TORONTO – Taijuan Walker, Jonathan Davis and Teoscar Hernandez pulled the reeling Toronto Blue Jays out of an ill-timed tailspin Sunday, finding some stable ground before a crucial rematch against the very same New York Yankees who bludgeoned them into a funk last week.
High drama looms in Buffalo starting Monday, as the Blue Jays’ magic number to clinch a post-season berth is down to five after a 6-3 victory over the Philadelphia Phillies ended a season-high losing streak at six games.
Walker shoved his fastball down the Phillies’ throats for six innings to keep things in hand, Davis broke open a tight game with a two-run double in the sixth inning to open up some breathing room and Hernandez added a two-run homer in the seventh to provide vital insurance.
Still, since nothing comes easy for the Blue Jays, errors by Vladimir Guerrero Jr. and Joe Panik led to a pair of unearned runs against Thomas Hatch in the seventh, setting up the type of high-stress finish that’s been a team staple.
With the bullpen depleted, Shun Yamaguchi left two on and two out in the eighth for Anthony Bass, who retired pinch-hitter Jay Bruce on one pitch to escape that jam. He came back out for a 1-2-3 ninth to earn his sixth save.
The Blue Jays were outscored 43-15 during a three-game sweep at Yankee Stadium last week that Travis Shaw described as “a little bit of shell shock.” They proceeded to drop both ends of a doubleheader Friday, blowing multiple leads in the nightcap, before falling 3-1 on Saturday to squander a gem from Hyun-Jin Ryu.
That left Walker in position to provide a pick-me-up, and after being staked to a 2-0 lead in the first on a run-scoring balk by debuting righty Adonis Medina and a Lourdes Gurriel Jr. single, he surrendered a Didi Gregorius RBI double in the bottom half before locking things down.
Walker allowed only three hits from there, none out of the infield, while striking out eight batters, repeatedly beating hitters with challenge fastballs in the heart of the zone.
Things remained tight until Davis and Hernandez provided some breathing room.
