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TORONTO (AP) — With two outs in the bottom of the ninth, the Toronto Blue Jays' repeated comeback efforts on Saturday were starting to look like they might come up agonizingly short.
But with Justin Smoak, Russell Martin and Devon Travis all facing consecutive two-strike counts against Boston Red Sox closer Craig Kimbrel, a four-time All-Star, an unlikely thing happened.
They all cashed in, and the Blue Jays walked off with a 10-9 victory, their fourth straight against Boston and their third walk-off win of the year.
"With the potency in our lineup, I feel like no lead is really big enough," said Martin, who went 3-for-5 and hit his third home run in four days in the sixth inning. "We can always find a way to get runners on and also if the other team makes a mistake, capitalizing on those mistakes. I think that was the key for us today. I think there was a couple miscues on defense for them and we were able to take advantage of that."
Martin kick-started the rally in the eighth that led Toronto back from a four-run deficit to tie the game at 8. But he really got things going in the ninth, with Ezequiel Carrera on as a pinch-runner for Smoak, doubling a fastball into left field to tie the game at 9.
"I was able to lay off some tough sliders to finally get a fastball that found quite a bit of the plate," Martin said. "I was able to put a good swing on it and the ball was in the gap."
Once Martin advanced to third following a wild pitch by Kimbrel (0-2), it was left to Travis to drive a groundball to third base, and even though Boston third baseman Travis Shaw relayed a throw to first, Hanley Ramirez couldn't hang on and Toronto escaped with the win.
"I was just trying to battle and put the ball in play," said Travis, who has hit safely in all four games he has played since coming off the DL on Wednesday. "Good things happen sometimes when that happens. So that was my goal, just to put it in play."
Boston manager John Farrell suggested that Ramirez might have done better with the throw from third, and should have forced extra innings with the out.
"Travis gives him a throw and we've seen Hanley catch that ball a number of times," he said. "If we give him a chance to replay that, he probably makes that play routinely. . Unfortunate situation in a key moment."
The game looked like it might have gotten away from Toronto when David Ortiz restored Boston's lead in the top of the ninth with his 13th home run and league-leading 46th RBI of the year, a solo shot off Gavin Floyd (2-3) over the right-field fence.
"(Big) Papi going out there and hitting the home run that was huge for us, and it was very disappointing that I wasn't able to close the door after that," Kimbrel said after watching the Boston bullpen surrender a season-high six earned runs.
Xander Bogaerts, who went 3-for-5 with three runs, extended his hitting streak to a career-high 21 games with a homer off the top of the left-center-field wall in the fourth inning. The streak is the second longest in the majors this year, behind teammate Jackie Bradley Jr.'s 29-game run, which ended Thursday.
Ramirez drove in three runs, while Dustin Pedroia had a pair of doubles and two RBIs as he extended his hitting streak against Toronto to 22 games.
Boston starter Rick Porcello gave up four runs on seven hits while striking out five over 6 2/3 innings.
Marcus Stroman tied his shortest outing of the season, also against Boston, surrendering seven runs on 11 hits while striking out five. He was chased in the fifth inning with one out.
JUST LOOKING
A day after being passed over as one of the last selections for Team Canada's World Cup of Hockey squad, Montreal Canadiens defenseman P.K. Subban took batting practice with the Blue Jays before the game. Wearing a No. 76 "Subbanator" shirt corresponding with his uniform number in the NHL, the former Norris Trophy winner took batting tips from slugger Jose Bautista, although the speed of the ball off his bat was a long way behind the 100 mph slapshots he takes in his day job.
IN THE LINE OF FIRE
Home plate umpire Mike DiMuro left the game with two out in the bottom of the second. He was hit flush in the facemask on a foul tip off the bat of Blue Jays 2B Travis. After a delay of around 15 minutes, the game resumed with crew chief and second base umpire Brian Gorman taking over the calling of balls and strikes.
