Just call them the comeback kids.
The Blue Jays have made a habit of falling behind and then storming back聽鈥斅though not always back far enough聽鈥 and they picked up another come-from-behind win on Saturday, beating the Detroit Tigers 2-1 at the Rogers Centre on a walk-off single by Ernie Clement with two out in the ninth inning.
The win was the Jays’ sixth in their last nine games after they’d dropped 12 of 16, and the fourth of those six wins in which they’d had to come from behind.
“Those games are tough; that’s a good team,” said manager John Schneider, noting the Tigers had the best record聽in the majors (30-15) heading into the game. “You had to scrap and claw for every little thing. Really, really happy with how the guys responded.”
ERNIE CLEMENT WALKS IT OFF! 馃敟
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Neither the scrapping nor the clawing started until very late on Saturday. After Bo Bichette led off the bottom of the first with a single, the Jays went hitless until the eighth inning.
Clement led off that frame with a walk against left-hander Tyler Holton and was bunted to second by Nathan Lukes. Alejandro Kirk pinch-hit for Tyler Heineman and the Tigers countered with right-hander Will Vest. Kirk fell behind 2-and-0, battled back to a full count and lined a game-tying single into the right-field corner.
”He’s been swinging the bat so well,” Clement said of Kirk, who upped his batting average with two strikes to an American League-leading .324. “The line outs that he’s had to centre field the last few games have been tough, so I’m glad he tried to go to right field that time; there was nobody playing over there. It’s just a great at-bat. The pinch-hitting aspect is really tough, so all the credit to him.”
The Tigers had taken the lead into the seventh inning 26 times prior to Saturday and won 26 times, but after Jeff Hoffman threw a scoreless ninth聽鈥 helped tremendously by Lukes throwing out Gleyber Torres at second, trying to advance on a deep fly ball聽鈥 the Jays handed the visitors their first loss in that situation.
Daulton Varsho, who has been exactly what this struggling offence needed since coming off the injured list on April 29, lined a one-out double into the right-field corner and moved to third on a ground out to the right side by George Springer.聽
Anthony Santander came out to pinch-hit for Hoffman, the Jays having forfeited the DH by moving Vladimir Guerrero Jr. onto the field in the eighth, and was intentionally walked, setting the stage for Clement’s heroics.
“It’s Anthony Santander, the dude can hit,” said Schneider, asked whether he thought the Tigers would walk the struggling switch-hitter, who is 1-for-13 since hurting his shoulder with a dive into the stands in Anaheim on May 8. “If I’m in (Detroit manager A.J. Hinch’s) shoes, it’s a tough decision. I was 50/50 on it. I loved the fact that he was going to be able to swing if they did pitch to him. And I think if you walk him, Ernie’s contact ability comes in.”
Clement聽鈥 who fouled a ball off his kneecap in the second inning but insisted on staying in the game (“they’d have to rip me off the field there,” he said) 鈥 took the first pitch and grounded the next one through the hole on the right side for the game-winner. He was motivated by the intentional walk in front of him.
“Definitely, definitely. It kind of fires you up,” said Clement. “Obviously Tony is a heck of a baseball player, a heck of a hitter, so I wouldn’t want to face him, either. But yeah, I was ready to go.”
The Rochester, N.Y. native provided the Jays with just their second walk-off of the season.
Win or lose, these comebacks are becoming a habit.
In the Jays’ last three losses, they have spotted the opposition at least three runs and each time rallied to close the gap to one, if not take the lead as they did in Tuesday’s 11-9 loss to Tampa Bay.
“Last year ... being down three runs early, it felt like 10,” said Clement. “This is totally different. We could go down four or five runs and we’re never out of the game, so it gives everybody confidence. Our pitchers don’t have to stress over that. I think we’re going to continue to scratch and claw and never give up. It’s a lot of fun.”
There’s no doubting the resilience of this team, and with Varsho lighting it up, Kirk and Clement getting going 鈥 along with Bichette, Addison Barger and Nathan Lukes聽鈥 the Jays have been a lot more fun to watch over the last three weeks than they were the first month.
But all the fun and the scratching and the clawing has only gotten them to one win shy of the break-even mark. There’s a long way to go.
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