Orioles tag Jays’ Grilli for game winner
• Hardly a day goes by that the thought doesn’t cross John Gibbons’ mind.
“Where would we be without Jason Grilli?”
The answer is unknowable but, it’s safe to say, it wouldn’t be in first place in the American League East, just as the calendar is about to flip to September.
So, when Baltimore catcher Matt Wieters jumped on the first pitch he saw from Grilli in the bottom of the eighth inning Tuesday, sending it far over the wall in right field for a two-run, go-ahead home run, it was just one small withdrawal from the enormous pot of goodwill that Grilli has earned over the last three months.
A f ew moments l ater, lights-out closer Zach Britton came on to close down this 5- 3 win for the Orioles ( 7260) that evened up this threegame series at a win apiece.
The Wieters belt was the first run Grilli has given up in 14 August appearances and only the 16th hit in 32 2/3 innings overall since he joined the Jays on June 1. Before he got here, the eighth inning had been a black hole for the Toronto bullpen. Since Grilli took it over, it has been a safe haven for Gibbons and his players.
It was Baltimore’s third home run of the game. The first two, hit by Steve Pearce and Manny Machado, came against J.A. Happ in the fifth inning.
Michael Saunders hit a game- tying two- run homer for the Jays (75-57) in the seventh inning but that was as far as their seven- hit attack would take them.
With one out in the second inning, Saunders doubled into the right field corner for Toronto’s first hit of the game. After Melvin Upton grounded out, Kevin Pillar floated a single just beyond the reach of second baseman Jonathan Schoop to score Saunders with the game’s first run.
That solitary run held up until, with one out in the fifth, Pearce belted a solo homer into the left field seats but the Orioles didn’t stop there.
Next man up, DH Pedro Alvarez, walked. Manny Machado then unloaded a bomb, his 32nd homer of the season and 100th of his career, to left- centre and suddenly the Orioles had a tworun lead, 3-1.
Happ worked 6 1/ 3 innings, allowing three earned runs on six hits and two walks, burned by the two home runs.
DOWN THE STRETCH
The Blue Jays seem to have found their stride more or less at the same time as they did last year and have now been in first place or tied for first for 17 consecutive days.
Gibbons believes last year’s experience makes things a little easier to deal with this time around.
“To be able to say we did it goes a long way because it had been such a long time coming around here,” Gibbons said prior to the game, referring to the club’s first division title since 1993.
“We know what we’re up against: good teams that we always have battles against.”
This year’s club has not been as mercurial as last year’s when they went on two 11-game winning streaks. This year, their longest win streak is seven games but, on the other side of the coin, they have not lost more than two games in a row since June 21.
“We’ve been just plodding along and maybe that’s the best way to do it,” said Gibbons. “Be consistent. Stay away from any long losing skids. We’ve done that, ever since we hit our stride back in May.”