It may only be August – there’s still a quarter of the season left to play – but the Toronto Blue Jays and Cleveland Indians will face off this weekend in a preview of a potential second round playoff match-up in the ALCS. The Blue Jays had won four of five before the pen blew a 9th inning lead in a 3-2 defeat Friday. He now has 76 RBI on the season and is hitting.346 in his last seven games with two home runs and ten RBI. And going. And going.
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Even by walk-off standards, the Indians’ 3-2 victory over the Toronto Blue Jays on Friday night was a stunner. “I just made a couple of mistakes, left the ball right over the middle and they hit me pretty good”, said Osuna.
The Orioles became the first team in the modern era (since 1900) to open a game with four home runs before making an out, according to STATS.
Cleveland entered the bottom of the ninth inning trailing 2-1, but that deficit didn’t last long.
Next up, Naquin hit an inside-the-park walk-off home run to right-centre field for the victory. The ball ricocheted toward center fielder Melvin Upton Jr., who fell down as he attempted to throw the ball into the infield. And thanks to a lucky bounce off the wall, Naquin’s legs went on autopilot. “I said, ‘You know, I have a chance to score if it kicks away far enough, ‘ and sure enough, it did”. He hit a walk-off sacrifice fly on Thursday, and while he didn’t start Friday’s game, he found a way to impact the game in the ninth.
“There wasn’t a second of that game that anyone thought we were going to lose”, Bauer said in his postgame interview. It was his third blown save in 30 opportunities this season.
Cleveland starter Trevor Bauer enjoyed a career night despite the no-decision, punching out a career-high 13 batters. His only major mistake was J.D. Martinez’s two-run home run in the second inning. Toronto’s lead over Boston in the AL East was cut to a half-game. That approach is a big reason why Cleveland never seems to be out of the game, and is a testament to the culture Terry Francona has built.
What makes the Cleveland Indians so good?
Blue Jays manager John Gibbons obviously felt differently about the shocking ending.
“That was tough”, he said. Hamels retired 14 consecutive batters, striking out seven, when Corey Dickerson singled with two outs in the sixth for Tampa Bay’s first hit. Toronto 3B Josh Donaldson (thumb) and SS Troy Tulowitzki (calf) are expected to return to the lineup on Saturday after sitting out the opener.2.
See below for some of the reaction to Naquin’s base running on the same night NBA Finals MVP LeBron James was in attendance at Progressive Field and Jamaican sprinter Usain Bolt won his ninth gold medal after finishing first in the 4×100-meter relay at the Olympics in Brazil.
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NOTES: The Indians recalled RHP Shawn Armstrong from Triple-A Columbus and optioned LHP Kyle Crockett to Columbus. The Blue Jays optioned outfielder Darrell Ceciliani to Triple-A Buffalo. He had flown home to Tyler, Texas, on Wednesday.
