The Toronto Blue Jays and the San Diego Padres played the middle game of the three game series Tuesday night. Prior to the 7:07 PM ET start there was big news surrounding these teams. The Blue Jays acquired outfielder Melvin Upton Jr. and a lot of cas, from the Padres for Single-A pitcher Hansel Rodriguez. Upton didn’t start in this game, but did make his way into it in the later innings.
The Blue Jays sent inconsistent starter Marcus Stroman to the mound against the Padres righty Andrew Cashner. Stroman pitched effectively the first two times through the order, only surrendering three hits and one run. However, the third time through, he left pitches up that resulted in more hard contact, including a three-run homer by Alex Dickerson, who has killed the Blue Jays in this series. Stroman’s final line was 6 2/3 innings, seven hits, four runs, one walk and seven strikeouts. It could have been worse if not for reliever Joe Biagini, getting the final out, stranding runners at second and third to end the seventh.
After surrendering a two-run home run to Josh Donaldson, Andrew Cashner settled down, allowing just a single run on a solo shot by Justin Smoak in the bottom of the fifth inning. Overall, Cashner was impressive against the stacked Blue Jays lineup with a pitching line of six innings, four hits, three runs, three walks and six strikeouts. He left the game with a 4-3 lead after six. This performance was probably his last this season as a member of the Padres.
The Jays tied the game in the bottom of the seventh inning due to a wild pitch, and the teams needed extra innings to determine the winner. San Diego scored two runs in the top of the twelfth inning on a home run to give them a short lived lead. In the bottom of the inning, the Blue Jays mounted their comeback by taking advantage of the wildness of the Padres bullpen. With runners on second and third and one out, Devon Travis had one of his most impressive at bats you’ll ever see. He battled against Padres reliever Carlos Villanueva in a 14-pitch at bat, resulting in a walk to load the bases. Paul Clemens came in and proceed to walk in a run and give up a game tying fielder choice to Donaldson. Similarly to how the Jays tied the game in the seventh, they won it in the twelfth, as Clemens uncorked a wild pitch to score Devon Travis.
Top Play of the Game by WPA
In the top of the twelfth inning, Jesse Chavez, in his third inning of relief, gave up a two out double by Will Myers followed by a home run by Matt Kemp. This increased the Padres win expectancy by 44.7 percentage points and for the time being looked to be enough for the win.
Bottom Play of the Game by WPA
In the bottom of the seventh, with the bases loaded and one out, Jose Bautista came to the plate. He proceeded to strikeout on a ball in the dirt, but the ball got by the catcher and Russell Martin scored the tying run. This was a missed opportunity for the Blue Jays to take the lead and reduced their win expectancy by 15.4 percentage points.
Welcome to Toronto, Melvin
The Padres lefty reliever Brad Hand entered the game in the bottom of the seventh protecting a one run lead. He started the inning throwing eight straight balls, walking Russell Martin and Kevin Pillar. Justin Smoak was due and Gibbons decided to use the better hitter against left-handed pitching, new Blue Jay Melvin Upton Jr. He proceeded to hit the ball to the right side for a fielder’s choice, but moved the eventual tying run to third. An anti-climactic debut, but Toronto fans were able to see an example of his speed as he took second easily on a wild pitch later in the inning.
Gibby Sacrifices the DH
In the bottom of the seventh, John Gibbons rolled the dice and pinch hit for Justin Smoak with Upton. The Jays did tie the game, but Gibbons had to move Edwin Encarnacion from designated hitter to first base. As a result, the Blue Jays lost their DH for the rest of the game to be replaced by the pitcher. This required Gibbons to manage the rest of the game National League style. The likely lead to Jesse Chavez pitching one more inning than he would have liked. But it also resulted in Darwin Barney being required to pinch hit in the twelfth, which was instrumental in the Blue Jays comeback.
Up Next
Toronto and San Diego will turn around and play an afternoon game tomorrow to wrap up the series. R.A. Dickey (7-11, 4.44 ERA), coming off his worst start of the season Saturday against the Seattle Mariners, will start for the Blue Jays. He is replacing the scheduled starter Marco Estrada. Since Estrada is just coming off the disabled list, moving Estrada back gives him two more days of rest (with an off day on Thursday) and gets him to start Friday’s opener against the American League East leading Baltimore Orioles. San Diego will counter with righty Luis Perdomo (4-4, 6.93 ERA). It will be Melvin Upton’s first start as a Blue Jay and the game will begin at 12:37 PM ET.
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