Even against baseball's best team, the hard-hitting Toronto Blue Jays are showing they can never be counted out.
Sparked by a pinch-hit home run by Shea Hillenbrand, the Blue Jays rallied for eight runs in the eighth inning and a 10-5 win over the Detroit Tigers Friday night in Toronto.
The win moved Toronto to 34-26 on the year and dropped Detroit to 38-23 — still the top record in the major leagues.
Detroit closer Todd Jones reacts after giving up a two-RBI triple to Toronto's Vernon Wells in the eighth inning on Friday.
(Aaron Harris/Canadian Press)
It was a costly victory for the Blue Jays, though, as the team lost two pitchers to injury.
Gustavo Chacin, who started the game, was placed on the 15-day disabled list with a tendon injury in his throwing elbow. Chacin threw just three innings, allowing two runs and three hits on 64 pitches, before departing.
The lefthander was making his third start since a stint on the disabled list due to a strained left elbow and forearm.
"In the third inning I felt pain like last time, in the same spot," said Chacin, who will undergo an MRI Saturday. "That's why I came out."
Righthander Pete Walker, who gave up three hits in two-thirds of an inning in relief, will also be out for at least 15 days due to bursitis in his right shoulder.
Toronto filled the two roster spots by recalling right-handed reliever Vinnie Chulk and left-handed reliever Brian Tallet from triple-A Syracuse.
Due in part to the shaky performances of Chacin and Walker Friday, the Blue Jays found themselves down 5-2 in the eighth before Hillenbrand, batting for designated hitter Eric Hinske, crushed a one-out offering from reliever Fernando Rodney into the left-field stands.
The homer began a sequence that saw Toronto rack up eight hits, send 12 batters to the plate and go through three Tigers relievers to take a 10-5 lead.
B.J. Ryan then pitched a scoreless ninth, striking out two, to seal the win for the Blue Jays.
Toronto reliever Jason Frasor (2-1) got five consecutive outs, including three strikeouts, over the seventh and eighth inning to pick up the win.
"The game could have exploded a couple of times," Blue Jays manager John Gibbons said. "Frasor was the key guy. He held them in check for a couple of innings before the bats came to life."
Vernon Wells had three hits and two runs batted in for the Blue Jays, while Troy Glaus added two hits and two RBIs and Reed Johnson three hits.
Tigers Closer Todd Jones (0-4) took the loss by giving up four earned runs in the eighth and failing to record an out.
The Blue Jays got to Tigers starter Jeremy Bonderman immediately in the bottom of the first. Reed Johnson led off with a double, then scored on a two-bagger by the next batter, Frank Catalanotto.
Vernon Wells then singled for Toronto's third straight hit, moving Catalanotto to third, but Troy Glaus and Lyle Overbay struck out before Gregg Zaun flied out to end the inning.
Detroit took the lead in the third when Magglio Ordonez singled home Curtis Granderson, who earlier in the inning had gotten the Tigers on the board by bringing in Brandon Inge with a single.
The Blue Jays tied the game in the bottom of the third with another sequence of doubles as a shot by Glaus to deep right-centre scored Wells, who had doubled with two out.
After pitching a three-up, three-down fourth in relief of Chacin, Scott Downs in the fifth gave up a two-run homer to Placido Polanco that put Detroit up 4-2.
The Tigers then went up by three in the sixth when an infield single by Inge off Walker, who relieved Downs with two out, scored Marcus Thames.
After Frasor came in and settled things downs for Toronto, the Blue Jays hitters went to work in the bottom of the eighth.
After Zaun flied out to begin the bottom half of the eighth, Rodney gave up the homer to Hillenbrand before surrendering a single to Aaron Hill and a walk to Alex Rios. Rodney then threw a ball on his first pitch to Johnson before being pulled in favour of closer Jones.
Jones promptly hung a breaking ball to Johnson, who slapped it into left field to move Hill and Rios up a base. Catalanotto then drilled a ground ball just past the glove of a diving Polanco at second base to score both and tie the game at 5-5.
The shelling of Jones continued as Wells lashed a triple to right-centre, scoring Johnson and Catalanotto, then Glaus brought home Wells with a single — the fourth consecutive hit off Jones, who was finally pulled by Tigers manager Jim Leyland.
Bobby Seay came on in relief and didn't fare much better against his first batter as Overbay lined a double into right-centre to score the burly Glaus from first and put Toronto up 9-5.
Zaun, who had recorded the only out of the inning to that point when he led off with a fly-out , dumped a single into right before Hillenbrand hit a hard line-drive out to left that enabled Overbay to tag up and score to make it 10-5.
Hill then struck out to finally end the inning.
With files from Canadian Press