TRAINER'S ROOM
Blue Jays: SS Troy Tulowitzki (right quad) was placed on the 15-day DL. Tulowitzki, who is batting just .204 this season with eight home runs and 23 RBIs, had sat out two games this week with the injury. Ryan Goins and Darwin Barney are expected to split time at shortstop until the veteran returns. Toronto activated left-handed reliever Aaron Loup from the 15-day DL to take Tulowitzki's place. Loup, who has yet to play this season, has been recovering from a forearm strain and just completed a rehab assignment with Triple-A Buffalo.
UP NEXT
Red Sox: LHP David Price (7-1, 5.34) returns to a happy hunting ground Sunday. The former Blue Jay makes his first start of the season at Rogers Centre, where he is 11-1 in 15 career starts with a 3.34 ERA.
Blue Jays: RHP R.A. Dickey (2-6, 4.60) is 0-5 in his last eight starts against the Red Sox, and is looking for his first win against them since going 4-0 in 2014.
Devon Travis drove home Russell Martin with two out in the bottom of the ninth as the Toronto Blue Jays rallied to beat the Boston Red Sox 10-9 on Saturday.
With the Blue Jays trailing 9-8 on a David Ortiz home run in the top of the inning, Boston closer Craig Kimbrel retired Edwin Encarnacion and Michael Saunders. But Justin Smoak singled on a line drive to center, and with Ezequiel Carrera pinch running for Smoak, Martin drove in his third run of the day on a double to tie the game.
After Martin advanced to third on a wild pitch, Travis forced third baseman Travis Shaw to stretch to corral a shot, and though he tried to throw Travis out at first, his throw was dropped by Hanley Ramirez and Martin scored.
The walk-off win was Toronto's second of the season, the first coming against Texas on May 3, and completes the series win over the Red Sox, snapping a two-series home losing skid.
Martin hit his third home run in four games with a solo shot over the right-field wall in the sixth inning, while Xander Bogaerts and Shaw both had home runs for the Red Sox.
Ortiz's 13th home run of the season and league-leading 46 RBI had seemed to be enough for the Red Sox, who watched an 8-4 lead disintegrate in the eighth inning as the Blue Jays rallied to tie the score.
Reliever Gavin Floyd (2-3), who gave up Ortiz's shot, got the win, while Kimbrel (0-2), on his 28th birthday, was tagged with the loss.
Bogaerts, who went 3-for-5 with three runs, extended his hitting streak to a career-high 21 games with a homer off the top of the left-center-field wall in the fourth inning. The streak is the second longest in the majors this year, behind teammate Jackie Bradley Jr.'s 29-game run, which ended Thursday.
Ramirez drove in three runs, while Dustin Pedroia had a pair of doubles and two RBIs as he extended his hitting streak against Toronto to 22 games.
Boston starter Rick Porcello gave up four runs on seven hits while striking out five over 6 2/3 innings.
Marcus Stroman tied his shortest outing of the season, also against Boston, surrendering seven runs on 11 hits while striking out five. He was chased in the fifth inning with one out.
TRAINER'S ROOM
Blue Jays: SS Troy Tulowitzki (right quad) was placed on the 15-day DL. Tulowitzki, who is batting just .204 this season with eight home runs and 23 RBIs, had sat out two games this week with the injury. Ryan Goins and Darwin Barney are expected to split time at shortstop until the veteran returns. Toronto activated left-handed reliever Aaron Loup from the 15-day DL to take Tulowitzki's place. Loup, who has yet to play this season, has been recovering from a forearm strain and just completed a rehab assignment with Triple-A Buffalo.
UP NEXT
Red Sox: LHP David Price (7-1, 5.34) returns to a happy hunting ground Sunday. The former Blue Jay makes his first start of the season at Rogers Centre, where he is 11-1 in 15 career starts with a 3.34 ERA.
Blue Jays: RHP R.A. Dickey (2-6, 4.60) is 0-5 in his last eight starts against the Red Sox. He is looking for his first win against them since going 4-0 in 2014.
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