Toronto Blue Jays, Bautista Continue Theatrics in Seattle
Toronto Blue Jays fans aren’t thrilled about their team losing a grasp on the AL East divisional lead, but they have to be excited about what remains of the regular season.
The Toronto Blue Jays might have fallen a mere hit shy of beating the Mariners on Wednesday night to complete a series sweep in extra innings, but fans can’t be disappointed with their recent west coast efforts and the entertainment value some of the games carried with them.
After splitting two apiece with the Angels last week in Anaheim, the Jays headed to the Pacific Northwest for what could barely be called three away games for Canada’s squad.
Throngs of Blue Jays fans had a strong presence in all three games versus Seattle. Mariners games typically always get a lot of Blue Jays fans at them when the two meet up in the Emerald City, mostly because of Vancouver, BC and its close proximity to Seattle.
In the third game of the series, Toronto found themselves down 1-0 in the ninth inning after Felix Hernandez‘s seven inning gem where he allowed only two hits. Enter the man who relishes the spotlight; Jose Bautista with one out and none on, facing Edwin Diaz, another young but tactful closer the game has to offer just as Bautista’s teammate Roberto Osuna is, and then this happened:
After watching that highlight, two things should become fairly apparent. One, Bautista is as clutch as they come for big hits in critical moments. Secondly, the moment that ball left his bat, it sounded like a home crowd was cheering for his moonshot to stay fair.
Though the Jays were unable to complete the sweep, they head into Friday with a one game lead on the Tigers for the first wild card seed and a chance to gain some serious ground over their final 10 contests and lock up home field advantage in the single game playoff.
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Toronto will host the Yankees for a four game set beginning Friday, followed by the O’s for three before they are off to Fenway to close out the season against the AL East leading Red Sox.
Boston is playing at a very high level right now. It would be a stretch to see the Blue Jays regain first place in the division heading into the postseason, but after winning the series against the M’s, another team in the wild card hunt, they did themselves a favor. The Yankees are now three games back, while Seattle is 2.0, Houston is 1.5 game off the pace and Baltimore is a half-game back, with Detroit currently occupying the final wild card spot.
Other notable things that took place on the Blue Jays’ west coast road trip were Marco Estrada getting back on track, carrying a no-no into the seventh inning in Monday’s 3-2 victory. Also, J.A. Happ became the first southpaw since David Wells in 2000 to win 20 games for Toronto, and Edwin Encarnacion tied his previous best for home runs in a season with 42.
The last 10 days of the MLB regular season are shaping up to be an exciting race indeed in the American League. Toronto has to like the fact that seven of their final 10 games will be in front of a home crowd at Rogers Centre.
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There’s no question the atmosphere at Safeco Field felt like Rogers Centre at times, which was definitely advantageous for the club at times. The Toronto Blue Jays are in control of their own fate as October looms on the horizon. Let the theatrics ensue.