Toronto Blue Jays, Game 29: Walking It Off Again

The Toronto Blue Jays came through in the clutch again Wednesday, collecting a second straight walkoff win over the Texas Rangers.

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Don’t look now, but the Toronto Blue Jays offense might actually be starting to wake up from its season-long slumber.

For the second consecutive night, the home team made the most of its final at-bats, loading the bases with one out in the Bottom of the 9th and collecting a 4-3 win when catcher Russell Martin cracked a liner to right field that caromed off the wall and cashed Ezequiel Carrera with the winning run. In addition to coming through in the clutch late, Toronto battled back in this one as well, which is another positive sign for a team that has been struggling at the plate all season long.

Texas touched up Blue Jays starter Aaron Sanchez for three runs on six hits over the opening two innings and carried a 3-1 lead into the sixth, with Colby Lewis allowing just four hits up to that point. But a two-out walk to Jose Bautista set the table for Edwin Encarnacion and the veteran slugger jumped on a mistake deposited it into the second deck down the left field line to bring the game level at 3-3 two-thirds of the way through the game.

Sanchez also deserves credit, as the young righty really settled down after his shaky start, allowing just one and a couple free passes after the second in giving Toronto another quality start. Reliever Drew Storen deserves a high five as well, pitching the eight and collecting two strikeouts against one hit in keeping the game level, his second consecutive strong outing after struggling mightily prior to this week.

After closer Roberto Osuna worked a clean ninth, the Jays stepped to the plate with a chance to win it. Encarnacion got things started with a single to center, replaced on the bases by Carrera, who moved on to second when last night’s hero Justin Smoak walked behind him. Troy Tulowitzki popped out to first on a jam-shot from Texas reliever Tony Barnette before Kevin Pillar took a walk to load the bases for Martin. And then Martin stepped up and put an inside-out swing on a ball low in the zone, driving it over the head of the right fielder to plate Carrera and give the Jays their second consecutive walk-off victory.

The lone sour note on the night – and ongoing this season, really – was Tulowitzki coming away with another “0-for” evening. Manager John Gibbons moved him down to sixth in the lineup on Wednesday and with his slump continuing, he could fall even further in the next few days. What’s saving Tulowitzki right now is that he’s still outstanding in the field; that and he’s a multiple-time all-star with a huge name and big salary, which makes it harder to take him out of the lineup.

Player of the Game: Russell Martin

Encarnacion had the better overall game at the plate, but Martin having a 2-for-4 performance with the game-winning hit is the bigger deal because like Tulowitzki, the Canadian catcher has been having a hard time of things at the plate this season. The veteran pushed his average up to .169 with his two-hit performance on Wednesday, which tells you how much he’d been struggling, but the positive is that Martin is 3-for-7 over the last two games, so things appear to be turning around for him.

On Deck: Toronto looks to make it three-in-a-row before the Los Angeles Dodgers come to town for a weekend series in the finale, which shapes up as a battle of lefties. The Jays send J.A. Happ (3-0, 2.76) to the hill, while Texas counters with Derek Holland (3-1, 2.48).

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