Goins' walk-off HR lifts Jays over Tribe in 10
TORONTO -- Ryan Goins came through with a walk-off homer in the 10th inning as the Blue Jays defeated the Indians, 5-3, in dramatic fashion on Tuesday night at Rogers Centre.
With the victory, Toronto maintained its 1 1/2-game lead over the Yankees for first place in the American League East, as New York also came out on top with a 3-1 victory over the Red Sox. The Indians had their winning streak snapped at six, dropping to five games back of the Rangers for the second AL Wild Card.
Goins' fifth homer of the year came on a 1-0 count from Indians reliever Bryan Shaw. Toronto's second baseman lifted the ball to deep right field, and it carried into the second deck as the Blue Jays improved to 6-5 in extra-inning games this season.
"He's smoking hot with the bat right now, he's really turning into a different hitter," Blue Jays manager John Gibbons said. "He has such a good approach at the plate right now, it looks like he has cut down on his swing. That was a big win for us, it really was, and you don't expect home run balls out of him but he's hit a few this year, he's hit a couple of really big ones."
Video: CLE@TOR: Goins makes terrific catch, hits 380-foot HR
The dramatic victory came one inning after rookie closer Roberto Osuna blew his second save of the season. Osuna had been trying to protect a 3-2 lead in the ninth inning, but Indians catcher Yan Gomes hit his second homer of the game to force extras. It was just the second time in 18 attempts that Osuna wasn't able to pick up the save.
Right-hander Marco Estrada was relatively flawless for Toronto, with the exception of a pair of solo homers by Michael Brantley and Gomes. The veteran starter scattered five hits and one walk while striking out two and throwing 60 of his 90 pitches for strikes. Right-hander Cody Anderson got the start for Cleveland and allowed two runs on three hits and two walks over six strong innings.
"This is what we train for, this is what we love to do, so doing it on the biggest stage, this is a good practice for that," Anderson said of pitching against one of the AL's best teams.
MOMENTS THAT MATTERED
Goins, gone: Goins' fifth home run of the year came after Dioner Navarro singled to lead off the bottom of the 10th and Kevin Pillar flied out. Facing Shaw, Goins took a second-pitch slider deep to right to secure the victory. More >
"I knew this one," Goins said, when asked if he thought it was gone off the bat. "Hanging breaking ball. I was just looking for something out over the plate and I put a good swing on it."
Goins also made an impressive sliding grab in the second inning, tracking a popup off the bat of Lonnie Chisenhall deep into right-field foul territory for the out.
Video: CLE@TOR: Gibbons on walk-off win over the Indians
Yan goes yard ... twice: Gomes hit the Indians' second solo shot of the night in the seventh, taking an 88-mph fastball from Estrada over the wall in left for his 10th homer of the season to tie the game at 2. The ball left Gomes' bat at 104 mph and was projected by Statcast™ to land 426 feet away. He then knotted the game with another solo shot in the ninth to give the Tribe some life. It marked his third career multihomer game and second this season. Both of his shots were to the opposite field. More >
"He took two gorgeous swings, driving the ball to that part of the ballpark," Indians manager Terry Francona said. "It changed the game twice for us, let us keep playing."
Video: CLE@TOR: Gomes homes twice vs. former team
Pompey running wild: Top Blue Jays prospect Dalton Pompey was promoted from Triple-A Buffalo earlier in the day, and he didn't wait long to make an impact. He entered the game as a pinch-runner for Justin Smoak in the seventh inning with the score tied and proceeded to steal second and third. Pillar then came through with a sacrifice fly to center field off Ryan Webb as Toronto took a 3-2 lead.
"I thought it was great that I could help the team in some way today," Pompey said. "Obviously, Smoaky getting on there, working a walk, having a great at-bat, left it to me. [First-base coach Tim] Leiper was telling me I could get this guy and I took second. I was on second and realized I could take third, too, so I did that. The credit goes to KP, driving the ball to the outfield and giving me a chance to score."
Video: CLE@TOR: Pompey averages 21 mph on two stolen bases
Brantley bomb: Brantley put the Tribe on the board in the fourth when he took an 0-2 fastball from Estrada over the wall in right field. It was his 12th homer of the season and his third in the last six games.
Video: CLE@TOR: Brantley clubs towering solo homer to right
UPON FURTHER REVIEW
The Blue Jays were unable to overturn what could've been a crucial double by Francisco Lindor in the eighth inning. After he lashed a shot to left-center, Lindor stretched what would've normally been a single into a double and narrowly evaded the tag as he slid into the second, though Goins appeared to think that he made the tag. The call was confirmed upon review. Lindor -- representing the tying run -- later advanced to third on a groundout but was left stranded.
Video: CLE@TOR: Lindor ruled safe at second, call confirmed
• More: Lindor's back-breaking slide
HITTING STREAK SNAPPED
Edwin Encarnacion saw his 26-game hitting streak come to an end after he went 0-for-2 at the plate. Toronto's slugger walked once and drove in a run during the first inning, and he has now reached base safely in 32 consecutive games. His streak almost continued in the sixth with a sharp liner to short, but Lindor came up with the nice diving play. More >
Video: CLE@TOR: Lindor steals hit with great diving catch
SOUND SMART WITH YOUR FRIENDS
The Blue Jays have six walk-off victories this season and four of them have come via a home run. The last Toronto second baseman to hit a walk-off homer was John McDonald on April 22, 2011.
WHAT'S NEXT
Indians: Trevor Bauer will take the mound Wednesday for the Tribe in the series finale (7:07 p.m. ET). After a homer-heavy stretch through July and early August, Bauer has found renewed confidence in his sinker and had 11 outs via grounders in his last start.
Blue Jays: Knuckleballer R.A. Dickey will take the mound when the Blue Jays close out the three-game series at Rogers Centre. Dickey bounced back from a pair of rough outings to record a quality start against the Tigers on Friday. He allowed three runs over 6 2/3 innings after surrendering 10 runs over his previous 10 innings.
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