By Canadian Press

Ninth-inning homer by Pache lifts Athletics to 7-5 victory over Blue Jays

Apr 16, 2022 | 3:33 PM

TORONTO — Christian Pache hit a tiebreaking two-run homer in the ninth inning to power the Oakland Athletics to a 7-5 victory over the Toronto Blue Jays on Saturday afternoon at Rogers Centre.

After Christian Bethancourt reached on a one-out single, Pache hit a 1-0 fastball from Toronto reliever Julian Merryweather (0-2) that barely cleared the wall in right field for his first homer of the season.

Dany Jimenez (1-0) worked the eighth inning and Lou Trivino recorded the final three outs for his second save. Sean Murphy homered and doubled for Oakland (5-4).

Matt Chapman and Zack Collins went deep for the Blue Jays (5-4), who had clawed back from an early four-run deficit. 

With George Springer not in the starting lineup, Toronto manager Charlie Montoyo slotted right-fielder Raimel Tapia into the leadoff spot and the move paid off right away. 

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Tapia doubled off Athletics starter Paul Blackburn and moved to third on a grounder. He scored when Sean Murphy dropped a high throw to the plate by third baseman Kevin Smith after a chopper by Vladimir Guerrero, Jr.

A clean opening frame by Toronto left-hander Hyun Jin Ryu was followed by a rough start to the second inning. Oakland recorded four straight hits – including doubles by Murphy, Smith and Bethancourt – to take a 3-1 lead. 

The Athletics tacked on two more runs in the third when Murphy smacked a pitch into the second level of seats in left-centre field. The home run ball was thrown back on the field to the delight of fans in the standing-room section. 

Quality two-out hitting against reliever Domingo Acevedo helped Toronto tie the game in the sixth inning.

Lourdes Gurriel Jr., singled and scored when Chapman turned on a first-pitch fastball for his second homer of the year. Collins took Acevedo’s next offering deep for his first home run as a Blue Jay. 

Oakland manager Mark Kotsay finally pulled Acevedo after he gave up two more singles. Justin Grimm fanned Bradley Zimmer to limit the damage.

Toronto reliever Yimi Garcia survived a shaky eighth inning after issuing one-out walks to Elvis Andrus and Jed Lowrie. A double steal was successful but Garcia struck out Murphy and got pinch-hitter Tony Kemp on a lineout.

Montoyo was ejected in the bottom half of the frame after arguing with home-plate umpire Jeff Nelson. 

Ryu has struggled in both of his starts this season. 

He allowed six earned runs over 3 1/3 innings in a 12-6 loss to Texas last weekend. The veteran southpaw lasted four innings this time, giving up five earned runs and six hits with one strikeout.

Blackburn’s line included two earned runs, five hits and three strikeouts over five innings. Announced attendance was 32,330 and the game took three hours five minutes to play. 

HOT CORNER

Chapman, who was acquired from Oakland last month, received his 2021 Gold Glove award before the game.

Athletics manager Mark Kotsay and infield coach Eric Martins joined him near the mound for the presentation. 

The Toronto third baseman has earned the American League fielding honour three times over five seasons. 

BIG SMOKE

The Blue Jays kicked off a big sports day for Toronto teams with the mid-afternoon start.

The NBA’s Raptors began a first-round playoff series later in the day against the Philadelphia 76ers. The NHL’s Maple Leafs were in Ottawa for a night game against the Senators and Major League Soccer’s Toronto FC visited the Philadelphia Union.

SERIES FINALE

Right-handers are scheduled to square off in the three-game series finale on Sunday afternoon.

Alek Manoah (1-0, 0.00 ERA) gets the start for Toronto against Adam Oller (0-0, 33.75). Manoah struck out seven over six shutout innings in his first start last Monday, a 3-0 road victory over the New York Yankees. 

This report by The Canadian Press was first published April 16, 2022. 

Follow @GregoryStrongCP on Twitter.

Gregory Strong, The Canadian Press