Benches clear after Jose Bautista's home run during bizarre 7th inning

— -- A deflected throw back to the mound by Toronto catcher Russell Martin allowed Texas to score a tiebreaking run, touching off a long delay and causing the Blue Jays to play Game 5 of the AL Division Series under protest.

Fans littered the field with debris during the 18-minute delay Wednesday in the deciding game of the series as umpires sorted out one of the most unusual plays in playoff history.

Benches then cleared twice in the bottom half as Toronto took the lead. The Blue Jays went on to win 6-3 to advance to the AL Championship Series.

With two outs in the seventh inning and Rangers outfielder Shin-Soo Choo at the plate, Texas took a 3-2 lead when catcher Russell Martin's return throw to the mound deflected off Choo's bat, allowing Rougned Odor to score from third base.

According to Major League Baseball rule 6.03(a)(3), the batter is not to be charged with interfering with the catcher if the batter is still in the batter's box and doesn't make a movement to block or disrupt the throw.

This type of play is not subject to manager's review, but Dale Scott, the crew chief, after discussing the ruling with Blue Jays manager John Gibbons, called an umpire's review. After a delay of 2 minutes, 32 seconds, the play stood, and fans at Rogers Centre began throwing objects on the field.

During the incident, Toronto Mayor John Tory tweeted: "Don't hurt each other or our city over this. We can prove ourselves in more ways than one. #ComeTogether"

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.

When on-deck batter Edwin Encarcion turned to the crowd and gestured for them to stop throwing objects on the field, Dyson misunderstood Encarnacion's actions and the players had words, causing the benches to clear.

Twenty police officers lined the outfield, and many more were stationed down the lines during the delay.

Benches cleared a second time after Troy Tulowitzki popped out foul to end the inning.

Information from The Associated Press was used in this report.