A's edge Blue Jays on Davis' reviewed hit
OAKLAND -- A's pinch-hitter Ike Davis beat out an infield single for a walk-off hit against Blue Jays right-hander Roberto Osuna that gave Oakland a 4-3 victory in the 10th inning Wednesday night.
The final play was reviewed, but the call stood, capping a wild night at the Coliseum that saw A's closer Tyler Clippard walk three and surrender a double to Devon Travis in a 40-pitch ninth, allowing the tying run to score to wipe away a potential Sonny Gray victory.
Gray allowed two runs across seven innings, while Blue Jays lefty Felix Doubront gave up three (two earned) in 4 2/3 innings. Josh Phegley got the A's on the board in the fourth with an RBI single and Stephen Vogt's run-scoring single highlighted a two-run fifth.
Video: TOR@OAK: Vogt singles in Burns to give A's the lead
Danny Valencia homered for the Blue Jays and Josh Donaldson finished with two hits for the second time in as many days against his former team, notching a run-scoring single in the third.
Video: TOR@OAK: Donaldson singles in Travis for the lead
MOMENTS THAT MATTERED
Decided by the replay: Baseball is a game of inches and never was that more clear than on the final play. With a runner on third and two outs, Davis hit a grounder to the left side of the infield. Jose Reyes made a diving play and came up with a strong throw to first but Davis was called safe by first-base umpire Marvin Hudson. The A's began to celebrate, but Blue Jays manager John Gibbons immediately asked for the call to be reviewed. Following a somewhat lengthy delay, it was ruled that the call on the field stands and Osuna was charged with his fourth loss. More >
Video: TOR@OAK: Melvin on Gray's outing, walk-off win
"They stayed with what we're told they're supposed to do, is if there's no definitive overturn, you stay with it," A's manager Bob Melvin said. "That was nerve-wracking sitting there on the verdict, but we'll take it." More >
In the pinch: Before Davis stepped to the plate in the 10th, it was Josh Reddick, who had entered the game as a defensive replacement in the top half of the frame, who got the A's going with a one-out double. Reddick advanced to third on Brett Lawrie's ensuing groundout, setting up Davis' heroic hit.
Video: TOR@OAK: Reddick doubles to get in scoring position
"Just a great job coming off the bench," Reddick said of Davis. "That's even tougher without an inning of defense and with a guy throwing 95-97 [mph]. It's not easy to pick up. He's got a short arm. After whiffing at the first two then fouling off a couple of pitches, great at-bat by him."
Blue Jays squander golden opportunity: Clippard nearly handed the game to Toronto on a silver platter in the ninth. He walked three and threw a pair of hanging breaking balls to Travis with one of them resulting in an opposite-field double. Despite all of that, the Blue Jays had to settle for one run because Donaldson and Edwin Encarnacion struck out with the bases loaded and Dioner Navarro hit a weak fly ball to center. The only saving grace was a bases-loaded walk to Bautista that allowed Toronto to escape with the game-tying run.
Video: TOR@OAK: Bautista walks to tie the game in the 9th
"We had the guys coming up that we want, then to plate only one with a walk, but that's baseball," Gibbons said. "[Clippard's] pretty good over there, he gutted it out, that's why he's filling that [closer] role for them."
Valencia provides late spark: Valencia is known for his hitting prowess against lefties, but he received some rare playing time with a righty on the hill and it paid off in the seventh. Valencia sent a first-pitch fastball from Gray over the wall in right-center field for his seventh homer. The leadoff shot cut the A's lead to 3-2 and according to Statcast™, it was projected to travel 387 feet after leaving his bat at 103 mph.
Video: TOR@OAK: Valencia slugs a solo shot to cut the lead
"He has great stuff," Valencia said of Gray. "You have to hit his fastball, he has great offspeed pitches and he's throwing strikes. We did a pretty good job against him. We would have liked to score a few more, but unfortunately he was really good, too."
QUOTABLE
"It's tough, when you're playing, it happens so fast that you don't really have a good idea. But when you come and look at it on the replay, everybody in this clubhouse feels like he was out. Unfortunately it didn't get overturned. It is what it is." -- Valencia, who was playing first base on the game's final play
SOUND SMART WITH YOUR FRIENDS
The Blue Jays dropped to 4-35 when scoring three runs or fewer.
WHAT'S NEXT
Blue Jays: Right-hander Drew Hutchison was scratched from Thursday's 3:35 p.m. ET start against the A's with flu-like symptoms. The assignment will instead go to veteran knuckleballer R.A. Dickey, who will start on normal rest because Toronto had an off-day Monday.
A's: Left-hander Scott Kazmir, who has a 1.35 ERA over his past seven starts, takes the mound Thursday in the 12:35 p.m. PT rubber game against Toronto at the Coliseum. Kazmir is 4-2 with a 1.36 ERA and .167 opponents average in 10 starts in Oakland this season.
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