Ryan Goins came through with a walk-off homer in the 10th inning as the Blue Jays defeated the Indians, 5-3, in dramatic fashion on Tuesday night at Rogers Centre.
With the victory, Toronto maintained its 1 1/2-game lead over the Yankees for first place in the American League East, as New York also came out on top with a 3-1 victory over the Red Sox. The Indians had their winning streak snapped at six, dropping to five games back of the Rangers for the second AL Wild Card.
Goins’ fifth homer of the year came on a 1-0 count from Indians reliever Bryan Shaw. Toronto’s second baseman lifted the ball to deep right field, and it carried into the second deck as the Blue Jays improved to 6-5 in extra-inning games this season.
“He’s smoking hot with the bat right now, he’s really turning into a different hitter,” Blue Jays manager John Gibbons said. “He has such a good approach at the plate right now, it looks like he has cut down on his swing. That was a big win for us, it really was, and you don’t expect home run balls out of him but he’s hit a few this year, he’s hit a couple of really big ones.”
The dramatic victory came one inning after rookie closer Roberto Osuna blew his second save of the season. Osuna had been trying to protect a 3-2 lead in the ninth inning, but Indians catcher Yan Gomes hit his second homer of the game to force extras. It was just the second time in 18 attempts that Osuna wasn’t able to pick up the save.
Right-hander Marco Estrada was relatively flawless for Toronto, with the exception of a pair of solo homers by Michael Brantley and Gomes. The veteran starter scattered five hits and one walk while striking out two and throwing 60 of his 90 pitches for strikes. Right-hander Cody Anderson got the start for Cleveland and allowed two runs on three hits and two walks over six strong innings.
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