Clement, Kirk come up clutch as Blue Jays rally late to walk off Tigers

TORONTO – Game on the line, the Blue Jays turned to Alejandro Kirk Saturday afternoon.

Tyler Heineman’s walk-up music was playing over the Rogers Centre speakers, but with Edge of Seventeen by Stevie Nicks still blaring and Heineman retreating to the dugout, Kirk made his way to the batter’s box for a pinch-hit at-bat against Tigers reliever Will Vest. After working the count full, Kirk fouled off two pitches then shot the ninth pitch of the at-bat into right field for a single to score Ernie Clement and tie the game 1-1.

“That was a professional at-bat,” manager John Schneider remarked afterwards. “About as professional as it gets.”

"He just grinded," added Clement. "All the credit to him, that was a heck of an at-bat."

Closer Jeff Hoffman then kept the game tied with a scoreless ninth thanks to an outfield assist from Nathan Lukes that doubled up Gleyber Torres trying to advance to second on a fly-out and Clement walked it off with an opposite-field single in the bottom of the ninth.

“I’ve failed so many times in that situation that there's nothing to be afraid of there,” said Clement, who also started at first base for the first time in three years. “I was thankful to get that opportunity again and it’s nice to come through.”

“Big players coming through in big situations,” said starter Eric Lauer. “That's kind of the mantra of this team.”

With that, the Blue Jays beat the Tigers 2-1 to even the series at a game apiece and improve to 22-23 on the season in front of 40,171 fans at Rogers Centre, many thousands of whom were wearing pink for Barbie Day. Afterwards, the manager heaped praise on his players for continuing to push even as their chances faded.

“It's harder than they made it look,” Schneider said.

Thanks to Kirk and Clement, the Blue Jays got just enough offence on a day Anthony Santander was out of the starting lineup with a hip issue. A ninth-inning double from Daulton Varsho was essential to the Blue Jays’ 12th comeback win of the season, too. But it was the pitching staff that deserves much of the credit in this one as six Blue Jays combined to limit the Tigers to just one run on four hits.

First, Lauer limited the Tigers to one run – a Spencer Torkelson solo shot – over three innings while striking out five, including the last three batters he faced. The Blue Jays might have kept him in the game longer if they’d built a big lead, but instead they turned to the bullpen. Either way, Lauer prefers not to know when he’s being replaced.

“My job is to go out there and get as many outs as possible,” Lauer said. “And when they tell me I'm done, I'm done.”

After Lauer, the Blue Jays turned it over to the bullpen, and relievers Yariel Rodriguez, Brendon Little, Chad Green and Yimi Garcia each kept the Tigers from adding to their narrow lead. Finally, Hoffman pitched a clean ninth to preserve the 1-1 tie and set up Clement’s big hit.

It’s not the kind of workload any manager wants to impose upon a bullpen regularly, but with Max Scherzer still on the injured list, the Blue Jays have been figuring out their fifth rotation spot on the go this season. This time, the all-hands-on-deck approach worked.

“Just a good team win,” Lauer said. “We're a blue-collar team. We're out there to be dirtbags on the field."

Or, as Clement put it: "You just don't have to panic. We're going to continue to scratch and claw."

The Blue Jays were short-handed offensively, since Santander’s dealing with left hip soreness in addition to the left shoulder soreness that kept him out of the lineup in Seattle last weekend. Between his .582 OPS at the plate and these nagging physical issues, it hasn’t been the start anyone envisioned for the switch-hitting Santander.

“He's frustrated,” Schneider said. “He's trying to stay positive, but yeah, he's frustrated. He's frustrated with his performance with nagging (injury) stuff. It feels like just when he was getting going, he dives into the stands (in Anaheim last week). Hopefully we can just get him squared away and get back out there. But he's frustrated.”

As the game went on, Santander progressed enough that Schneider called on him to pinch-hit with two out in the ninth inning. The Tigers walked him intentionally before Clement walked it off, but his availability is a positive for the Blue Jays.

On Sunday, it’ll be Jose Berrios on the mound opposite Jackson Jobe as the Blue Jays look to take the series and get back to .500. After Saturday, the good vibes are on their side again.

“That’s confidence (and) character building against a team that's playing really, really well,” Schneider said. “These guys know that they're good. They know they can play with anyone.”