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Everything you need to know as Blue Jays and Rangers meet in Game 2

MLB, Toronto Blue Jays, Texas Rangers

The Blue Jays dominated the Rangers in Thursday's ALDS Game 1. Will they make it a Texas two-step when the two teams meet again Friday afternoon?

Go inside the numbers and matchups that will decide Friday's game, and then vote for which team will win at the bottom of the page.

Inside the pitching matchup

When Happ is on the mound: One of the least likely 20-game winners in recent memory, J.A. Happ signed a three-year, $36 million contract that now looks like the bargain of the offseason. When he was traded from the Mariners to the Pirates last year, Pirates pitching coach Ray Searage had Happ raise his arm slot a bit and take a more direct stride toward home plate.

The idea that this increased the velocity on his four-seamer isn't necessarily true. While he now throws 92-93 mph as opposed to 89-90 when he first came up with the Phillies, he was also throwing 92-93 with the Blue Jays in 2014. It has, however, generated more swing-and-misses -- up from 15.9 percent with his fastball in 2014 to 20.5 percent this year -- with better command as well. The raise in arm slot has perhaps added some deception to his delivery.

He works away to right-handers with his fastball and goes up or low and away to lefties. He throws both a four-seamer and two-seamer and throws his fastball a lot -- 73 percent of the time. Among qualified starters, only Bartolo Colon and teammate Aaron Sanchez threw a higher rate of fastballs. His secondary pitchers are a slider, curveball and changeup. He throws the curve about only seven times per start but batters hit .137 against it. It could be an effective two-strike option against an aggressive Rangers lineup. -- David Schoenfield

When Darvish is on the mound: In his return from Tommy John surgery, Yu Darvish was as dominant as before, striking out 132 batters in 100 innings. After returning in late May, he made three starts and then missed five weeks because of neck and shoulder issues, but he was healthy in the second half. In his final outing against the Rays, he fanned 12 in six innings.

Darvish has a full arsenal of pitches (including a slider, changeup, curveball, cutter, sinker) but has learned that he can succeed living off a fastball that averaged 93.5 mph -- actually higher average velocity than pre-surgery -- and a deadly slider. He changes speeds effectively with the fastball as he can still dial back and touch 97-98. Batters hit .157 against his slider, right in line with his career mark of .162. Perhaps as a precaution after the surgery, he doesn't throw the slider as much as he did, down from 30 percent to about 20 percent.

One thing I don't understand is why he doesn't ditch the cutter. It was an effective pitch for him in 2012, but batters have pounded it ever since -- hitting .333 and slugging .567 against it. Sometimes it seems Darvish simply has too many pitches and likes to use all of them, although he has cut his walk rate from his rookie season. The Rangers were pretty careful with his pitch count as he topped 100 only three times (all in August), but improved efficiency allowed him to go six-plus innings in 11 of his final 13 starts. -- Schoenfield

Player in the spotlight

Adrian Beltre. At 37, Beltre had another tremendous season, hitting .300 with 32 home runs and cementing his status as a first-ballot Hall of Famer. He was also Mr. Clutch, hitting .385/.408/.646 in "late and close" situations. He has averaged 6.3 WAR per season since joining the Rangers in 2011. What he'd love is to get back to the World Series like that first season in Texas -- and win it this time. -- Schoenfield

What will decide today's game

Jose Bautista has homered in each of the first two games of this postseason, but he's about to face his kryptonite. He's 1-for-18 with nine strikeouts against Game 2 starter Darvish. On Bautista's career, that's his worst average against any pitcher he has faced at least 15 times.

Darvish has succeeded against Bautista by keeping the ball away. He typically throws outside pitches -- those on the outer third of the plate or further outside -- 44 percent of the time against right-handed hitters. Against Bautista, that rate is 60 percent. Bautista hit .175 with a .288 slugging percentage against outside pitches this season. From 2012 to 2015, he hit .250 with a .411 slugging percentage against them. -- ESPN Stats & Info

Choosing sides: Who will win?

When Darvish becomes a free agent after next season, he'll be looking for a deal that pays him close to $30 million, if not more. Winning Game 2 of the ALDS against lefty Happ would look real good on an already excellent resume. Darvish will need his best effort to beat Toronto's 20-game winner, but the Rangers signed him to win games like this. He gave up one run or fewer in three of his past four starts. Who knows how much the four-day layoff hurt the Rangers, but it won't matter all that much if they go down 2-0. -- Jean-Jacques Taylor

The Blue Jays won big Thursday and have 20-game winner Happ starting. Closer Roberto Osuna also probably will be recovered and ready to go. So the Rangers will need a great outing from Darvish or they will be heading to Toronto with their backs to the wall, their toes on the cliff edge and their spouses one finger tap from booking a mid-October trip to Hawaii. Will that pressure help or hurt Darvish? We'll see, but I'm looking for a closer game than 10-1. -- Jim Caple

Where the series stands

It's not a must-win game for the Rangers, but it feels like a must-win game, as you don't want to go back to Toronto down 2-0 and facing AL ERA leader Aaron Sanchez in Game 3. Bautista has homered in six of his past 13 games, so Darvish will have to figure out how to avoid seeing another Bautista long ball. -- Schoenfield

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