Devon Travis wasn’t going to give in.
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Melvin Upton Jr., who was acquired by Toronto in a trade with San Diego on Tuesday, was in the starting lineup batting fourth and playing left field.
He fouled off four-seamers up; he fouled off sliders down; he fouled off change-ups outside.
The Jays ignited the 45,515-strong crowd early.
Right-hander Joaquin Benoit made his Blue Jays debut with a scoreless ninth.
“I can’t imagine I’ve ever had an at-bat longer than that”, Travis said. “Every single guy is a threat to take you deep”. Donaldson worked a full count against Paul Clemens before skipping a two-seamer to second base where the Padres could only make one out as the Blue Jays tied the game.
TV: 12:37 p.m. ET, FSN San Diego, Sportsnet (Toronto) PITCHING MATCHUP: Padres RH Luis Perdomo (4-4, 6.93 ERA) vs.
The Toronto Blue Jays are trying to keep pace in the top heavy American League East.
Gibbons called it “a insane game”.
“What attracted us to him was several things”, Atkins said. “Luckily, it’s only for two games and we don’t have to play them again”.
Despite the win, San Diego finished its 10-game road trip a disappointing 3-7.
Villanueva was replaced by Clemens to face Jose Bautista, who drew a walk to score Pillar. The very next batter, Encarnacion, drove a ball so hard to the left-centre field wall that he was held to a single.
The Blue Jays made an adjustment in the rotation for Wednesday, electing to go with knuckleballer R.A. Dickey (7-11, 4.44 ERA) on Wednesday with three days’ rest against the Padres. After Kevin Pillar beat out a double-play ball, Darwin Barney doubled to move Pillar to third with one out. The left-fielders fifth home run of the season scored Jankowski and Kemp ahead of him, suddenly giving the Padres a 4-3 lead. The Blue Jays feel it is a better matchup. He was crisp and efficient through five innings, allowing only a run in the second when Yangervis Solarte led off with a single and came around to score on a Ryan Schimpf double. That would be the end for Stroman who finished with seven strikeouts.
“He asked me about him”, Bethancourt said. “I felt like I could throw the ball where I wanted to”.
“I guess I had to get a working visa”, Upton said upon his return “About an hour-and-a-half ride there, sat at border patrol for a little while, jumped in the auto and came back”.
Alex Dickerson hit a three-run shot, his third homer in three games, as San Diego extended its club-record streak of games with at least one home run to 24. “He’s an impressive looking kid”, Gibbons said. “I’ve thought about it, but man, it’s part of the game”, Upton said.
With trade rumors swirling, Upton sat out San Diego’s last two games, including Monday’s 4-2 loss at Toronto. And for a while he did, as he retired the first eight batters he faced with little issue.
The Padres (44-58) tacked on a run in the sixth.
But that only set the stage for Travis’ dramatics in the bottom half of the inning.
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“That was unbelievable”, Stroman said.
