Miggy's bases-loaded walk caps 11-inning win
DETROIT -- The Tigers withstood a barrage of Blue Jays home runs to take the rubber match of a three-game series at Comerica Park. Jose Cabrera's bases-loaded walk forced home Alex Avila in the 11th inning for a 6-5 win Sunday afternoon.On a day when Toronto starter Marco Estrada struggled
DETROIT -- The Tigers withstood a barrage of Blue Jays home runs to take the rubber match of a three-game series at Comerica Park.
On a day when Toronto starter
"It's tough to ask your bullpen to go five clean innings there at the end," Blue Jays manager John Gibbons said. "They swing it over there. It's a tough lineup to face and they keep coming after you."
Avila fought out of an 0-2 count for a leadoff walk against Jeff Beliveau (1-1) in the 11th. Josh Donaldson's bobble of
"Guys get caught up, especially in extra innings or in the bottom of the ninth, wanting to be the hero," Tigers manager Brad Ausmus said. "They want the walk-off home run, and you really have to kind of relax yourself and take what they give you."
MOMENTS THAT MATTERED
Blue Jays go yard: After serving up nine home runs in 21 innings as a reliever this season,
Martinez mash: The Blue Jays bullpen picked up Estrada with 3 1/3 scoreless innings, leaving Toronto six outs away from a crucial win. But Martinez, who hit an eighth-inning home run for add-on offense in Saturday's 11-1 win, has a history of dramatics. Sunday marked his 31st career home run in the eighth inning or later. Thirteen of them have either tied the game or moved the Tigers in front.
"We had the lead, and then Bautista comes back and hits a two-run homer," Ausmus said. "It kind of stings you, but then J.D. tying it certainly was a shot we needed."
QUOTABLE
"He has to throw strikes. The at-bat before, I swung at two bad pitches, so I was focused on swinging at strikes and making him throw strikes." -- Cabrera, on his game-winning walk
Video: [email protected]: Cabrera talks about the walk-off victory
"I obviously do have to command the ball a little bit better. Especially my off-speed stuff. I've been struggling with my changeup. Today, I didn't really throw too many for strikes." -- Estrada, on his recent command woes
SOUND SMART WITH YOUR FRIENDS
Cabrera has seven career walk-off home runs and 16 career bases-loaded walks. This was his first career walk-off walk.
REPLAY REVIEW
The crew chief review of Martinez's eighth-inning home run lasted just 31 seconds. Umpires originally ruled it a double before replay showed the ball hit above the yellow line atop the right-field wall. Martinez trotted home with the tying run.
WHAT'S NEXT
Blue Jays: The Blue Jays head to Boston for a 7:10 p.m. ET game on Monday against a Red Sox team that followed up a 16-inning game Saturday with a doubleheader on Sunday.
Tigers: The Tigers head to Kansas City for a four-game series against the Royals, beginning with
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Jason Beck has covered the Tigers for MLB.com since 2002. Read Beck's Blog, follow him on Twitter @beckjason and listen to his podcast.
Jordan Horrobin is a reporter for MLB.com based in Detroit and covered the Blue Jays on Sunday.