Pinder hits grand slam as A’s rally past Jays

Chad Pinder hit his first-career grand slam in the eighth inning as the Oakland Athletics erased a 4-0 deficit to defeat the Toronto Blue Jays 5-4 on Saturday at Rogers Centre.

“There’s no better feeling than helping the team win, especially in a big way like that,’ Pinder said. “That feels really good.”

Stephen Piscotty had an RBI single to start the eighth as Oakland (24-22) won its third straight game.

Gio Urshela hit a two-run homer for Toronto (2224), while pitcher Sam Gaviglio had a strong debut as a starter for the Blue Jays.

He didn’t allow a run surrendering just six hits and one walk while striking out six batters over 5 1/3 innings. He had two previous appearances in relief this season before getting the start against Oakland.

“I thought he did an excellent job,” Blue Jays manager John Gibbons said. “Not knowing the kid, I thought we (as a team) could have done a better job.”

Gaviglio, acquired from the Kansas City Royals back in March, looked at Toronto as an opportunity to get a fresh start after struggles with his former team during spring training. With Toronto’s pitching bit by the injury bug, Gaviglio offered his team some hope.

Toronto has lost seven of its last nine games and matched their season-high losing streak at three games. A loss in the series finale today would result in their first sweep against them this season.