TORONTO 鈥� Toronto's pitchers delivered standout performances on Friday night. Davis Schneider made sure their efforts were rewarded.
Schneider belted a two-run homer in the 14th inning to give the Blue Jays a 5-3 walk-off victory over the Pittsburgh Pirates to end a back-and-forth marathon at Rogers Centre.
With Cavan Biggio aboard as the automatic runner, right-hander Kyle Nicolas (0-1) got Ernie Clement and Kevin Kiermaier on groundouts. That set the stage for Schneider, who turned on a fastball for his seventh homer of the season.
"I only saw one pitch but made the most of it," he said.
Reliever Genesis Cabrera (2-1) retired all five batters he faced to help Toronto (27-29) extend its winning streak to four games. Andrew McCutchen and Nick Gonzales had two hits apiece for Pittsburgh (26-31).
Toronto starter Jose Berrios allowed six hits and one earned run over seven innings. He struck out five and lowered his earned-run average to 2.78.
The bullpen was even better. Five relievers 鈥� Chad Green, Yimi Garcia, Nate Pearson, Tim Mayza and Cabrera 鈥� held the Pirates without a hit over seven frames, with automatic runners scoring in the 11th and 12th innings on sacrifice flies.
鈥淭hey made big pitches,鈥� Blue Jays manager John Schneider said. 鈥淭hat鈥檚 really hard to do with a runner at second that many times in a row.鈥�
It was Davis Schneider's first career walk-off homer. It was Toronto's ninth comeback victory of the season and first walk-off victory.
"A lot of guys participated really well in the game today," he said. "Up and down the lineup."
Pirates starter Bailey Falter handcuffed the Blue Jays over six shutout frames, allowing just a single to Clement in the third inning and a single to Kiermaier in the sixth.
Pittsburgh had back-to-back hits off Berrios in the fifth and got on the board when McCutchen lashed a single that brought home Gonzales.
Toronto was gifted a run in the seventh inning when Ji Hwan Bae lost a Daniel Vogelbach drive in the evening sky. The ball bounced off the wall in centre field and George Springer 鈥� who was running on contact with two out 鈥� scored from first base.
In the ninth, Garcia walked Oneil Cruz but he was later thrown out by catcher Danny Jansen after leaning too far off the bag. Guerrero deftly caught the ball on one hop and applied the tag to the helmet.
Cruz was originally called safe but the call was overturned after the Blue Jays challenged the decision.
After a scoreless 10th inning, both teams tallied in the 11th and again in the 12th.
Bae made it 2-1 on a sacrifice fly after Springer made a highlight-reel diving catch on a Bryan Reynolds drive.
鈥淭hat changed the game,鈥� Pirates manager Derek Shelton said of Springer鈥檚 play. 鈥淚t鈥檚 the best catch we鈥檝e seen all year. He made an unbelievable play.鈥�
Springer then delivered a two-out single in the bottom of the 11th that scored Jansen. In the 12th, Connor Joe gave Pittsburgh a 3-2 advantage on a sacrifice fly, but Biggio pulled Toronto even when he scored on a Kiermaier sacrifice fly.
The Blue Jays loaded the bases in the 13th but Carmen Mlodzinski caught Biggio looking to end an eight-pitch at-bat.
With the win, Toronto moved into a virtual tie with Tampa Bay for fourth place in the American League East division standings. The Blue Jays have won their last nine meetings against the Pirates.
Announced attendance was 33,356 and the game took three hours 46 minutes to play.
MANOAH OUT
Toronto starter Alek Manoah was placed on the 15-day injured list earlier in the day due to a right elbow sprain.
The move was retroactive to Thursday. The Blue Jays also acquired reliever Ryan Burr from the Philadelphia Phillies for cash considerations and designated right-hander Joel Kuhnel for assignment.
NEW DUDS
The Blue Jays wore their new City sa国际传媒 uniforms for the first time after introducing them the night before.
The 'Night Mode' jerseys feature a dark base colour and the city name and skyline across the front. They'll be worn at 15 night home games this season.
JOEY BATS
Former Blue Jays slugger Jose Bautista participated in batting practice and caught some fly balls before the game.
Bautista, who was drafted by the Pirates with the 599th overall pick in 2000, made some promotional appearances throughout the day as part of the City sa国际传媒 uniform release.
COMING UP
Left-hander Yusei Kikuchi (2-4, 3.25 ERA) was scheduled to start for the Blue Jays on Saturday afternoon against right-hander Mitch Keller (6-3, 3.59).
The three-game series wraps on Sunday with a matinee.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published May 31, 2024.
Follow @GregoryStrongCP on X.
Gregory Strong, The Canadian Press
