Pearce hits repeat
Jays outfielder hits second walk-off grand slam this week
TORONTO With his second walk-off grand slam in less than a week, Steve Pearce lifted the Toronto Blue Jays to a miraculous 11-10 comeback win over the Los Angeles Angels on Sunday to avoid a three-game sweep.
The Angels held a 10-4 lead entering the final frame and many of the 46,852 in the soldout Rogers Centre crowd had already left the stadium. But Pearce launched a fastball from Angels closer Bud Norris into left field to complete the biggest ninth-inning comeback in Blue Jays’ history.
Afterwards, he was at a loss to explain his recent flair for the dramatic.
“Feels great. Really hasn’t sunk in yet,” said Pearce, who was asked if the grand slam from Thursday’s win over Oakland gave him any extra confidence.
“You never see those coming with that big a deficit,” said Blue Jays manager John Gibbons. “Pearce with a granny to win it — that’s really rare in this game.”
Pearce became just the third player in MLB history with two walk-off grand slams in one season.
Toronto’s rally comes a day after the Angels stunned the Jays (49-56) with a dramatic ninth-inning comeback of their own. Matt Dermody got the win after pitching three innings of relief without giving up an earned run.
Albert Pujols homered twice for the Angels (51-55), who seemed to be in cruise control until Toronto’s wild ninth inning.
The rally started when Kevin Pillar hit a two-run homer and infielder Rob Refsnyder doubled to chase Angels reliever Brooks Pounders. With Norris taking over on the mound, Ezequiel Carrera and Russell Martin singled to cut the lead to 10-7 and, after Justin Smoak grounded out, Kendrys Morales walked to set the table for Pearce’s heroics.