NEW YORK – The collision was frightening. The initial diagnosis was promising but not definitive. The final score was rewarding after a long battle of attrition.
There was plenty for the AL East-leading Toronto Blue Jays to digest from their 9-5, 11-inning victory over the New York Yankees on Saturday afternoon – settled on a four spot fuelled by five walks, a hit by pitch and a single hit – with an entire second game still to come. Marcus Stroman makes his season debut against Ivan Nova in that one with 3.5 games separating the teams atop the division.
Edwin Encarnacion started the decisive rally with a walk off Bryan Mitchell and was pinch-run for by Dalton Pompey. Cliff Pennington was hit by a pitch after fouling off two bunt attempts, Chris Colabello recovered from an 0-2 count to walk and after a Dioner Navarro strikeout, Russell Martin hit for Ryan Goins against Chasen Shreve and walked to bring in the go-ahead run.
After Kevin Pillar struck out, Ben Revere delivered an RBI single and Shreve walked both Josh Donaldson and Jose Bautista to bring in two more runs. Nick Goody, the third Yankees pitcher of the inning and seventh of the game, finally ended the frame but the damage was done.
Liam Hendriks, who retired Dustin Ackley in a 10-pitch duel with the winning run at second in the 10th, allowed the first two batters to reach in the bottom of the 11th before Ryan Tepera closed things out for the save.
This was all hands on deck for both teams.
As consequential as the result was, the status of Troy Tulowitzki is the far more significant matter, the star shortstop listed day-to-day after his run-in with Pillar.
Tulowitzki drifted back into shallow centre along with second baseman Ryan Goins in pursuit of a Didi Gregorius popper, and called off others as Pillar charged in. Typically the centre-fielder has jurisdiction, but Tulowitzki was camped under the ball and as he made the catch, Pillar knocked into him from behind.
The impact snapped Tulowitzki’s back backwards, he stood upright and then rolled onto the grass, the ball rolling from his hand after the transfer from his glove. He lay flat for several moments and was attended to by a Blue Jays trainer before gingerly walking off the field on his power.
X-rays on his ribs and chest were negative although an MRI was planned for later Saturday on the scapula area of his upper back with results expected Sunday. What he felt and what the concerns are at this point weren’t immediately clear.
Pennington took his spot in the lineup playing second base with Goins sliding over to shortstop, and with Tulowitzki unavailable for the second game, runs will be a little harder to come by for the Blue Jays.
They were early against Michael Pineda, who allowed just one hit through the first three innings as the Yankees built a 2-0 lead on solo shots by Brett Gardner and Chase Headley off Marco Estrada.
But Jose Bautista’s solo shot dunked in just over the short porch in right field in the fourth put them on the board, and after Alex Rodriguez’s two-run shot in the bottom half made it 4-1, the Blue Jays stormed back in the fifth as a rare Ben Revere solo homer was followed by Edwin Encarnacion’s two-run drive that tied things up.
Encarnacion now has 99 RBIs, and his on-base streak is at 41 straight games.
Things stayed there until the eighth, when Bautista hammered a 99 mph fastball from Dellin Betances on a line to straight-away centre for his 35th homer of the season, and the first Blue Jays lead of the afternoon.
It didn’t last long.
Aaron Sanchez, coming back out for his second inning of work, walked Jacoby Ellsbury and Brett Gardner to open the bottom half, Brett Cecil took over, and after inducing a pop up from Carlos Beltran, gave up an RBI single to Brian McCann.
In came Roberto Osuna, who walked Rodriguez to load the bases before getting Chase Headley on a popper to second and Greg Bird on a wicked one-hopper to the 3-4 hole snared brilliantly by Pennington.
That set up the dramatic finish.