TORONTO — The Toronto Blue Jays needed a solid outing by their bullpen Tuesday night and a not-so-good performance by the New York Mets relievers to eke out an 8-6 victory.
The Blue Jays (40-45) will try to complete a sweep of the two-game interleague set Wednesday when they send out right-hander Marcus Stroman (1-5
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The teams split two games at Citi Field on May 15 and 16.
After trailing 5-0 and 6-1 on Tuesday, the Blue Jays rallied to tie on a three-run homer by Yangervis Solarte in a five-run seventh and won it on a two-run homer by Lourdes Gurriel Jr. in the eighth.
The Blue Jays will need a solid start from Stroman, who will be making his third start since returning from the disabled list after being sidelined with inflammation of the right shoulder. It would help a well-used bullpen if he could pitch deep into the game.
They lost their starter Tuesday, right-hander Marco Estrada, after one-third of an inning. After giving up a two-run homer to Asdrubal Cabrera, Estrada made two pitches to the next batter before leaving with a sore left hip. X-rays were negative, but the extent of the injury was not known.
The Blue Jays needed seven relievers to work through the game. There likely will be a roster move before the game on Wednesday. Seunghwan Oh was the only reliever not to pitch for the Blue Jays.
The victory spoiled the return of former Blue Jays star Jose Bautista, who was playing in Toronto for the first time since last season. He received a standing ovation and in five plate appearances, he had three walks and a single. He also committed a two-base error in right field, letting a single get past him in the seventh inning.
The Mets, who have lost 11 of their last 13 games, also had an injury Tuesday. Catcher Devin Mesoraco, who hit a two-run homer in the second inning, left the game in the bottom of the seventh after being hit on the helmet by an errant pitch and by a backswing in consecutive innings. Manager Mickey Callaway said that he had passed concussion protocol so far. Kevin Plawecki took over behind the plate.
Stroman, who experienced shoulder problems in spring training, has come on strong after being on the disabled list from May 9-June 22.
He pitched five runless innings on his return June 23, allowing six hits against the Los Angeles Angels. He came back Friday to hold the Detroit Tigers to two runs (one earned) and four hits over seven innings to earn his first win of the season.
“I’m just back to being myself,” Stroman said. “That wasn’t me earlier in the year, so I’m just happy to be back. Body feels good, I feel in sync. Everything’s coming out very easily.”
Stroman has never faced the Mets. He will
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“It will be fun,” Bautista said.
They have faced each other in one game.
Stroman, pitching for the United States, faced Bautista, who was playing for the Dominican Republic, in March, 2017, during the World Baseball Classic. Bautista fouled out and struck out. It was the only time they have faced each other competitively.
“I think I’ve given him too many secrets over the years, it will be interesting,” Bautista said.
Oswalt, in his first career start Friday, allowed six runs and six hits in 2 2/3 innings in an 8-2 loss to the Miami Marlins at Marlins Park.
He was starting on short notice.
Callaway said he was having trouble with his breaking pitches.
“I think that even in the first two innings he didn’t have any of his breaking stuff,” Callaway said after the game. “So, I think they kind of figured out he was struggling with getting that stuff over, so they were just sitting on fastballs and they put a few in play.”
The 24-year-old made 10 starts at Triple-A Las Vegas, going 4-4 with a 5.32 ERA. In four stints with the Mets, he has made two appearances. He made his major league debut April 26 in St. Louis against the Cardinals, allowing two earned runs in 4 2/3 innings.
The Mets are 6-9 in Toronto all time.
Marcel Hirscher capped his stellar season by securing an unprecedented seventh overall World Cup title on Sunday.
Dominating the penultimate slalom of the season, the two-time Olympic champion from Austria stretched his lead over his only remaining rival, Henrik Kristoffersen, to 289 points. The Norwegian
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”This is so surreal, I can’t believe it,” said Hirscher, who also locked up the slalom and GS titles this weekend, two weeks before the season-ending races in Sweden.
”Now I am going for one week vacation to Are,” he quipped. ”That is always really nice because the stress has gone away.”
Building on a big first-leg lead of 0.82-seconds over Kristoffersen, Hirscher did not hold back in his final run and extended the margin to 1.22 seconds, a country mile in the sport. Ramon Zenhaeusern of Switzerland was 1.61 behind in third, while Olympic champion Andre Myhrer, who was third after the opening run, dropped to 24th.
Shortly after finishing and with his skis still clipped on, Hirscher fell on his back and celebrated the victory.
”Incredible. You can’t believe it’s possible,” he said after becoming the first skier in the 51-year history of the World Cup to win seven overall titles. No other male skier has won more than five, and fellow Austrian Annemarie Moser-Proell won six times on the women’s circuit in the 1970s.
Sunday’s victory also gave Hirscher this year’s slalom title with a race to spare, a day after he also locked up the season-long title in the giant slalom.
”With all the problems before the season started, with the broken ankle, it is… I can’t find the right words. It is very surreal,” said Hirscher, who missed all of his pre-season preparation after fracturing his ankle while straddling a gate on his first training day on snow in August.
”The summer really wasn’t easy. It went from a possible end of career to my best season,” Hirscher said after Sunday’s win, his 12th of the World Cup season and 57th overall.
Last month in Pyeongchang
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”I don’t know, to be honest,” Hirscher said when asked about his next goals. ”I am happy to go home now and enjoy this. I have to make up my mind where my journey goes next.”
Hirscher said the ongoing rivalry with Kristoffersen, who beat the Austrian for the slalom title two years ago, has enabled him to further raise his level.
”Hats off, the future belongs to this young man,” Hirscher said about the 23-year-old Norwegian. ”He has made it really tough. He performed, performed, performed, and made no mistakes so I had to bring something extra all the time.”
Kristoffersen, who performed a deep bow to Hirscher at the prize giving ceremony after Sunday’s race, called the Austrian ”the best ski racer in the world.”
”So it’s OK for me to be second. At the moment he is just better, so it’s OK when he wins the slalom globe, the GS globe, the overall globe,” Kristoffersen said.
The men’s World Cup continues with a downhill and a super-G in Kvitfjell, Norway, next weekend.
