Some “home away from home” games appear to be just what the doctor ordered for the Toronto Blue Jays as they defeated the Seattle Mariners in convincing fashion on Tuesday night 10-2. For the rest of us, it just might make the next two nights in Seattle the most compelling baseball we’ll see until October. “Keep fighting, but at the same time, have fun”. Josh Donaldson walked and Edwin Encarnacion capped the inning with a two-run double.
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Despite the fact that teammate and reigning American League MVP Josh Donaldson (who, despite being considered primarily as a third baseman, has started a number of games as the Jays” designated hitter due to be “banged up’ for most of the season) is gaining more attention for MVP than Encarnacion due to his defensive prowess at third base, Encarnacion, who has played a lot of first base this year, has been more valuable to his team than Donaldson, which, according to MVP voting criteria, is the true measure of what it means to be an MVP.
Closer Roberto Osuna entered and got Cano to line out to the warning track in right field where Ezequiel Carrera was playing. “As soon as I was at second base, I made up my mind that if he bunted the ball on the ground, regardless of where it was going, I was going to go to third base”.
As is always the case when the Jays play in Seattle, it became a home game for Toronto with thousands of Western Canadian fans making the trek to Safeco Field. Inciarte raced to the wall and timed his jump perfectly, catching the ball just above the fence.
PIRATES 4, BREWERS 1: Sean Rodriguez hit a home run and a two-run single, Andrew McCutchen went deep, rookie Chad Kuhl pitched six strong innings and Pittsburgh won at Milwaukee.
“I think Russ and I will tell you that we’re probably more proud than others”, Saunders said. “It was a big moment”.
Weaver (12-12), who struck out six and allowed four runs, joined Chuck Finley (165) as the only pitchers to win 150 games for the Angels. I was behind in the count.
“I thought it was a risky play (to try for third)”, Heredia admitted, “but I felt I had to do it”. His ball has some run.
“I’m not really sure what’s been going on, as the game gets going I start to struggle a little bit”, Estrada said.
Seattle shortstop Mike Freeman prevented the go-ahead run from scoring in the 10th with a diving grab of Kevin Pillar’s one-out liner with a runner on third. Happ would record his 18th win on the season, pitching an efficient six innings, only allowing 3 hits, as the Blue Jays would back him up by scoring seven runs.
When Hernandez came off the field after the seventh, he told nearby fans, “This is my house”. The Blue Jays then close the season with three games at first-place Boston. “That was unbelievable”, Hernandez said. He is now 2-0 with a 0.86 ERA with 19 strikeouts in 21 innings in his last three starts against Toronto. Hernandez also made his 357th career start, which matches one-time Mariner Freddy Garcia for the most in major-league history by a Venezuelan-born pitcher.
Blue Jays: After an off day Thursday, Toronto heads into the American League East gauntlet with two series at home, four games against the Yankees, followed by three against Baltimore, that has huge wild card implications.
TORONTO: The Blue Jays are 7-1 in Happ’s last eight road starts and have won 22 of his last 28 starts overall. With the Mariners winning seven of 10 and the Blue Jays just 5-5 over their last 10, Seattle is a solid underdog play tonight.
The Mariners have lost four of five and fell four games behind the Blue Jays for the top AL wild card and three games back of Baltimore for the second spot. Seattle’s only remaining challenge after this series is a three-game set in Houston against an Astros team that is not only now tied with the Mariners in the Wild Card chase, but is 10-6 against them on the season.
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The M’s are now three games back in their pursuit of the second A.L. Wild Card. LHP James Paxton (4-7, 3.88 ERA) starts the Friday opener.
