SEVENTH-INNING SMASH!
Jose Bautista tosses his bat to punctuate his three-run homer in a wild seventh inning that saw the Blue Jays blast past the Rangers and win the American League Division Series.
They stood screaming and spraying and jumping from atop a table in the Blue Jays clubhouse, Marcus Stroman beside Kevin Pillar beside Aaron Sanchez beside David Price beside Mark Buehrle. And in the midst of all the astounding emotion and excitement, someone shouted “Where’s Jose, we need Jose.”
Indeed they did. When Jose Bautista climbed up beside them, a moment he probably dreamed about for much of his storied baseball career, first there was more hugs, then applause, then another chant.
“We are heat, we are heat,” they yelled together, wearing T-shirts that read “Toronto wants more.”
For one historical and frenzied night of baseball, there was no need for more. This was enough. This was more than most of us could handle.
It cost general manager Alex Anthopoulos his voice.
It had Paul Beeston on the phone to the commissioner between innings.
There was on-the-field madness, off-the-field madness, and more than a little bit of madness in the stands at Rogers Centre.
For now, all that was enough. We’ll celebrate today and get ready for tomorrow.
This 6-3 win over the impressive Texas Rangers was exhausting, exhilarating, frustrating, believable, unbelievable, shocking, stunning and about a hundred other adjectives in between.
“It was crazy, exhausting and awesome to be on the right side of it,” said Josh Donaldson.
“We never gave up,” he said. “(Bautista) Bats is a great player. He showed up in that opportunity the way stars are supposed to show up. He came through for our team.” Bautista came through. The kid pitchers, Marcus Stroman, Aaron Sanchez and Roberto Osuna came through, giving up just two earned runs.
The defence, led by Ryan Goins at second base and Kevin Pillar in centre field, made differencemaking plays, possibly saving runs.
The great Russell Martin made the most embarrassing throw of his career and the Jays somehow survived it.
Bautista hit the game-winning home run after his pal Edwin Encarnacion took advantage of the first time Texas pitched to him and slammed a home run of his own.
And in between, the benches cleared twice, fans got out of control, and the forever criticized manager John Gibbons made a quiet move that many won’t talk about, pinch running Dalton Pompey for Martin in the seventh inning. Pompey forced a Texas error with his speed.
And in between, the benches cleared twice without punches being thrown, too many fans got out of control and tried throwing things themselves, and the forever criticized manager John Gibbons made a quiet move that many won’t talk about, pinch running Dalton Pompey for Martin in the seventh inning that forced a Texas error with his speed.
If there has been a baseball game, or kind of sporting event like this in Toronto before, no one could remember it. Toronto is used to losing this weirdo kind of game: Maybe this Blue Jays team is putting a lot of the past behind them for the city and creating their own path. “We are the future,” said Sanchez, “and we’re here now.”
There was noise and hysteria and fans who just wouldn’t leave the Rogers Centre well into the night, but on the third floor, if you walked past team president Beeston’s office, there was no partying, just his beloved stench of cigar smoke.
“When I smelled that, I knew he was in there,” Anthopoulos said. “No way he’d come down here. He doesn’t do that kind of thing.’’
It was so close to being the end of this marvellous Blue Jays season, so close to being the last game of Beeston’s career in baseball, LaTroy Hawkins’ career, Buehrle’s career, dressed in uniform, tossed from the game for making an appearance on the field when he wasn’t part of the lineup. So many players, young, old, playoff veterans for the first time, pitching kids, the rental David Price, all together, all jumping and hugging and photographing each other.
“How can you not feel great for Paul?” said Anthopoulos, feeling a little great for himself, for his team. This was different than any Blue Jays win or game before it. This is the kind of game someone may write a book about one day, the kind of outcome that too often ends up with a Toronto defeat.
“The guys really deserve this,” said Gibbons. “We were too good a team to bow out in the first round.”
And no one held their breath on the bench the way Martin did after making a Little league mistake with a lazy throw in the seventh inning. That 3-2 run could have been the game winner. When Bautista came back after all those Texas errors and won the game, Martin couldn’t even describe his mood on the bench. “Relieved?” I asked. “That’s not the right word. I don’t think there is a right word.”
There doesn’t need to be a right word. This is exhale time and dry your clothes. The American League Championship Series begins Friday night.
On the field long after the game was over, many of the Blue Jays came out and posed for a division-winning team photograph. One more chance to privately capture the moment before the next round begins.