Blue Jays fall to Orioles in extras, 4-3
The Orioles finally beat the Blue Jays and Toronto finally lost in extra innings at Sahlen Field… but it was close. Lourdes Gurriel Jr. was tagged out at home on the final play of Baltimore’s 4-3 victory over the Blue Jays on Monday afternoon from downtown Buffalo. The defeat snaps
The Orioles finally beat the Blue Jays and Toronto finally lost in extra innings at Sahlen Field… but it was close.
Lourdes Gurriel Jr. was tagged out at home on the final play of Baltimore’s 4-3 victory over the Blue Jays on Monday afternoon from downtown Buffalo. The defeat snaps Toronto’s four-game winning streak and gives the Orioles their first win in seven tries over the AL East rival.
After the Orioles scored twice in the top of the 11th inning, the Blue Jays were down to their final out with their free baserunner, Randal Grichuk, still at third base. But Gurriel Jr. kept the rally alive with a soft line drive single into center to close the deficit to 4-3.
Pinch hitter Rowdy Tellez then hit a long fly ball down the right field line that dropped just to the side of Anthony Santander. In haste to get the ball back into the infield, the right fielder twirled and threw the ball wildly towards the cutoff man. As the ball began to roll towards first base, shortstop Jose Iglesias -on the right side of the infield because of the shift- raced over to field and complete the relay to the plate. The throw beat Gurriel Jr.’s head-first slide and backstop Chance Sisco made the tag to end the game.
The Orioles got a pair of run-scoring doubles in the top of the 11th inning to build their two-run cushion. Iglesias led off the inning with a deep flyball to left center that split the difference between Gurriel Jr. and Grichuk to score the automatic base runner. Two batters later, catcher Bryan Holaday, who didn’t enter the game until the ninth inning as a defensive replacement, lifted another two-bagger down the right field line that landed on the warning track just in front of the wall.
Each team failed to get their free runner home in the 10th inning. The Orioles were kept off the board thanks to a beautiful 9-2 doubleplay as Teoscar Hernandez threw out Mason Williams trying to score on fly ball to right.
🗣 CANNOOOON from the right of 'em 🗣
— Toronto Blue Jays (@BlueJays) August 31, 2020
🚀 @TeoscarH 🚀 pic.twitter.com/byht9RzAt9
In the bottom of the 10th, the Blue Jays couldn’t score as pinch hitter Travis Shaw, Cavan Biggio and Grichuk all grounded out on the infield.
The Blue Jays scored their first two runs of the game in the fifth inning as Baltimore second baseman Hanser Alberto threw away a routine ground ball from Biggio with two runners on base and two outs. The Orioles quickly erased that lead in the top of the sixth inning as Alberto singled and Santander doubled to greet Wilmer Font, who had just entered the game in relief of starter Chase Anderson.
Anderson was brilliant in his five innings of work for the Blue Jays. The righty retired the final 12 batters he faced and 14 of 15 after Iglesias singled home the Orioles’ first run of the game in the first inning. Anderson struck out eight and walked none, lowering his ERA on the season to 3.20.
Making 'em CHASE 😤
— Toronto Blue Jays (@BlueJays) August 31, 2020
🔥 @ChaseAnderson87 🔥 pic.twitter.com/0W7djZAyXA
Toronto will open September with two in Miami and four in Boston before returning to Buffalo in a week to face the Yankees.