ARLINGTON, Texas - The Toronto Blue Jays were due for a timely hit to break a game open.
Shortstop Troy Tulowitzki delivered Sunday night to help put the Blue Jays right back into the American League Division Series.
His three-run blast in the sixth inning silenced the crowd at Globe Life Park and powered Toronto to a 5-1 win over the Texas Rangers. The visiting Blue Jays will face another must-win situation in Game 4 on Monday afternoon.
Tulowitzki, who also drew a bases-loaded walk in the fourth inning, ended an 0-for-11 post-season skid with the homer.
"You just stick with it and you know (things) will come around," he said. "Just keep on battling - that's what I've been doing all year and it paid off tonight."
Tulowitzki's four RBIs were the most for a Blue Jay in a playoff game since Joe Carter drove in four runs in the Game 6 World Series clincher against the Philadelphia Phillies in 1993.
The Blue Jays managed seven runs over the first two games of the ALDS, a 5-3 loss in Game 1 and a 6-4, 14-inning defeat in Game 2. Toronto was held off the scoresheet in nine straight innings entering Game 3.
Tulowitzki posted mediocre offensive numbers but was a big defensive upgrade for the Blue Jays after they acquired him in a blockbuster deal with the Colorado Rockies at the trade deadline. He missed three weeks late in the year due to injury and finished the season with 17 homers, 70 RBIs and a .280 batting average.
Tulowitzki added a single in the eighth inning to go 2-for-3 on the night.
"Tulo needed that, he really did," said Blue Jays manager John Gibbons. "He had that long layoff after the injury and then it's been kind of a battle for him this year.
"Offensively he's got some key hits along the way, but he hasn't hit it like he normally does ... if he catches fire, we're real dangerous."
Tony Fernandez set the Blue Jays' record of five RBIs in a post-season game in Game 4 of the '93 World Series.
