TORONTO – The Toronto Blue Jays were far from perfect Friday night, but they were playing the Baltimore Orioles so thankfully they didn’t have to be.
The Orioles arrived in Toronto on pace for a 47-115 record, even with the contributions of Manny Machado. Now that their best player has been traded, the Orioles have even less talent, and it showed in the field and on the mound Friday.
Baltimore’s shortcomings helped the Blue Jays walk off with an 8-7 extra-innings win on a night that the home team made two fielding errors, botched a hit and run, blew a save, and nearly had a lack of hustle from Aledmys Diaz cost them.
With the game tied in the bottom of the ninth, Diaz led off by hitting a ball deep to right-centre. Instead of running out of the box, though, he admired what he suspected was a walk-off homer.
“I thought it was going to go out the way the ball was carrying all day,” Diaz said through interpreter Josue Peley.
Instead, Diaz hit what John Gibbons later described as “the double that should have been a triple” and the Blue Jays stranded him at third. One inning later, though, Diaz snuck a game-winning single through the left side to score Russell Martin from second.
“I was trying to stay up the middle and I got a good pitch to hit,” Diaz said. “But to be honest, I didn’t think it was going to go through.”
To the relief of Diaz, Gibbons and the rest of the Blue Jays, the ball eluded the Orioles and Martin hustled home. That marked four hits on the day for Diaz, who had opened the scoring in support of starter Sam Gaviglio with a third-inning homer.
The play deteriorated noticeably for one sequence in the bottom of the sixth inning that began when Kendrys Morales led off with a routine ground ball to the right side. With the Orioles in an exaggerated shift, shortstop Tim Beckham had a play on the ball, but he jogged too slowly to his left and had it ricochet off his glove. Jonathan Schoop then recovered the ball, only to throw it wildly and allow Morales to reach on error.
Not to be outdone, the Blue Jays gave the out right back on the next batter. Martin drew the count full with Morales on first and nobody out, at which point the Blue Jays appeared to call for a hit and run. The 3-2 pitch was well-placed on the outside corner (the lowest of the three orange dots below), but Martin didn’t swing, so when the pitch was called for a strike, Morales was an easy out at second for catcher Caleb Joseph.
Meanwhile, Gaviglio was especially impressive as he set career highs in innings pitched (7.2) and strikeouts (eight) while starting for the third time in the last six games. True to form, he got plenty of quick outs with a steady mix of off-speed pitches despite topping out at 89.1 m.p.h. with his fastball.
“It’s nice to get deep in the game,” said Gaviglio, whose wife and newborn were in attendance after arriving in Toronto over the break. “Strike one was big. It makes the whole (at-bat) a lot easier when you get strike one.”
With Jaime Garcia now in the bullpen and Aaron Sanchez in need of more time rehabbing his injured finger, Gaviglio will keep getting looks in the Blue Jays’ rotation.
“I think it is (an opportunity), and I think he’s done a tremendous job,” Gibbons said. “It’s like everyone else. He’s had a couple starts where he’s been hit around a little bit–it happens to them all–but when you look at his overall (production) since he’s been here I think he’s been outstanding. He’s a pitcher.”
At the plate, the Blue Jays weren’t entirely dependent on Diaz. They also got solo home runs from Martin and Randal Grichuk, while Curtis Granderson added two hits – a potential boost to his trade value ahead of the July 31 non-waiver deadline.
Fellow trade candidate Tyler Clippard had a much tougher day, however. The right-hander allowed three runs, including two home runs, en route to a blown save as the Orioles came back to tie the game at 7-7 in the ninth.
“He’s done a great job for us,” Gibbons said. “But for the late-inning bullpen guys, it’s a tough job. Sometimes they get you; sometimes they don’t.”
They got Clippard on Friday, but Diaz came through to deliver yet another blow to an Orioles team that’s already suffered its share of them.
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