Maile single seals sweep
The Blue Jays entered the second half of Tuesday’s doubleheader with a win already under their belts and, for a while, it looked like they would end up with the inevitable split as Royals left-hander Danny Duffy shut them down on two hits through six innings.
The Jays trailed by three runs in the seventh, but finally got to the Royals bullpen, scoring four times for the lead. Ryan Tepera blew his first save, surrendering a game-tying, eighth-inning homer to Alcides Escobar.
But that merely set up a 10th inning walkoff single by catcher Luke Maile, scoring Kevin Pillar from third base. The Jays won the second game 5-4 to earn a sweep of the rare Rogers Centre doubleheader.
The Jays took the opener 11-3 behind left-hander Jaime Garcia and outfielder Randal Grichuk. It was the first doubleheader played at the Rogers Centre since sweeping a pair from the Indians on Oct. 5.
The first three hitters facing Royals right-hander Justin Grimm in the seventh inning of the nightcap walked. Rookie Brad Keller came on and Maile, with two strikes, roped a 96m.p.h. fastball for a two-run single to right field.
Travis, pinch-hitting, tied the score as third baseman Mike Moustakas was unable to get the ball out of his glove after a diving stop. Steve Pearce then singled up the middle and the Jays took their first lead of the game.
Right-hander Joe Biagini drew the Game 2 starting assignment as the 26th man on the roster, a provision for the second game of all twinbills. Biagini seemed to be suffering jangly nerves out of the gate, allowing the first four Royals batters to reach base and trailing by a run with the bases loaded and nobody out. Two forceouts at the plate and a fly ball later, he had escaped with just one run.
Biagini threw 106 pitches through 5 2/3 innings, a career high, in allowing three runs on six hits. He walked three batters and hit two more. He will be headed down the QEW back to Triple-A Buffalo on Wednesday.
Garcia (2-0) picked up the win in the opener, working five innings in and out of trouble, allowing three runs on eight hits, with a walk and five strikeouts. The left-hander loaded the bases in the second and allowed just one run, and surrendered back-to-back homers to Moustakas and Lucas Duda in the third.
The series wraps with a late afternoon game Wednesday.