Blue Jays stun Rays with 3 homers in 7-run 9th
TORONTO -- One of John Gibbons' favorite expressions is, "There's no quit in this team." He was proven right on Thursday night when the Blue Jays pulled off one of the most improbable victories in franchise history.Lourdes Gurriel Jr. and Justin Smoak hit back-to-back homers in the bottom of the
TORONTO -- One of John Gibbons' favorite expressions is, "There's no quit in this team." He was proven right on Thursday night when the Blue Jays pulled off one of the most improbable victories in franchise history.
Lourdes Gurriel Jr. and
Gurriel tied the game with a two-run homer off Rays reliever
"I don't even know," Gibbons said, when half-jokingly asked what had just happened after the game. "Baseball is a crazy game. The odds of that happening [are low]. But sometimes things start snowballing and it's tough to stop. I'm proud of the guys. We put all of the youngsters in there and they made something happen. Some great at-bats in that last inning and then Smoaky, one of the old vets, because we didn't want to play extra innings."
The Blue Jays sent nine batters to the plate in the final frame and the most exciting part for the organization is that six of those players spent most of the season at Triple-A Buffalo. Toronto began its youth movement at the Major League level earlier this month, and while it has added to the excitement at the ballpark, it also has resulted in some improved results on the field for a team that has now won five of its past six games.
The rookie duo of
Rookie outfielder
"You're sitting there watching it unfold on the bench and you have to give it to some of these young guys -- they're having really good at-bats," Smoak said. "Davis had that long at-bat, another couple of big hits from Rowdy. I felt like it happened so fast, the next thing I knew I was up there. It was a good way to win."
The Blue Jays entered the ninth inning trailing 8-2. The six-run comeback is Toronto's largest in the ninth inning since rallying from a score of 10-4 to defeat the Angels on July 30, 2017. Toronto picked up three home runs in one inning for the second time this season and improved to 22-16 in one-run games. Not too many of them were quite as dramatic as this one.
"I think the future is bright for us," Gurriel said through an interpreter after the game. "It's always nice to have those guys that I played with last year and this year. I'm happy and feel fortunate to play with those guys, knowing that some of them, probably all of them, will be my teammates next year. On top of that, we got the win. It's an amazing night and I'm really happy for them, too."
THE BLOOPER
A minute or two before Gurriel stepped to the plate in the ninth, the ballgame looked over. With two outs,
"It was such a big lead," Gibbons said. "When things start rolling, you never know, but yeah sometimes you go, 'OK' [after a play like that]. Gurriel is a pretty good hitter. At least you expect him to get on base and then of course he hits the homer."
SOUND SMART
Tellez has 10 extra-base hits since joining the Blue Jays at the start of the month. That moved him past
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Right-hander
Gregor Chisholm has covered the Blue Jays for MLB.com since 2011. Follow him on Twitter @gregorMLB and Facebook, and listen to his podcast.