Blue Jays walk it off, playoff momentum snowballing

Edwin Encarnacion’s 125th RBI of the season was undoubtedly his biggest for the Blue Jays.

With the bases loaded, one out, and the score locked at three in the bottom of the ninth, Encarnacion slapped a seeing-eye ground ball to the right side of the infield and it was just enough to give the Blue Jays a 4-3 win in dramatic fashion over the New York Yankees.

Melvin Upton walked to open the frame and was followed by Kevin Pillar, who after a pair of failed bunt attempts continued to battle with two strikes before poking a single through the right side. Upton used his speed to advance to third and was brought home as the tying run on a well-timed safety squeeze from Ezequiel Carrera.

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The Blue Jays looked like they already had the game locked earlier, though. Roberto Osuna entered with a 2-1 lead in the top of the ninth but allowed two runs on three hits, just his fourth blown save of the season.

Marco Estrada pitched very well for the second consecutive outing, allowing just one run, a solo homer, on four hits over seven innings of work. Estrada struck out seven and walked just two batters. Joaquin Benoit struck out two batters in a scoreless eighth to bridge the gap to Osuna.

Toronto’s offence earlier in the ball game was thanks to Jose Bautista, who played the role of hero on Saturday with a three-run home run. In his second at-bat of the game in the fourth inning, Bautista found the seats again with a solo shot. He also brought in Donaldson in the eighth with a single that, at the time, was the go-ahead run.

Despite the win, Toronto did continue to struggle with strikeouts as they racked up 12. Devon Travis picked up three out of the leadoff spot while Russell Martin and Carrera both struck out twice.

The Blue Jays go for the four-game series sweep tomorrow with J.A. Happ (20-4, 3.28 ERA) chasing his 21st win of the season.