JAYS MOVE INTO WC SLOT WITH 5^TH STRAIGHT ‘W’

Tolleson’s Slam Secures Game

BOSTON, Sept. 6 (AP) – The Toronto Blue Jays won their fifth in a row, and ninth in the last ten contests, 6-1 over the Boston Red Sox at Fenway Park. The victory moved the Jays into the second wildcard slot in the American League playoff chase. The Seattle Mariners, who have held the wildcard position for months, have lost five in a row, pending the outcome of their game against the Texas Rangers tonight.

Toronto dominated the contest, outhitting Boston 16-2, but grounded into four double plays and stranded 10 runners. The Blue Jays were clinging to a 2-1 lead entering the ninth inning. Jays starter J.A. Happ, tossed one of his best games of the year, holding the Red Sox to one run on two hits while striking out eight in eight innings.

The Red Sox actually scored first, plating a run in the bottom of the third when Mookie Betts drilled a two-out triple into the right field corner and scored on Dustin Pedroia’s bloop Bermuda Triangle double to shallow left-center. The consecutive safeties were Boston’s only two hits of the contest.

Toronto wasted no time taking the lead. Dioner Navarro led off the top of the fourth with a base hit to right off Red Sox starter Clay Bucholz. Danny Valencia followed with the second of his three hits on the day, a single to center, putting runners on first and second. Kevin Pillar then doubled off the Green Monster, scoring Navarro and leaving runners on second and third. Ryan Goins fanned for the first out but Anthony Gose walked to fill the bases. Jose Reyes flied to Yoenis Cespdes in shallow left for the second out but Jose Bautista singled to left, scoring Valencia with the inning’s second run and leaving the bases loaded. It was the tenth hit of the game for the Blue Jays and it marked the end of the day for Bucholz, who was replaced by Stephen Wright. Wright retired Edwin Encarnacion on a grounder to third to end the inning, but the Jays now led 2-1.

Happ was in control throughout. After the back-to-back hits by Betts and Pedroia in the fourth, he retired 16 of the next 17 Boston batters he faced. A two-out walk to Christian Vazquez in the fifth, which amounted to nothing, was the only blip.

Wright kept the Jays in check before being pulled with a runner on third and two outs in the eighth. Lefty Tommy Layne came on and retired pinch hitter John Mayberry to end the inning and keep the score 2-1. But it all came apart for the Red Sox in the ninth. Edward Mujica started the inning on the mound for Boston and promptly yielded a double to Reyes. When shortstop Xander Bogaerts booted Bautista’s grounder for an error, Toronto had runners on the corners and none out. Boston pulled the infield in and Reyes was cut down at the plate on Encarnacion’s grounder, leaving runners on first and second with one out. It appeared as though the Jays might fail to score yet again. Clay Breslow replaced Mujica on the mount to face Dalton Pompey, pinch hitting for Adam Lind. Pompey drew a walk, loading the bases. Navarro’s fly to center was too shallow for anyone to advance, so the Red Sox were one out away from escaping damage yet again. Tolleson, inserted defensively in the eighth, was due, and after falling behind 0-1, drilled a hanging breaking ball over the Monster in left-center for a grand slam and a 6-1 lead. It was the major league leading ninth slam of the year for the Blue Jays; no other team has more than four.

With the game now well in hand, Aaron Loup came on and tossed a scoreless bottom of the ninth to close out the game.

As recently as a week ago, the Wildcard chase in the AL seemed a non-event. But now, six teams are within 4 ½ games of the final playoff spot in the American League.

9/6/2014, Tor14-Bos14, Fenway Park

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E LOB DP

2014 Blue Jays 0 0 0 2 0 0 0 0 4 6 16 0 10 1

2014 Red Sox 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 2 1 3 4

Blue Jays AB R H BI AVG Red Sox AB R H BI AVG

Reyes ss 5 0 2 0 .248 Betts cf 4 1 1 0 .260

Kawasaki 3b 0 0 0 0 .254 Bradley cf 0 0 0 0 .206

Bautista rf 4 1 2 1 .244 Pedroia 2b 3 0 1 1 .262

Encarnacion 1b 5 1 1 0 .238 Ortiz dh 4 0 0 0 .232

Lind dh 4 0 2 0 .374 Cespedes lf 4 0 0 0 .250

Pompey ph 0 1 0 0 .000 Napoli 1b 2 0 0 0 .260

Navarro,D c 5 1 1 0 .271 Bogaerts ss 3 0 0 0 .246

Valencia 3b 4 1 3 0 .272 Craig rf 3 0 0 0 .209

Tolleson,St pr 1 1 1 4 .280 Middlebrooks 3b 3 0 0 0 .141

Pillar lf 3 0 2 1 .275 Vazquez c 1 0 0 0 .269

Rasmus,Col ph 2 0 0 0 .260 Nava ph 1 0 0 0 .225

Goins 2b 4 0 2 0 .203 Butler,D c 0 0 0 0 .083

Gose cf 2 0 0 0 .250 28 1 2 1

Mayberry ph 1 0 0 0 .231

40 6 16 6

Blue Jays INN H R ER BB K PCH STR ERA

Happ W 10-7 8.0 2 1 1 2 8 105 67 4.10

Loup 1.0 0 0 0 1 0 13 7 1.62

9.0 2 1 1 3 8 118 74

Red Sox INN H R ER BB K PCH STR ERA

Buchholz L 12-8 3.2 10 2 2 1 2 75 51 3.53

Wright,S 4.0 4 0 0 1 3 48 31 0.75

Layne 0.1 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 4.11

Mujica 0.1 1 2 0 0 0 13 8 3.31

Breslow 0.2 1 2 2 1 0 13 7 5.28

9.0 16 6 4 3 5 150 98

Tor: Tolleson,St ran for Valencia in the 8th

Rasmus,Col batted for Pillar in the 8th

Mayberry batted for Gose in the 8th

Tolleson,St moved to 3b in the 8th

Rasmus,Col moved to cf in the 8th

Mayberry moved to lf in the 8th

Pompey batted for Lind in the 9th

Kawasaki inserted at 3b in the 9th

Tolleson,St moved to 2b in the 9th

Goins moved to ss in the 9th

Bos: Nava batted for Vazquez in the 8th

Bradley inserted at cf in the 9th

Butler,D inserted at c in the 9th

E-Bogaerts. 2B-Reyes(28), Valencia(16), Pillar(8), Pedroia(30). 3B-Betts(1).

HR-Tolleson,St(4). RBI-Bautista(82), Pillar(6), Tolleson,St 4(15),

Pedroia(49). K-Reyes, Bautista, Navarro,D, Goins, Rasmus,Col, Ortiz,

Cespedes, Napoli 2, Craig, Middlebrooks 3. BB-Bautista, Gose, Pompey,

Pedroia, Napoli, Vazquez.

GWRBI: Bautista

Temperature: 83, Sky: clear, Wind: in from right at 11 MPH.

Attendance: 36,436

Game Time: 2:52