The keys: The eye of Upton, the arm of Benoit
Jays also get contributions from Bautista, Estrada to set the stage for their late rally
The Blue Jays earned their third straight victory over the New York Yankees in unlikely fashion on Sunday afternoon, bunting in the gametying run before winning it on a walk-off, infield single. It was an unfamiliar finish for a team that is often guilty of relying on the long ball for the bulk of its offence. But there were several other key moments for the Jays before they turned to a little small ball to secure the win.
Upton walks, then runs: Melvin Upton Jr. is an aggressive hitter, who has one of the highest strikeout rates and lowest walk rates of any Blue Jay. But he drew a key leadoff walk in the bottom of the ninth that keyed the Jays’ comeback.
After quickly falling behind 0-2 to Yankees hard-throwing closer Dellin Betances, Upton laid off the next four pitches — three of which were fastballs 97 m.p.h. or faster — to earn the free pass. “Really, that was the key to the game,” manager John Gibbons said afterward. Equally important was Upton showing off his speed to go first-tothird on Kevin Pillar’s single in the next at-bat. “I was going the whole time,” Upton said afterward. “I knew he had to make a perfect throw so I was just trying to be aggressive right there and get to third base.”
Old-man strength: Roberto Osuna’s rare blown lead aside, the Jays would not have had a lead to blow if not for Joaquin Benoit, who pitched a scoreless eighth and kept the top of the Yankees’ lineup off the board.
But it wasn’t easy for the 39-yearold right-hander, who has allowed just one earned run in 232⁄ innings
3 since being acquired from the Seattle Mariners. After allowing a leadoff double to Brett Gardner and inducing a flyout from Jacoby Ellsbury, Benoit faced Gary Sanchez, the Yankees phenom who has taken the major leagues by storm since his latesummer call-up. Earlier this month he became the quickest player in baseball history to hit 19 homers.
The sold-out Rogers Centre crowd seemed to recognize the importance of the at-bat as they serenaded the 24-year-old reincarnation of Babe Ruth with a derisive “GA-RY! GARY” jeer. Benoit got ahead of Sanchez 0-2, but the rookie fought off three tough pitches and eventually worked the count full before Benoit won the nine-pitch battle with a hard slider in the dirt.
“It took a bit longer than I wanted, but it was a good battle,” Benoit said. “He swung through my slider on the first pitch and I tried not to show him the slider again until the end of the at-bat because I could see he was looking for it.”
Benoit, who is usually stoic on the mound, had a Jason-Grilli-esque celebration after the inning’s final out.
Bautista heating up: Until the ninth, Jose Bautista had provided all of the Jays’ offence in the form of his 21st homer of the season and a onerun single in the eighth, as he continued to show he is heating up at just the right time. He also walked twice, reaching base in all four plate appearances to extend his on-base streak to 32 games — his longest such streak in two years.
In his last 10 games Bautista is hitting .351with a .478 on-base percentage, three home runs and nine RBIs.
Estrada’s seven strong: Marco Estrada, who has been dealing with a wonky back all season, looked no worse for wear on Sunday as he held the Yankees to just a single run on four hits over seven innings. As usual he induced a lot of weak contact, including a remarkable nine pop-fly outs.
Estrada, who has the lowest opponent’s batting average in the American League, capped his outing in emphatic fashion by striking out the Yankees’ side in the seventh, all via his trademark changeup.
Estrada’s apparent emergence from his late-summer mini-slump is a good sign for the Jays heading to the post-season.
Jays’ Ks: On the negative side, Sunday’s game may not have been so close if the Jays could have made more of some of their opportunities early in the game.
The Jays whiffed a dozen times on Sunday, the 51st time they have struck out in double digits. By comparison, they had 10 or more strikeouts in just 28 games last year, when they had the fifth-lowest strikeout rate in the majors.