Goins keeps it going as Blue Jays ground Orioles
TORONTO — Darwin Barney has been doing just about everything for the Blue Jays lately.
That includes providing some comic relief.
Barney hit a double in the second inning of Toronto’s 4-3 win over the Orioles on Monday and advanced to third when Baltimore’s Adam Jones bobbled the ball in centre field. But Barney slid into the bag just a little too early, his body bobbing on the dirt before reaching the base before the throw.
Barney, who later scored on a Richard Urena double, looked up with a sheepish grin and gave a thumbs up to his dugout after the gaffe.
“Fans looked a little bored, thought I’d get them on their feet a little bit,” Barney said, the same smile returning to his face.
“There’s been a little bug going around. I woke up today feeling crummy . ... [my legs] locked up on me and the rest is history. But hey, I got on third for Urena and he got me in so I got the job done.”
Ryan Goins, who hit a solo homer and drove in two runs to lead Toronto (67-77) offensively, teased Barney in the clubhouse by making fun of his slide.
“Just as miserable as your home run trot,” Barney fired back.
The infielder is batting .438 over his past nine games with six extra-base hits over that span. He went 2 for 3 Monday while playing third base. Josh Donaldson DH’d after missing three games with an illness.
“There was a point where I was making a lot of outs and I figured if I’m going to make outs I might as well try to be a threat, try to get the bat in the front of the zone and make them throw pitches around,” Barney said of his new approach at the plate. “Ever since then I’ve been focusing on getting the bat out a little bit.”
Marco Estrada (8-8), who allowed two runs on four hits while striking out seven over five innings, appreciated Barney’s effort — while also getting a jab in.
“Poor guy, I think we’re going to see that [slide] pretty often on TV, misplays or something, I don’t know,” Estrada chuckled. “But he got to third, that’s all that matters.”
The 34-year-old Estrada improved to 3-0 against Baltimore this year.
“[My command] has definitely come back,” Estrada said. “I felt really good today. It’s been a weird year. I went through a rough patch there where I had no clue where the ball was going. It just took me a while to get out of it.”
Indians 11, Tigers 0
CLEVELAND — Unrelenting and unbeatable at the moment, the Cleveland Indians refuse to lose.
With their latest overpowering win, they extended baseball’s longest winning streak since 2002 to 19 games with an 11-0 blowout of the Detroit Tigers on Monday night to move closer to a record that has stood for 101 years.
Francisco Lindor tripled home three runs off rookie Myles Jaye (0-1) in the second inning, and the Indians, who haven’t lost since Aug. 23, added another blowout to their growing list of lopsided conquests.
Carlos Carrasco (15-6) struck out nine in six innings.
Cleveland is the sixth team in history to win at least 19 straight, and the streak is the longest since the 2002 Oakland Athletics won 20 in a row — a run that was celebrated in the film Moneyball.