TORONTO — The Toronto Blue Jays overcame their recent late-game offensive struggles with an important victory against the lowly Baltimore Orioles on Wednesday.
A Randal Grichuk pinch-hit sacrifice fly in the eighth inning was enough to produce a 5-4 win and save the Blue Jays from being red-faced for the second straight outing against the Orioles.
The late-game rally allowed Toronto to keep pace with the Boston Red Sox in the battle for the second wild-card spot in the American League. The Red Sox scored a 3-2 win in Tampa Bay against the Rays to keep the Blue Jays 4.5 games back of Boston.
“Every game matters,” said Toronto second baseman Marcus Semien, who belted his 33rd homer in the first inning to tie his career high, set in 2019 as a member of the Oakland Athletics.
“It doesn’t matter how we get it done.”
The Blue Jays improved to 12-15 in one-run games and 8-12 when tied after seven innings. Toronto led 4-2, only to see the Orioles peck away with runs in the sixth and seventh innings to tie the game.
The Orioles (41-91) have the worst record in Major League Baseball but managed to upend Toronto (70-62) 4-2 on Tuesday.
Grichuk’s fly ball to centre scored Bo Bichette before 14,262 at Rogers Centre.
Bichette led off the eighth inning with a fluky infield hit that got by Orioles reliever Dillon Tate (0-5). Teoscar Hernandez then was hit by a pitch and both runners moved up a base on Alejandro Kirk’s long fly ball to centre.
Toronto stopper Jordan Romano managed a stress-free 1-2-3 ninth inning for his 15th save. He hasn’t allowed a run in his last 11 appearances. Tim Mayza (5-2) recorded the win.
Blue Jays starter Steven Matz suffered some control issues with his fastball in the second inning. After Ramon Urias and Anthony Santander each singled, Matz walked Jahmal Jones and then, with the bases loaded, issued consecutive free passes to Cedric Mullins and rookie Ryan Mountcastle.
“I just had to find a way today,” Matz said.
Matz threw 65 pitches through three innings but hung in there to complete five innings with 100 pitches. He gave up two runs on five hits, striking out five and walking four.
“It was one of those grinding days. It definitely came back a little bit, but I didn’t feel as crisp as I have been,” said Matz, who was seeking his career-tying 11th win of the season.
“He found a way,” Blue Jays manager Charlie Montoyo said. “To me, he’s the player of the game. He wasn’t missing by much.”
The Blue Jays provided Matz with a 4-2 lead with a three-run fourth inning, ending the evening for Baltimore starter Matt Harvey. Hernandez singled in Bichette. Corey Dickerson moved Hernandez to third with a single to right and then stole second. Both outfielders scored after Lourdes Gurriel Jr.’s double to left.
George Springer was back in the Blue Jays lineup as a designated hitter in his customary lead-off spot. He returned on Monday after a two-week layoff because of a sprained left knee. But he was pulled in the seventh inning as a precautionary measure after he awkwardly rounded second base on Tuesday.
A one-out line-drive single from Springer kept a seventh-inning rally alive for Toronto. But with Gurriel on third and Springer on first, Orioles reliever Jorge Lopez struck out Semien and coaxed Vladimir Guerrero Jr. into a fly ball-out to right.
With rosters expanding from 26 to 28 on Sept. 1, the Blue Jays promoted right-handed pitchers Nate Pearson and Bryan Baker from Triple-A Buffalo on Wednesday.
Pearson, 25, is one of the top prospects in the Toronto system. But he has dealt with nagging groin issues all season.
His last outing for the Blue Jays was as a starter on May 9 in Houston.
TORONTO – Reigning PWHL MVP and scoring champ Natalie Spooner will miss the start of the regular season for the Toronto Sceptres, general manager Gina Kingsbury announced Tuesday on the first day of training camp.
The 33-year-old Spooner had knee surgery on her left anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) after she was checked into the boards by Minnesota’s Grace Zumwinkle in Game 3 of their best-of-five semifinal series on May 13.
She had a goal and an assist in three playoff games but did not finish the series. Toronto was up 2-1 in the semifinal at that time and eventually fell 3-2 in the series.
Spooner led the PWHL with 27 points in 24 games. Her 20 goals, including five game-winners, were nine more than the closest skater.
Kingsbury said there is no timeline, as the team wants the Toronto native at 100 per cent, but added that “she is doing really well” in her recovery.
The Sceptres open the PWHL season on Nov. 30 when they host the Boston Fleet.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 12, 2024.
LAHORE, Pakistan (AP) — A top official of the Pakistan Cricket Board declined Friday to confirm media reports that India has decided against playing any games in host Pakistan during next year’s Champions Trophy.
“My view is if there’s any problems, they (India) should tell us in writing,” PCB chairman Mohsin Naqvi told reporters in Lahore. “I’ll share that with the media as well as with the government as soon as I get such a letter.”
Indian media reported Friday that the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has communicated its concerns to all the Champions Trophy stakeholders, including the PCB, over the Feb. 19-March 9 tournament and would not play in arch-rival Pakistan.
The Times of India said that “Dubai is a strong candidate to host the fixtures involving the Men in Blue” for the 50-over tournament.
Such a solution would see Pakistan having to travel to a neutral venue to play India in a group match, with another potential meeting later in the tournament if both teams advanced from their group. The final is scheduled for March 9 in Pakistan with the specific venue not yet decided.
“Our stance is clear,” Naqvi said. “They need to give us in writing any objections they may have. Until now, no discussion of the hybrid model has happened, nor are we prepared to accept one.”
Political tensions have stopped bilateral cricket between the two nations since 2008 and they have competed in only multi-nation tournaments, including ICC World Cups.
“Cricket should be free of politics,” Naqvi said. “Any sport should not be entangled with politics. Our preparations for the Champions Trophy will continue unabated, and this will be a successful event.”
The PCB has already spent millions of dollars on the upgrade of stadiums in Karachi, Lahore and Rawalpindi which are due to host 15 Champions Trophy games. Naqvi hoped all the three stadiums will be ready over the next two months.
“Almost every country wants the Champions Trophy to be played here (in Pakistan),” Naqvi said. “I don’t think anyone should make this a political matter, and I don’t expect they will. I expect the tournament will be held at the home of the official hosts.”
Eight countries – Pakistan, India, Bangladesh, England, Australia, South Africa, New Zealand and Afghanistan – are due to compete in the tournament, the schedule of which is yet to be announced by the International Cricket Council.
“Normally the ICC announces the schedule of any major tournament 100 days before the event, and I hope they will announce it very soon,” Naqvi said.
RIYADH, Saudi Arabia – Ottawa‘s Gabriela Dabrowski and Erin Routliffe of New Zealand are through to the doubles final at the WTA Finals after a 7-6 (7), 6-1 victory over Nicole Melichar-Martinez of the United States and Australia’s Ellen Perez in semifinal action Friday.
Dabrowski and Routliffe won a hard-fought first set against serve when Routliffe’s quick reaction at the net to defend a Perez shot gave the duo set point, causing Perez to throw down her racket in frustration.
The second seeds then cruised through the second set, winning match point on serve when Melichar-Martinez couldn’t handle Routliffe’s shot.
The showdown was a rematch of last year’s semifinal, which Melichar-Martinez and Perez won in a super tiebreak.
Dabrowski and Routliffe will face the winner of a match between Katerina Siniakova and Taylor Townsend, and Hao-Ching Chan and Veronika Kudermetova in the final on Saturday.
Dabrowski is aiming to become the first Canadian to win a WTA Finals title.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 8, 2024.
