“That one was particularly hard”.
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Kevin Pillar got on base in the inning with a double down the third-base line before Upton came to the plate with the Blue Jays trailing 7-6.
Upton hit an RBI triple, then scored the go-ahead (game-winning run) on an error by Twins right fielder Max Kepler in the eighth inning.
Kepler slipped and fell trying to retrieve the ball and accidentally kicked it onto the warning track.
Upton said he could not remember scoring like that before, even in Little League.
Pillar led off with a single and was forced at second by Upton.
A disappointed Kepler stared into his locker for several minutes before speaking with reporters. “I saw (Kepler) dive initially, kind of knew it would be a triple once it got by him, but rounding second base I saw (third base coach) Luis (Rivera) waving me and I just kept going”. “I take the blame”.
Kepler owned up for the miscue in the post game reminding reporters and fans how cruel the game of baseball can be.
The bats tried to get the Jays back into it.
Jason Grilli (5-3) worked one inning for the win and Roberto Osuna finished for his 29th save.
“We’re confident, we’ve been the same way, to be honest with you, since spring training, since past year”, said Stroman.
“It was a much-needed win”, said the manager.
It is four wins in a row for the New York Yankees, who put the Baltimore Orioles to the sword with a 13-5 win, the Boston Red Sox halted the Kansas City Royals’ good run of form with an 8-3 triumph while Kelly Johnson whacked a pinch-hit grand slam in the New York Mets’ 12-1 demolition of the Philadelphia Phillies. Encarnacion hit his 36th homer and leads the AL with 105 RBIs.
PADRES 1, MARLINS 0: Ryan Schimpf homered, Clayton Richard pitched seven innings and visiting San Diego snapped a four-game skid.
Liriano only gave up a pair of hits through his five-inning ordeal, but issued four walks, three of which came around to score, making things close for a little while before the Jays broke it wide open in the sixth and seventh innings. Edwin Encarnacion pulled Toronto within one with a sharp RBI infield-single right after.
“He’s got to learn to continue to trust that he has to change speeds a little bit more”, Molitor said.
Hopefully some more late-game heroics during September can prepare Toronto for playing better in the ladder section of their potential October games.
The Blue Jays scored three in the bottom of the seventh to trim the lead to 7-6.
A week and one day ago the Blue Jays were walked off in ignominious fashion, when Tyler Naquin hit a drive off the wall that Michael Saunders totally missed.
The Toronto Blue Jays have recalled reliever Bo Schultz from the triple-A Buffalo Bisons and designated Aaron Loup for assignment in a corresponding move. He is hitting just.210 with six home runs and 32 RBIs in 85 games this season. Twins 1B Joe Mauer (quadriceps) returned to the lineup after missing three games because of leg soreness.
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The Blue Jays busted the game open big time in the sixth and seventh innings and Martin was a big part of it.
