Toronto Blue Jays starting pitcher Mark Buehrle gets pulled after two outs in the first inning against the Tampa Bay Rays on Oct. 4 in St. Petersburg, Fla.Scott Iskowitz/Getty Images
After Toronto manager John Gibbons took the ball from the hand of Mark Buehrle, the dejected Blue Jays pitcher walked very slowly from the mound to the dugout.
Buehrle could not even get out of the first inning in Sunday's regular-season finale against the Tampa Bay Rays, his quest for a 15th-consecutive 200 innings-pitched campaign curtailed by shoddy defence and a weary left arm.
As the veteran made the lonely trip – perhaps for the final time in his storied career – even the Rays' players stood at the front of their dugout to give Buehrle a hearty applause.
That is not something witnessed in this sport too often, and it is a testament to the genuine affection the game holds for the plain-spoken 36-year-old Missouri native.
Inside the Toronto dugout, Buehrle accepted handshakes and back-slaps from his teammates. And once he took a seat on the bench, catcher Dioner Navarro plunked his hefty frame on Buehrle's lap for a really big hug.
Pitching on one day's rest, Buehrle needed just two innings – two innings! – to reach his milestone.
But he was given the hook with two out in the first inning after his teammates committed two bad errors behind him that allowed the Rays to score nine runs off five hits in the bat-around first. Only one of the runs was earned.
The Rays went on to win in a laugher, 12-3, and afterward Buehrle confirmed to the media that he will not be on Toronto's postseason roster for the American League Division Series against the Texas Rangers.
"They've already talked to me. It's tough, it sucks. But I understand the situation," Buehrle said.
"I haven't been feeling the greatest the last month and we've got four guys that have been throwing the spit out of the ball. And they're going to take it and run with this.
"I'll be ready if something happens, hopefully it doesn't. But if something happens to one of those guys and they need me in the second round or the World Series if we get that far, I'm going to be ready, do everything I can."
Teams heading into the postseason usually trim their starting rotation to four from five.
On a team already featuring David Price, Marcus Stroman, R.A. Dickey and Marco Estrada, it has been obvious for a while that Buehrle was going to be the odd man out.
After getting the win in the series opener on Friday night, Gibbons knew he was opening himself up for criticism in his decision to start Buehrle on just one day's rest with first place overall in the AL still on the line.
But Gibbons didn't care about the reaction of outsiders. To him the decision was a no-brainer, that to ignore Buehrle's chase of 200 innings would do more harm to the team than good.
Buehrle is extremely popular among his teammates, likely the most beloved player in the Blue Jays clubhouse.
"It's important to me," Gibbons said before the game. "It's important to Buehrle. It's probably more important to his teammates."
The Blue Jays had already clinched the AL East title last week and their loss on Sunday ensured the Kansas City Royals, winners of the Central, finished with the best overall record in the AL to secure home-field advantage throughout the playoffs.
Toronto finished at 93-69. The Jays have not had that many regular-season wins since 1993, when they had 95 wins and won the World Series.
Buehrle's quest did not get off to a good start when Ryan Goins made an uncharacteristic error on an easy grounder by Brandon Guyer to second base.
Later in the inning, an error by Toronto first baseman Edwin Encarnacion, who could not squeeze a soft line drive stroked by Steven Souza Jr., scored the game's first run.
A Tim Beckham bases-loaded walk brought the score to 2-0 before rookie Joey Butler cracked his first career grand slam, which left Buehrle on borrowed time.
A double by Luke Maile and a single by Guyer, and Gibbons finally had to make the call to remove Buehrle.
"No way I could leave him out there to rot," Gibbons said.
"It wasn't meant to be," said Buehrle, who finished the season 15-8. "Wish we had another couple games and get an opportunity to get it. But it's over; try to start another streak next year."
Buehrle, whose contract expires at the end of this season, has not decided if he is going to retire.
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Jays face Rangers in ALDS
The Toronto Blue Jays will face the Texas Rangers when the American League Division Series opens Thursday. The Rangers won the AL West on Sunday with a 9-2 victory over the Los Angeles Angels, eliminating the Angels from playoff contention.
The first two games of the best-of-five ALDS are at Rogers Centre on Thursday and Friday. Game 3 is next Sunday at Globe Life Park in Arlington with Game 4 (if necessary) on Oct. 12. Game 5 (if necessary) would be back in Toronto on Oct. 14.
The Blue Jays have won four of six games against the Rangers this season, but Texas has been hot of late, going 14-6 over the last 20 games of the regular season to win the West. In contrast, Toronto went 11-9.
Texas right-hander Yovani Gallardo has also been practically unhittable against Toronto this season. In two starts against the Blue Jays, the righty has not allowed a run, giving up six hits over 13 2/3 innings.
"We're feeling good right now," Toronto manager John Gibbons said. "I guess you could say us and Texas are probably the two hottest teams the last two months. Probably going to be a pretty good matchup."