ANAHEIM, Calif. — The Toronto Blue Jays avoided a four-game sweep the hard way.
Jose Bautista and Edwin Encarnacion drove in the tying and go-ahead runs with two-out singles in the ninth against Dane De La Rosa after closer Ernesto Frieri was lifted, and the Blue Jays beat the Los Angeles Angels 6-5 on Sunday.
“That comeback was huge,” shortstop Jose Reyes said. “We haven’t had a win like that in a long time. We never quit. When you come from behind like that in the ninth inning, especially after the way we’ve been playing, it was good to see.”
Mark Trumbo hit a three-run homer and Mike Trout also went deep against Mark Buehrle, helping the Angels build a 5-2 lead for C.J. Wilson. But the Blue Jays rallied with two in the eighth, as Angels manager Mike Scioscia used five pitchers to get out of the inning — including Wilson and Frieri, who was called upon to attempt a four-out save.
Frieri (0-4) ended the eighth by catching Colby Rasmus’ popup in front of the mound, but gave up a single by Brett Lawrie and plunked No. 9 hitter J.P Arencibia to open the ninth.
“It’s always frustrating whenever you go out there and they give you the chance to compete, to help the team to win and you don’t do your job,” said Frieri, who blew back-to-back save opportunities during the previous series at Texas. “In the bullpen we need to keep working, keep fighting and we need to get better.”
The Angels then caught Lawrie straying off second as Reyes bunted through a pitch, and it looked like they had him tagged out in a rundown. But second base umpire Brian Knight called Lawrie safe diving back to the bag, provoking an argument by Scioscia and second baseman Erick Aybar.
“Jose was trying to get me over to third with the tying run and the pitch was in the zone,” Lawrie said. “Then I saw the ball go over the top of the bat, and I was in no man’s land. Then (catcher Chris Iannetta) backpicked me and there was nothing I could really do except get in a rundown. But it ended up working out for us.”
Frieri then retired Reyes on a flyout before De La Rosa came in and got Rajai Davis to hit a fielder’s choice grounder. But Bautista and Encarnacion spoiled the right-hander’s bid for his first major-league save with ground singles to left field.
Brett Cecil (5-1) got two outs to earn the victory and Casey Janssen retired the side in order in the ninth for his 19th save in 21 chances.
Buehrle allowed five runs, seven hits and two walks in six innings, becoming the only Blue Jays starter in the series to get past the fifth after Josh Johnson, Todd Redmond and Esmil Rogers combined to give up 17 runs and 27 hits in 11 innings. Buehrle’s scoreless streak ended at 20 innings when Trout homered to left-centre in the first.
“I felt too good today, and as a result I kept missing location,” Buehrle said. “When I feel good I try to overthrow the ball more than I should instead of just worrying about location.”
Wilson was charged with four runs — three earned — and eight hits in 7 1-3 innings, struck out seven and walked none.
“Wilson threw the ball well. He had good pace, kept us off-balance and threw everything for strikes,” Lawrie said. “Luckily for us, we ended up getting a couple off him in the third, and Jose and Eddie had a couple of great at-bats in the ninth to seal the deal for us.”
NOTES: The Angels signed 31-year-old LHP Dontrelle Willis to a minor league contract and assigned him to Triple-A Salt Lake. The two-time All-Star and 2003 NL rookie of the year hasn’t appeared in a major league game since Sept. 25, 2011 with Cincinnati. He was pitching this season for the Long Island Ducks of the independent Atlantic League and started in their All-Star game. … The only other time Buehrle and Wilson started in the same game was April 27, 2010, when Wilson got the win and Buehrle took the loss in the Texas Rangers’ 4-2 victory over the Chicago White Sox. … The Angels have committed 83 errors, tying Milwaukee for the major league lead. … Davis stole third in the eighth inning to raise his season total to 33, second in the AL behind Jacoby Ellsbury’s 40. … Buehrle is 48-50 with a 4.05 ERA in 131 starts since his perfect game against Tampa Bay on July 23, 2009. … Angels LHP Jason Vargas came out of Saturday’s simulated game with no complications, and is scheduled for a five-inning minor league rehab start next Thursday. … Maicer Izturis, who spent the previous eight seasons with the Angels before signing a three-year, $10 million contract with the Blue Jays in November as a free agent, was 2 for 11 with a walk in his first series against his former club. … Buehrle is 2-5 with a 5.90 ERA in his 11 road starts this season. The only wins came against the top two teams in the AL West — Oakland and Texas. … Buehrle has made 419 big league starts without ever going on the disabled list — the longest such streak among active players.
