The Associated Press
ANAHEIM, Calif.–Cameron Maybin stood at third base in the tie game, eyed the infield playing in, and then immediately broke on contact.
He dove head-first into home, slid his out-stretched left hand around catcher Russell Martin’s tag, and scored what proved the final run last night in the Los Angeles Angels’ 2-1 victory over the Toronto Blue Jays.
“It’s just a matter of using my size and athleticism, stretch as long as I can,” Maybin noted.
Right-hander Jesse Chavez, who came in relief to take the loss in Friday night’s 13-inning loss to Toronto, went six innings for the Angels last night, holding the Jays to one run on four hits.
Chavez (2-3) walked four but struck out seven.
Bud Norris pitched a scoreless ninth to earn his second save.
Martin’s solo home run in the fourth accounted for Toronto’s only run.
The Jays have scored four runs or less in 14 of their 18 games this season.
“We’re not clicking as a unit,” noted manager John Gibbons. “That’s the bottom line.”
The Angels tied the score in the bottom of the fourth when a Mike Trout double turned into a triple after right-fielder Jose Bautista slipped.
Albert Pujols then singled to score Trout.
The Angels’ winning rally in the fifth came against Francisco Liriano (1-2) after Maybin’s lead-off single.
A walk and sacrifice bunt then put runners at second and third.
With the Jays playing the infield in, Yunel Escobar hit a bouncer to second baseman Devon Travis.
He fired home but Maybin avoided the tag by Martin.
Liriano went 5 1/3 innings, allowing the two runs on five hits and four walks, with two strikeouts.
“His stuff was good but his balls-to-strikes ratio wasn’t,” Gibbons noted.
“But he held them down and gave us a shot.”
The victory allowed the Angels to split the four-game series against Toronto.
Elsewhere in the AL, Minnesota edged Texas 3-2, Baltimore doubled Tampa Bay 6-3, and Chicago bombed Kansas City 12-1.
Over in the NL, Chicago routed Pittsburgh 14-3, Milwaukee beat Cincinnati 11-7, Colorado doubled Washington 8-4, Arizona topped San Diego 7-6, and San Francisco nipped L.A. 2-1.
