National Post (National Edition)

Jays go deep to salvage final game

- Postmedia News

Otherwise, Happ was solid, with nine strikeouts and no walks on the day.

“It was the second good one in a row for Happ,” Gibbons said. “He really pitched well today.”

“The arm thing’s behind him. His location is a bit better.”

“I was just trying to do the little things,” Happ said. “We just wanted to grind back and we did in that sixth inning.”

Happ, who recently came off the disabled list, is getting more comfortabl­e with his delivery with each start.

“I felt the last two starts have been a lot better,” he said. “I’ve been throwing in my lanes a little better on each side of the plate. That’s a good sign for me. I’ve also got a little more life in my fastball.”

Danny Barnes allowed very little in his 1.1 innings of work. Closer Roberto Osuna was perfect in the ninth.

Kevin Pillar’s RBI single in the fifth scored Steve Pearce to bring the Jays back to 3-1. Then with two outs in the sixth, Tulowitzki singled, Martin lined a shot to right-centre field that appeared to go off Garcia but on second look went off the top of the wall and over to tie the game.

“It felt pretty good off the bat,” Martin said. “It wasn’t a bad pitch. It was a cutterslid­er away and I definitely barrelled it.”

“It wasn’t a no-doubter, that’s for sure. It makes up for the times where I hit the ball well and it didn’t go.”

Later in the inning, Ryan Goins had a triple to score Pearce and the Jays took a lead they weren’t about to relinquish.

Martin, likely the best opposite-field hitter on the team, is rounding back into form after also being on the disabled list recently.

“Russ has hit a lot of home runs here. He needs some at bats,” Gibbons said. “He was out for 10 days and he really needs those at bats to get going.”

“He’s getting on base all the time. Steadily he’ll get back to his norm. What separates him is his ability to hit, which most catchers can’t do.”

Kendrys Morales also homered as part of a 13-hit Jays attack.

“It’s in our DNA. We like the long ball,” Martin said.

Maybe now Jays fans will see more of them. Toronto Blue Jays reliever Jason Grilli high-fives his son, Jayse Grilli, after catching his ceremonial first pitch before the start of Sunday’s Father’s Day game against the Chicago White Sox at Rogers Centre. The Jays were 7-3 winners.

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