. Ryan Rua, a right-handed hitter, started at first base for Mitch Moreland, and Nomar Mazara started in left field instead of Shin-Soo Choo.
First pitch was scheduled for 1 p.m. ET/noon CT on TBS, as well as Sportsnet (English) and TVA (French) in Canada. Toronto leads the best-of-five series, 1-0.
Rua was expected to start, because he has been starting at first base against left-handers. Mazara, a left-handed hitter, started even though he has been sitting against lefties. But he was 2-for-3 against Happ earlier this season, while Choo is 0-for-6 against him. Happ relies heavily on his fastball, throwing it 73.6 percent of the time this season, so manager Jeff Banister thought that was a better matchup for Mazara.
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"It's not always the numbers," Banister said. "It's the swing profile, the pitch profile. It's one of those things we like to analyze and come up with creative thoughts."
Texas' top six remained the same, but Rua batted seventh and Mazara hit ninth. Shortstop Elvis Andrus, the only Rangers player to record multiple hits in Game 1, once again hit eighth.
The Blue Jays shifted to a more left-handed-hitting lineup against right-hander Yu Darvish after beating lefty Cole Hamels and the Rangers, 10-1, in Game 1 on Thursday. José Bautista shifted from designated hitter to right field, with Michael Saunders serving as DH and batting seventh, replacing Melvin Upton Jr. With Devon Travis a late scratch because of right knee irritation, Ezequiel Carrera moved to the leadoff spot and played left, while Darwin Barney got the start at second base, batting ninth.
BLUE JAYS
Ezequiel Carrera, LF
Josh Donaldson, 3B
Edwin Encarnacion, 1B
Jose Bautista, RF
Russell Martin, C
Troy Tulowitzki, SS
Michael Saunders, DH
Kevin Pillar, CF
Darwin Barney, 2B
J.A. Happ, P
RANGERS
Carlos Gómez, LF
Ian Desmond, CF
Carlos Beltrán, DH
Adrián Beltré, 3B
Rougned Odor, 2B
Jonathan Lucroy, C
Ryan Rua, 1B
Elvis Andrus, SS
Nomar Mazara, RF
Yu Darvish, P