The Associated Press
Dave Hogg
DETROIT–Detroit’s top players created a winning rally without doing much of anything.
Alex Avila, Justin Upton, and Miguel Cabrera drew walks in the 11th inning–the last with the bases loaded–to give the Tigers a 6-5 win over the Toronto Blue Jays yesterday afternoon.
“That’s how experience wins games,” said Tigers’ manager Brad Ausmus.
“Young guys are going up there thinking about a walk-off homer and swinging as soon as they see the white of the ball,” he noted.
“Veterans are patient enough to wait for what the pitcher gives them.”
Avila was walked by Jeff Beliveau (1-1) leading off the 11th and advanced on Jose Iglesias’ sacrifice.
“It’s tempting to try to do too much in extra innings, but we had the right guys up there,” Avila said.
“You have to be disciplined enough to wait for a pitch down the middle before you try to make something happen.”
Lucas Harrell relieved and Ian Kinsler lined out.
Third baseman Josh Donaldson then fielded Nicholas Castellanos’ grounder down the line but bobbled the ball while pulling it out of his glove for an error that put runners at the corners.
Upton walked on a 3-1 pitch, loading the bases, before Harrell fell behind Cabrera 3-1.
The two-time AL MVP took a called strike, fouled off a pitch, then took a fastball outside for ball four–giving Detroit two victories in three games following the all-star break.
Toronto blew leads of 3-0 and 5-4.
“The game was there for the taking but we didn’t play good enough ball,” said Jays’ manager John Gibbons.
“We got the lead early and gave it right back.”
Warwick Saupold (2-1) got the win with a scoreless 11th.
Tigers’ starter Anibal Sanchez allowed five runs and nine hits in six innings, including home runs by Justin Smoak, Kendrys Morales, and Jose Bautista.
Smoak hit a two-run homer in the first while Morales connected two pitches later for a 3-0 lead.
“I had some very bad pitch sequences to great hitters,” Sanchez said.
“I felt good but I can’t do that against guys with that much power,” he stressed.
Upton’s RBI double, and sacrifice flies by Cabrera and J.D. Martinez, tied the score in the bottom half against Marco Estrada, who gave up four runs, five hits, and four walks in 3 2/3 innings.
“The last time I pitched was 12 or 13 days ago, so I guess this was to be expected,” Estrada said.
“Other than Upton’s double in the first, I don’t think they hit much hard but things didn’t go my way.”
Consecutive doubles by Alex Presley and James McCann put the Tigers ahead 4-3 in the fourth–the first dropping between Kevin Pillar in centre and Bautista in right.
The latter one glanced off the tip of Ezequiel Carrera’s glove at the left-field fence.
Bautista’s two-run homer put Toronto ahead 5-4 in the fifth, but Martinez tied the score when he homered on Danny Barnes’ first pitch of the eighth.
A video review upheld the call that the ball cleared the fence and bounced back to the field after it hit a railing.
Toronto’s Miguel Montero threw out a runner trying to steal for just the second time in 34 tries this season.
Upton beat Montero’s throw to second in the third inning, but came off the bag and was tagged out by second baseman Ryan Goins.
Meanwhile, Jays’ right-hander Francisco Liriano still was bothered yesterday by the neck stiffness and pain that forced him from Saturday’s game in the third inning.
Liriano said he will give the problem a couple of days before a decision about his next scheduled turn–this Thursday in Boston.
Elsewhere in the AL, Houston beat Minnesota 5-3, Seattle topped Chicago 7-6 (10 innings), Kansas City edged Texas 4-3, L.A. nipped Tampa Bay 4-3, and Oakland dumped Cleveland 7-3.
New York and Boston split a doubleheader by identical 3-0 scores.
Over in the NL, Washington bombed Cincinnati 14-4, L.A. shaded Miami 3-2, Colorado pounded New York 13-4, Atlanta beat Arizona 7-1, Pittsburgh edged St. Louis 4-3, Philadelphia downed Milwaukee 5-2, and San Diego dumped San Francisco 7-1
The Chicago Cubs blanked Baltimore 8-0 in interleague play.
