TORONTO – Few baseball players would describe their first couple tastes of the post-season as “kinda odd.” But then again, most haven’t had the experience of Toronto Blue Jays reliever Mark Lowe.
On the surface, Lowe’s playoff resume sounds ideal: A kid who grew up in Houston and dreamt of winning an MLB title gets his first shot at post-season baseball with the Texas Rangers, and on the biggest stage there is, in Game 1 of the 2010 World Series. And then, the very next year, his first 2011 post-season appearance comes in Game 3 of the World Series.
But it wasn’t exactly a dream-like scenario for Lowe, and not just because the Rangers were on the losing end of both title runs.
“Both years, I was coming off injuries—back surgery and a pulled hamstring,” says the 32-year-old right-hander, who hasn’t lost that Texas drawl. “To be thrown right into the World Series as my first post-season experience, it was different. Physically, you’re not 100 per cent. I don’t think your mindset is exactly where it needs to be. It was kinda odd.”
It was also rough, as far as Lowe’s outings were concerned.
He was on the mound in Game 6 of the 2011 World Series when David Freese hit an 11th-inning walk-off home run to force Game 7, which the St. Louis Cardinals went on to win. Lowe had faced one batter in Game 6, and he earned the loss.
And before this current run with Toronto, that was the last post-season ball Lowe had thrown. Before this October, his playoff numbers were dismal: Four appearances, 1.2 innings pitched, seven hits and seven earned runs.
Lowe says that’s “in the history books,” but there’s no doubt in his mind that this is his shot at redemption: “100 per cent.”
But there’s no arguing, either, that he’s already redeemed himself, having proven beyond a doubt he can pitch in October when it counts.
Before Tuesday’s 14-2 blowout, Lowe was perfect. In five appearances and 3.1 innings of work he had yet to give up a hit or run (his only blemish came in Game 4; he gave up one hit and two earned runs). Lowe, who sports some kind of Mohawk, appeared in each of the first four games of the ALDS, and now with bullpen ace Brett Cecil on the shelf, he’s become one of the few arms manager John Gibbons can consistently rely on.
“He’s been so good,” Gibbons says. “He’s been one of our go-to guys.”
With the Blue Jays down 3-1 to Kansas City and facing win-or-die scenarios, starting with Game 5 on Wednesday, Lowe likely won’t see action until Game 6, should it be necessary. He pitched back-to-back days in Games 3 and 4. (Gibbons’ decision to let Lowe see action in Game 4 was questioned, and the manager says he was running out of options, with Aaron Loup having to leave mid-game to attend to a personal matter).
“It’s been a lot of work down the stretch,” Lowe says. “Even if I wasn’t pitching, I was up in the bullpen just about every day, so it’s been a heavy workload, but I’m bouncin’ back fine and making quality pitches and getting outs when I need ’em.
“That was my goal this year, to stay healthy all the way through and finally give it a good shot from the beginning to the end of the post-season.”
And while they were short, and not memorable for good reasons, those 2010 and 2011 World Series appearances are coming in handy now, a handful of years later.
“I think the failure that I had there pushed me harder to get more done and to be more successful,” Lowe says. “Anybody who’s gonna succeed in this game had to fail at some point to really feel how awesome it is to succeed. I think I’ve become a better baseball player because of it.
“At the end of the day, it’s kind of a blessing in disguise. I’m more comfortable out here now.”
And this time around, on his third shot, the post-season experience isn’t “kinda odd” in the least.
“No,” Lowe says, smiling. “I’m havin’ a blast.”