ROB LONGLEY
CLEVELAND – In the eyes of Blue Jays management, Justin Smoak wasn’t worthy of facing the Indians in the American League Championship Series and was left off the active roster last season.
On Saturday night, the all star first baseman brought his all star credentials to Progressive Field and spoiled a brilliant starting assignment from Indians pitcher Danny Salazar.
Unfortunately Smoak’s 27th homer of the year wasn’t enough as the Jays suffered yet another heart-breaking loss in typical fashion. As has been the case too often, Smoak was the only reliable force of offence.
So enter Francisco Lindor and his walkoff blast in the bottom of the 10th which sent the Indians to a 2-1 victory, their second in a row against the Jays. The three-game series wraps up here tomorrow but the Jays are now 3-6 so far in this 10-game road trip.
Smoak belted his shot to opposite field, turning on the first pitch he saw from ace Indians reliever Drew Miller in the bottom of the seventh.
And that set the stage for a dramatic ending to an entertaining night of pitcher-dominated baseball between the most recent ALCS combatants.
The Smoak blast temporarily interrupted what had been a brilliant pitching performance from both starters. And given how Miller owned the Jays in winning the ALCS MVP award last October, there was even deeper meaning to the hit.
Salazar allowed just one base runner through his seven innings of work when Kevin Pillar singled in the third inning. All the while he was mowing down Jays batters with fastballs clocked in the mid to high 90s.
Coming out of the other dugout was Toronto starter Marcus Stroman who limited the Indians to one run in 7.2 innings, all the while appearing to battle an issue on his finger.
The only Stroman allowed almost didn’t happen, either. The Indians got on the board in the fourth thanks to an RBI from Edwin Encarnacion on a sharply hit ground out. But if Jays third baseman Josh Donaldson would have fielded the ball cleanly, it could have been an inning-ending double play. Instead, Francisco Lindor scooted home for the score.
Stroman left a pass runner for reliever Ryan Tepera in the seventh but he worked his way out of potential trouble.
Salazar was on it from the start, striking out the side in the Jays first and doing so on just 12 pitches. With that lone base runner, he had six three-up six three-up, three-down innings.
Stroman was impressive as well in a gritty effort given the fact he pitched through an issue of sort. He gave up five hits and five walks and struck out seven. After throwing 117 pitches, he immediately headed to the clubhouse with head Jays trainer George Poulis when his work night was done.
For Smoak, the big blast was his 10th homer on the road since June first, the most road blasts of anyone in the majors. That he took Miller deep on the first pitch was a dramatic blow in a wildly entertaining game.
The Indians came that close to winning it in the ninth when a big, arching Giovanny Urshela fly ball took Steve Pearce all the way to the wall in left to make the catch.
The Jays had their shot in the top of the 10th when leadoff batter Josh Donaldson reached on an error and Smoak followed with a walk. But after Kendrys Morales went down swinging and Donaldson was out on a fielder’s choice at third, Pillar grounded out in a tight play at first.
TOUGH TIMES
The beauty of the baseball season is that there’s a new chance just about every day.
But 98 games into the season, it must feel like a chore going to the park some days for a Blue Jays team that is performing so far below expectations.
It’s not just the losses but the blowouts. When the Jays lost 13-3 on Friday, it was their sixth loss of 10 or more runs this year, the most in the majors. They only had four such defeats last year and zero in 2015, their first of two consecutive trips to the post season.
“It’s always frustrating any time you lose games,” Jays shortstop Troy Tulowitzki said on Saturday. “Even last year, when our record was better than it is right now, we’d have frustrating games. This year it’s probably been a little more frustrating but just go out there, keep doing your job, focus on winning.”
That’s been increasingly difficult, however, particularly on a 10-game road trip exiting the all star break. It began with a 1-2 series in Detroit, a 2-2 split in Boston and now head into Sunday’s
Heading into Saturday’s game, the Jays were exactly 10 games worse than they were after 96 games last season (54-42.) Dipping to eight games below .500 was the most behind that mark they’ve been since May 9.
While they’ve avoided disaster, since a strong month of May they’ve been unable to ride any positive momentum. And now with the trade deadline just more than a week away, it’s got to be tough keeping a positive outlook.
“You’ve got no choice,” Tulowitzki said. “Obviously this road trip has been long. Our record isn’t terrible, but it could be pretty good. We’re in a lot of these games, we just didn’t make some plays or the ball bounced their way a little bit.
“Overall, just stick with it. There are a lot of professionals on this team.”
QUICK HITS
The seven strikeouts by Stroman allowed him to reach the 400 milestone for his career . . . Saturday’s game was the third extra-inning affair through nine in this 10-game road trip that concludes on Sunday.
rlongley@postmedia.com
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