Jays’ playoff hopes get dimmer
Wins for Baltimore and Detroit, loss to Boston push Toronto to brink
BOSTON This is Big Papi’s weekend, a three-day farewell festival that promises to have plenty of curtain calls in the coming days, maybe weeks of playoff baseball.
But first things first. First, before he puts the finishing touches on his shiny legend, he seems bound and determined to bury the Toronto Blue Jays flagging playoff hopes.
Friday night, Ortiz capped a fourrun Boston Red Sox rally in the bottom of the seventh with his 38th homer, a two-run shot that held up for a 5-3 victory in the opening game of this season-ending series.
The loss, coupled with victories by Baltimore (8-1 over New York) and Detroit (6-2 over Atlanta) pushed the Blue Jays out of first place in the American League wildcard derby and precariously close to complete elimination from the playoff picture.
The Orioles now move into top spot in the wild-card standings. Toronto still clings to the second wild-card slot but the Tigers are only a half-game back with a game in hand.
The Jays had taken a two-run lead on the Sox with a three-run rally in the top of the fifth inning but Boston tied it against reliever Joe Biagini in the seventh.
With Mookie Betts on first base, Ortiz came to the plate against lefty Brett Cecil, who tried to sneak a fastball past the Boston slugger and paid the price.
Neither starter, Boston’s Rick Porcello or Toronto’s Marco Estrada figured in the decision but both pitched well.
Estrada got into early pitchcount trouble but stuck around long enough to leave with a 3-1 lead after the fifth.
Porcello lasted one inning longer, left the game trailing by two runs, but he got off the hook when his mates rallied late.
The Blue Jays entered September at 76-57 with a two-game lead in the American League East. They leave the month behind with an 11-16 record, having all but squandered their playoff hopes completely.
They can still save themselves but it will probably take wins here on both Saturday and Sunday to do it.
The Red Sox got on the board first, courtesy of a Brock Holt walk, a wild pitch and an Ortiz base-hit to right with the RBI.
The Jays rallied to take the lead in the top of the fifth in an inning where Porcello threw just nine pitches.
Devon Travis led off with a double. Ezequiel Carrera laid down a perfect sacrifice bunt that got past Porcello for a single. First and third. Josh Donaldson hit a
sacrifice fly to score Travis. After Edwin Encarnacion flied out, Jose Bautista lofted his 22nd home run of the year, scoring Carrera and making it 3-1.
With Estrada out of the game, Biagini got a quick out in the bottom of the sixth, then yielded a triple into the right field corner by Xander Bogaerts. With a runner 90 feet from home, Biagini bowed his neck and struck out first Jackie Bradley, Jr., and then Sandy Leon to strand Bogaerts.
In the bottom of the seventh, Andrew Benintendi led off with a double into the right-centre gap.
Pedroia’s swinging bunt bounced in front of the plate. Martin fielded it but threw wide of first base, the ball becoming wedged under the tarp in right field.
Benintendi was awarded home plate and Pedroia went to second on the error. Biagini wild-pitched Pedroia to third and he strolled home with the tying run on Mookie Betts’s single into centre field.
Cecil came out of the bullpen to face Ortiz with one out.
With a 2-1 count, Ortiz left the yard in a nano-second, just inside the pole in right for the margin of victory.