Blue Jays' winning streak snapped at 11 straight, lose to Mets 4-3 in extras
Despite Jose Bautista's best efforts the Blue Jays' winning streak will not reach 12 straight. Bautista homered twice Monday night but the New York Mets ended Toronto's recent tear at 11 in a row with a 4-3 win in 11 innings at Citi Field.
Unlike most of the games during the streak, the game was tightly contested from start to finish. Bautista gave Toronto a 1-0 lead with a solo shot in the first inning, but that was all the offence they would get against Mets starter Noah Syndergaard. Syndergaard, the promising 22-year-old right-hander sent to the Mets as part of the R.A. Dickey trade in 2012, struck out 11 over six innings and left the game with the lead after New York scored two in the bottom of the sixth.
The Mets took that 2-1 advantage into the ninth and had closer Jeurys Familia on the mound. Bautista was up first and led the inning off with another solo home run to make it 2-2. The next lead belonged to the Blue Jays after Dioner Navarro hit a sacrifice fly in the 11th inning but it wouldn't last. Wilmer Flores delivered the knockout blow, hitting a single to score New York's second run of the 11th and give the Mets a walk-off win.
The 11 consecutive wins tie a franchise record, having also been accomplished by the 1987, 1998, and 2013 Blue Jays. It also ties the longest winning streak in the majors this season, with the Mets having reeled off 11 straight in April.
Monday's loss, Toronto's first since June 2, drops them to 34-31, putting them two games back of the AL East-leading Tampa Bay Rays and one game out of the second wild-card spot in the AL.
So as it goes with all good things, the streak has ended. It's certainly not all bad for the Blue Jays though. They're back in the thick of the divisional race and they've shown their rivals that they plan to stay for awhile.
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Israel Fehr is a writer for Yahoo Canada Sports. Email him at israelfehr@yahoo.ca or follow him on Twitter. Follow @israelfehr