Melvin makes Minnesota pay
Outfielder’s eighth-inning heroics cap Blue Jays’ rally from pair of big deficits
As the Minnesota Twins played Keystone Kops in right field during the eighth inning Saturday at the Rogers Centre, Toronto Blue Jays left-fielder Melvin Upton Jr. laid down the law on the basepaths.
The result being a dramatic 8-7 comeback victory for the Jays.
Showing he still has speed to burn at 32, Upton took advantage of a couple of misplays by Twins right-fielder Max Kepler. With the Jays trailing 7-6 in the eighth, Kevin Pillar smacked a double through the hole at short and then Upton hit a sinking line drive off Minnesota reliever Ryan Pressly that Kepler dove for, but missed. The ball made its way toward the warning track and Kepler accidentally kicked it away from centre-fielder Eddie Rosario as Upton rounded the bases. Pillar and Upton scored to give the Jays the 8-7 lead, which they held on to for the win. The play was ruled a triple for Upton with an error by Kepler.
“First time ever,” Upton said when asked if he had ever previously come all the way to score on a base hit that didn’t clear the outfield wall. “I saw (Kepler) dive initially, kind of knew it would be a triple once it got by him, but rounding second base I saw (third base coach) Luis (Rivera) waving me and I just kept going.”
The play capped an improbable win for the AL East-leading Jays, who trailed 5-0 in the fourth and 7-3 in the seventh. But Toronto kept chipping away. Other than Upton’s hit, the turning point of the game was the solid performance by Toronto reliever Jason Grilli, who came in to face the Twins in the eighth with the Jays trailing 7-6. Grilli, whom the Jays acquired from Atlanta on May 31, gave up a leadoff single to Miguel Sano, but then shut the door on Minnesota, getting the next three batters, including a key strikeout of left-fielder Danny Santana. Grilli, as he often does, punctuated his punchout with a scream and fist pump, pumping up his teammates for the comeback in the bottom half of the inning.
“I love it,” said Jays starter Marcus Stroman of Grilli’s antics on the mound. “I’m an emotional guy myself and to see him out there having authentic emotion ... he’s been unbelievable for us since he’s been here. I think that added energy that he brings to the team kind of picks guys up and gives us an added energy boost when we need it.”
“We all love it,” manager John Gibbons added. “He’s a passionate guy, he’s an emotional guy and I know everybody got revved up.”
Grilli picked up his fifth win of the season with his appearance, while closer Roberto Osuna pitched a perfect ninth to record his 29th save of the year. For Stroman, it was a frustrating outing. The young righthander gave up nine hits and five earned runs over six innings before being pulled for Bo Schultz to start the seventh. Most of Minnesota’s hits were ground balls that found holes in the infield.
“I’m good with that,” said Stroman, when asked about his performance. “Though it’s extremely frustrating while you’re out there because you’re doing everything in your power to keep your team in the game.”
Pressly, who took over from starter Ervin Santana with two out in the seventh, took the loss for the AL cellar-dwelling Twins.
Stroman’s downfall was allowing the leadoff runner to reach base in four of the six innings he pitched. The Twins jumped ahead 5-0 after the top half of the fourth and the Jays chipped away, scoring a run in the bottom of the fourth, two in the sixth, three in the seventh and two in the eighth courtesy of Upton’s heroics — a comeback, Gibbons said, reminiscent of last season.
“It was a much-needed win,” said the manager.
“I think they’re all are going to be this way from here on out,” Grilli said of the emotion-filled game. “We got to stay in the fight. Leading up to a pretty big road trip (with series at Baltimore, Tampa Bay and New York starting Monday), this is where we got to get stuff going. A win like that can start some good momentum for us.”
Jays first baseman Edwin Encarnacion crushed his 36th home run in the sixth, recording his 14th threeplus RBI game of the season. He also had a single and a walk. Minnesota second baseman Brian Dozier went 3-for-5 with his two-run double in the fourth giving him 78 RBIs on the season, a career high. Third baseman Trevor Plouffe hit a seventh-inning homer off Schultz.
The Jays have now won seven of their last nine series and the win marked the second time in the last 10 games they overcame a deficit of at least five runs for the win.