Blue Jays overcome fickle fate to earn sweep vs. Mariners

One of the best things about baseball is that bizarre things happen almost daily. Over the long run it can be projected to some extent, but over a nine inning span forecasting it is pure folly.

The Toronto Blue Jays found themselves at the mercy of some peculiar fortune, but got the better of it in a 3-2 walk-off win over the Seattle Mariners to earn a four-game sweep on Sunday.

With the game deadlocked at two in the ninth, Kevin Pillar stepped to the plate with two out and none on and Mariners closer Edwin Diaz to contend with. Pillar took two sliders away before Diaz left inside. Pillar turned on the breaking ball with a massive crack of the bat that laid a ball to rest over the left field wall.

“I really just try to stay within myself. I committed to a fastball then he hung a pitch,” Pillar said of the home run. “Great way to send us off.”

It was also the conclusion of a great day for Pillar personally who had made one of his trademark grabs in centre field earlier in the game.

The odd day for the Toronto began with the performance of Mariners’ starter Ariel Miranda – exactly the kind of pitcher the Blue Jays should expect to beat up on. Pressed into action by the Mariners’ flurry of rotation injuries, Miranda brought a 5.20 ERA and 5.20 FIP into the game. When you’ve got a right-dominant lineup, a Triple-A lefty with low-nineties heat is about the best matchup you can hope for.

However, Miranda had his best stuff on Sunday. The left-hander mixed his fastball and splitter beautifully and kept the Blue Jays off-balance all afternoon on the way to five innings of one-run ball. The Cuban starter really hit his stride between the second and fourth at one point striking out five consecutive hitters.

More often than not, the Blue Jays are going to score some runs against a pitcher like that, but it was a day for unlikely outcomes. In the bottom of the sixth the Blue Jays appeared to seize control of the game on a two-run laser beam from Justin Smoak – who has been destroying southpaws all year.

The very next inning as the Blue Jays were ambushed by the virtually unheard of Jarrod Dyson home run. Dominic Leone left a fastball middle-in and watched in astonishment as Dyson – the kind of guy who hits flat line drives in batting practice – parked one over the wall in right-centre.

Prior to the shot, the diminutive outfielder had gone deep in 0.4 percent of his major league plate appearances – good for seven bombs in eight years.

“Guys run into em every now and then that’s just how it goes,” John Gibbons said of Dyson’s shot after the game. “I think Smoakie told me that was Dyson’s first home run outside of Kauffman Stadium, so I guess he was due.”

Aaron Sanchez wasn’t exactly dominant in return to action from the disabled list, but his performance was certainly a positive for the Blue Jays. The hard-throwing right-hander went five inning and only allowed a single unearned run and struck out four against a pair of walks. John Gibbons erred on the side of caution for his returning starter, limiting him to 78 pitches.

“It was good, it was nice to finally get back out there,” Sanchez said. “It was a long time coming.”

On the television broadcast the starter appeared to have bled from his hand slightly, but he said following the game it was “not an issue” and he wasn’t experiencing any pain.

Sanchez’s only blemish came in the fifth when 38-year-old backstop Carlos Ruiz improbably legged out an infield single and Jean Segura followed by slashing a double to right. Jose Bautista’s attempt to peg Segura at second was well off target and into left field allowing Ruiz to score. That left the speedy shortstop at third with one out, but Sanchez slithered free with a strikeout of Ben Gamel and a bat-exploding grounder from Nelson Cruz.

The Blue Jays got some bad news in the second inning Steve Pearce left the game with right calf tightness after sliding into second base on a double to right. To add insult to very literal injury, Miranda proceeded to strike out the next two – ending a threat with a pair of men in scoring position.