He also increased his RBI total to 110, the most by a player age 40 or above since Dave Winfield had 108 for Toronto in 1992.
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Toronto, after the 11-8 loss, now has 20 games left to try to catch up with Boston, including the final three games of the regular season, at Fenway Park.
Clay Buchholz started that game, too. It scored Brock Holt and Sandy Leon, who had walked.The Blue Jays took a 6-4 lead with a five-run lead capped by Tulowitzki’s 23rd homer of the season and his third career grand slam.Josh Donaldson walked, Encarnacion singled and Jose Bautista walked to load the bases. “There’s a lot of time left”.
Pedroia responded for Boston in the first at bat of the sixth. “It’s good to get the guys into a room and talk about the things we need to talk about, just to make sure we’re all in it together”. Boston went on to win 6-5.
“This might not have been the same stage but where we are, against (Toronto), really no less important”, Farrell said.
The Washington Nationals claimed a 3-2 win over the Philadelphia Phillies, the New York Mets thrashed the Atlanta Braves 10-3 and the Seattle Mariners overcame the Oakland Athletics 3-2. Kimbrel struck out Martin with a nasty off-speed pitch, and got Tulowitzki to fly out to deep right field to pick up his 25th save and end the wild encounter. Between Boston and Toronto a whopping 18 pitchers were used, including starters.
Blue Jays manager John Gibbons was ejected in the ninth after the umpires ruled Russell Martin’s double into the right field corner, initially ruled fair, had landed foul. However, they could not extend the lead any further despite two on with one out and Rodriguez on the ropes, as Martin and Troy Tulowitzki struck out back to back. Five of the six runs Buchholz surrendered scored via the home run. Ortiz is one of the greatest players to ever play the game and he’s ending his career in style, looking nothing like a player that will turn 41 years old in November. If they gave up another two-run lead, well, it wasn’t anything they hadn’t already erased once on the day. Holt had a nice day at the plate, though, reaching base four times on a hit and three walks and scoring two runs.
Boston tied it at 6 and chased Sanchez on a two-run single by Bogaerts, but Toronto answered with Encarnacion’s second homer in the bottom half.
“It definitely would have been a lot cooler if I had got in there safe”, Holt said.
The outcome not only snapped an unholy four-game losing skid but also moved the Blue Jays back within a thin game of Boston’s lead atop the American League East standing. Martin leaped into the Red Sox dugout in search of a foul popup in the fifth, almost colliding with Farrell. He was checked by the trainer and stayed in.
ROCKIES 3, PADRES 2 (10) Mark Reynolds hit a home run to lead off the 10th inning and the visiting Rockies salvaged a split of a four-game series. Wade Miley (8-12, 5.49 ERA) will take the mound for Baltimore to face off against Drew Pomeranz (2-4, 3.97 ERA). Only once before, on Sunday, Oct. 13, 2013, had he surrendered an extra-base hit, when Ortiz punished a low-and-away changeup for a grand slam that erased the Tigers’ 5-1 lead in Game 2 of the ALCS and eventually turned the course of the entire series. Liriano last started August 26 against Minnesota and has made two relief appearances since. RHP Jake Odorizzi (9-6, 3.86 ERA) starts for the Rays.
Ortiz did it again on Sunday afternoon, clobbering another low and away changeup from Benoit to erase the Blue Jays lead and put the Red Sox in front of an upside down game that finally ended nearly four hours after it started.
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Boston Red Sox designated hitter David Ortiz (34) heads to home plate past Toronto Blue Jays catcher Russell Martin (55) during first inning American League baseball action in Toronto on Sunday, Sept. 11, 2016. Red Sox INF Travis Shaw started at third base for the 90th game this season after INF Aaron Hill got the start there Saturday with Shaw limited to a pinch-hit appearance.
