National Post (National Edition)
Orioles exact revenge with walk-off homer
Jays squandered 11 innings of opportunities
BALTIMORE • After 166 days between pitches, the Toronto Blue Jays reached opening day of the 2017 season anxious to renew the form that took them to two consecutive playoff appearances.
It was an even longer off season for the Baltimore Orioles, with stinging memories of the American League wild card playoff loss to the Jays to stew about.
Was it worth the wait? For entertainment value in front of 45,667 mostly orange-clad fans at Camden Yards, the extra-inning thriller was certainly an eventful opener.
In the end, the Orioles got the big hit when it mattered, a Mark Trumbo walk-off homer off Jays reliever Jason Grilli in the bottom of the 11th to give the home side a 3-2 win.
It was a game with plenty of defence, plenty of hits and plenty of opportunities for both teams to win, but the Jays just couldn’t cash in.
For manager John Gibbons’s squad, the bats were mostly ready, with 11 hits sprinkled across 11 innings, though none of the long-ball variety the team has rode to success.
And the starting pitching was up to snuff as well, with Marco Estrada, scattering five hits over six innings, holding the Orioles to just two runs.
Much of Toronto’s production came from the bottom part of the order with Steve Pearce making his Jays debut in style. Batting seventh in the order, the former Oriole had three singles.
Devon Travis, with his surgery-repaired knee feeling fine, also had two hits, validating Gibbons’s belief that the second baseman can be a strong threat batting leadoff.
With the bullpen missing closer Roberto Osuna, who began the season on the disabled list, the Jays went through six pitchers in an attempt to shut down the O’s attack.
Though he was touched for three doubles, overall it was an efficient effort for Estrada, who left with the score tied 2-2 after the sixth. Grilli was the sixth pitcher the Jays employed as Gibbons went to the bullpen often.
The Orioles struck first in the bottom of the third when a Chris Davis blast off the wall brought home Seth Smith. It could have been worse, but Jays right-fielder Jose Bautista gunned down Davis with the throw.
The O’s were still able to bump the lead to 2-0 when Trumbo doubled to the same right field corner, allowing Adam Jones to score.
The Jays cut the lead in half in the top of the fifth when Kendrys Morales drew a bases-loaded walk to bring Kevin Pillar home from third. It was opportunity missed, however, as Bautista preceded Morales with a harmless popout behind home plate and Troy Tulowitzki grounded out with the bases still loaded.
The Jays tied it up in the sixth when left-fielder Ezequiel Carrera ripped a two-out double down the right-field line and Pearce hustled home all the way from first.
Both teams had opportunities on the road to extra innings. The Jays’ best chance to take the lead came in the ninth when Travis and Josh Donaldson had one-out singles off Orioles reliever Zach Britton before Bautista grounded into a double-play.
In the 11th, Travis was denied his third hit of the game when Manny Machado stabbed a line drive at third and threw from off balance to get the out at first.
After an off day on Tuesday, the Jays and Orioles finish their two-game miniseries on Wednesday.