The Walk Off: Michael Saunders powers Jays with historic game
Hours after the Toronto Blue Jays placed slugger Jose Bautista on the disabled list with a toe injury, another slugger picked up the slack in historic fashion.
Michael Saunders, who was born in Victoria, British Columbia, Victoria, British Columbia, became the first Canadien-born player to hit three home runs in a single game for the Blue Jays. Saunders also finished with a career-high eight RBIs, helping lead the Jays to a runaway 13-3 win against the Orioles.
Saunders started his barrage with a three-run homer against Baltimore starter Mike Wright in the first inning. He then connected for another three-run blast in the fifth inning and a two-run shot in the sixth, with both of those coming against newly-converted reliever Ubaldo Jimenez.
Saunders then had one chance to tie the MLB record by hitting his fourth home run. He came up with the bases loaded in the eighth, but ended hitting into an inning-ending double play.
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As it was, Saunders finished with a pretty special game. But such performances aren’t so rare with this loaded Blue Jays lineup.
TOP PERFORMERS
Franklin Gutierrez: Seattle’s right fielder was only slightly outdone by Saunders. Gutierrez hit a two-run homer in the first, followed by a solo shot in the third. He then ripped a bases-clearing double in the fourth, which gave him six RBIs and helped pace a Mariners 8-4 win against the Red Sox.
Jake Arrieta: The Cubs right-hander picked up his NL-leading 11th victory with another dominant performance against the Pittsburgh Pirates. Arrieta pitched six scoreless innings, allowing two hits and three walks while striking out 11, as the Cubs cruised to a 6-0 win. In three outings against Pittsburgh this season, Arrieta now has a 0.85 ERA to go along with 27 strikeouts and only seven hits allowed over 21 innings.
Peter O’Brien: Back to the offense. Arizona’s rookie left fielder showed off his impressive power, connecting for a pair of home runs in the Diamondbacks 10-2 win against the Phillies. O’Brien hit a three-run homer against starter Adam Morgan in the fifth, before adding a solo blast in the seventh. He finished with four RBIs. Arizona got two homers from Yasmany Tomas and single blasts from Paul Goldschmidt and Welington Castillo.
MUST-SEE HIGHLIGHT
The Cleveland Indians will spend another night in first place thanks to the heroics of Carlos Santana. Another the White Sox rallied to tie the game in the ninth, Santana responded by launching a towering home run leading off the bottom half against White Sox reliever Nate Jones. The walk-off blast gave Cleveland a 3-2 win, and it keeps them one-half game ahead of the surging Royals.
THE REST OF THE SCOREBOARD
Giants 5, Rays 1: The outcomes hardly matters as the Rays raised $300,000 for the victims of the Pulse nightclub shooting.
Marlins 5, Rockies 1: Colorado managed one hit against Adam Conley and four Marlins relievers.
Braves 5, Mets 1: A small step back for Matt Harvey, as he allowed four runs on seven hits over six innings against the hapless Braves. Harvey had posted a 0.90 ERA over this previous three starts.
Rangers 1, Cardinals 0: Texas lefty Cole Hamels was brilliant on Friday, holding the Cardinals to three hits and three walks over 7 2/3 scoreless innings.
Reds 4, Astros 2 (11 innings): Carlos Correa tied the game with an eighth-inning home run, but Cincinnati’s typically awful bullpen held strong otherwise. They allowed just that one run over 5 2/3 innings.
Yankees 8, Twins 2: Carlos Beltran delivered his 17th home run as the Yankees gave plenty of support to Masahiro Tanaka.
Royals 10, Tigers 3: Eric Hosmer, Salvador Perez and Kendrys Morales each knocked in three for Kansas City.
A’s 3, Angels 2: Oakland wins it in the ninth on a Billy Burns walk-off single.
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Mark Townsend is a writer for Big League Stew on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at [email protected] or follow him on Twitter! Follow @Townie813
