TORONTO — The Blue Jays nearly threw away Game 5 of the AL Division Series with a bizarre blunder by catcher Russell Martin before rallying in a nearly hour-long seventh inning.

Fans littered the field with debris during an 18-minute delay after Martin hit Texas batter Shin-Soo Choo with his seemingly simple return throw to the pitcher that resulted in a run for the Rangers after several conferences and an umpire’s review. The Blue Jays even said they were playing the game under protest.

Toronto rallied in the 53-minute seventh for a 6-3 victory to advance to the Championship Series, but not before having to recoup after crazy top half of the inning.

“It was just a shame that might have been the difference in a game of this magnitude,” Blue Jays manager John Gibbons said. “Thank God it didn’t come down to that.”

With Rougned Odor at third base and two outs in the top of the seventh, Martin’s throw back to the mound appeared to hit the hand of batter Shin-Soo Choo, allowing Odor to sprint home as the ball rolled up the third base line for a 3-2 lead.

“I understand the fans are upset,” Choo said. “I understand their reaction.”

Home plate umpire Dale Scott initially ruled it a dead ball but, after Rangers manager Jeff Banister came out, the umpires huddled and Odor was sent home.

Scott acknowledged making a mistake with his initial ruling.

“I was mixing up two rules,” Scott told a pool reporter. “I called time but then it started clicking. I went, `Wait a minute, wait a minute, there’s no intent on the hitter.’ If there’s no intent, if he’s not out of the box, that throw is live.”

Things devolved further in the bottom half as the Rangers made three errors to load the bases with none out.

Texas then requested a review on next play, when Ben Revere grounded into a force at home. Dalton Pompey slid hard into catch Chris Gimemez, who was standing on home plate. Umpires upheld the ruling.

But after Sam Dyson replaced Cole Hamels, Josh Donaldson drove in a run on a forceout and Jose Bautista hit a long homer to put Toronto up 6-3.

Royals 7, Astros 2

KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Johnny Cueto knew the Kansas City Royals had wagered much of their future on him, trading away a bevy of prospects in late July so that he could pitch in moments like this.

The decisive game of a playoff series, their season on the line.

He responded with a masterpiece on his biggest stage yet, eight dominant innings Wednesday night that allowed the resilient Royals to rally once more for a 7-2 victory over the Houston Astros that sent them back to the American League Championship Series.

“I woke up today on the right foot,” Cueto said. “As soon as I woke up, I felt something magic, that this was Game 5 and I had to show up for everybody, for this team and the fans.”

Cueto allowed two hits, a single by Evan Gattis followed by Luis Valbuena’s second-inning homer, before retiring the final 19 batters he faced. He struck out eight without a walk in the kind of clutch performance the Royals expected when they got him from the Reds.

When Wade Davis breezed through the ninth, the Royals poured onto the field to celebrate.