Justin Smoak isn’t a fan of extra innings Authentic Rasheem Green Jersey , so he was doubly happy about his game-winning homer against the slumping Detroit Tigers.
Smoak led off the bottom of the ninth with a home run and the Toronto Blue Jays beat Detroit 4-3 on Saturday, handing the Tigers their 11th straight loss.
”Honestly, nobody wants to play extra innings,” Smoak said. ”To be able to do it in the ninth and get it over with is always a good feeling.”
This is Detroit’s longest losing streak since an 11-game skid in August 2003, the year the Tigers lost 119 times. The Tigers last lost 12 straight in 1996.
Three of Detroit’s 11 defeats, including the past two, have been one-run losses. The Tigers are 13-13 in one-run decisions.
”There’s things we can do better but we’re not playing bad,” Tigers starter Matt Boyd said. ”It may seem dire, but it’s not. We’re close to where we want to be and we’re going to come out on the other end of this.”
Smoak connected against reliever Joe Jimenez (3-1) for his 11th homer of the season. It was the second walk-off drive of his career, with the other coming in 2016 against Texas.
Smoak, who hit a two-run homer in Friday’s 3-2 win, has gone deep in back-to-back games for the first time this season.
”I’m just trying to be aggressive and it’s been better as of late,” he said.
Seunghwan Oh (4-2) worked one inning for the win. Randal Grichuk also homered for the Blue Jays, who have won 10 of 11 at home.
John Hicks hit a solo homer in the Detroit second off Sam Gaviglio and Nick Castellanos made it 3-0 with a two-run shot in the third, his 12th.
Boyd held the Blue Jays hitless until Kevin Pillar’s leadoff double in the fifth. Pillar moved to third on a one-out single by Aledmys Diaz and scored on a groundout by Devon Travis before Grichuk hit his tying homer.
”He was leaving the ball up just a little too much where they could get the bat head to it,” Tigers manager Ron Gardenhire said.
Boyd allowed three runs and four hits in six innings. He walked two and struck out seven.
”I made a few mistakes today and one of them went over the fence,” Boyd said.
Gaviglio gave up three runs and four hits in seven innings Authentic Will Dissly Jersey , matching his longest outing of the season.
Leonys Martin and Castellanos hit consecutive singles off Joe Biagini in the eighth but the Blue Jays right-hander retired the next three batters in order.
”We had runners in position a couple of times,” Gardenhire said. ”We just didn’t come up with the big one.”
Martin helped preserve the 3-3 tie in the bottom of the eighth by throwing out Travis at home plate. Travis was trying to score from second on Yangervis Solarte’s single to center, but couldn’t beat Martin’s one-hop throw. The assist was Martin’s ninth, tying him with Seattle’s Mitch Haniger for the AL lead.
With a heat alert in place for Toronto, the retractable roof at Rogers Centre was kept closed. The outdoor temperature was 88 degrees, with high humidity making it feel like 106.
CAGED TIGERS
Detroit has lost 12 of 14 in Toronto.
CRIME DOESN’T PAY
Blue Jays C Luke Maile threw out two runners attempting to steal, both at second base. Maile threw out Jeimer Candelario in the first and Grayson Greiner in the seventh.
TRAINER’S ROOM
Tigers: RHP Alex Wilson had to leave in the eighth because of a sore left calf. Wilson missed almost a month earlier this season because of a strain in his left foot. … RHP Drew VerHagen (nasal fracture) will join Triple A Toledo Saturday night to begin an injury rehabilitation assignment. VerHagen has been out since June 20.
Blue Jays: Toronto put RHP Ryan Tepera (elbow) on the 10-day disabled list and recalled RHP Jake Petricka from Triple-A Buffalo.
UP NEXT
Tigers RHP Jordan Zimmermann (2-0, 4.35) faces Blue Jays LHP J.A. Happ (10-3, 3.62) on Canada Day in Toronto. Zimmermann allowed seven runs in his previous start against Toronto on June 8, 2016. Happ has won six straight decisions and is unbeaten in eight outings.
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A look ahead to top enterprise and feature stories planned globally by AP Sports. New digests will go out each Thursday and Monday and will be repeated on other weekdays. Please note that story plans may change depending on news and other issues.
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NOTE: The stories slugged Black History-Game Changers are part of AP’s coverage during Black History Month of how African-American athletes have used their platforms during the last 100 years to influence social and political change. Please see the Black History Month advisory for more details on the series.
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WEDNESDAY, Jan. 31
WRE-WAHINE WRESTLERS
FREMONT Authentic Michael Dickson Jersey , Neb. – Welina Tong tried wrestling for the first time when she was a junior in high school and fell in love with the sport so deeply that she was willing to move 4,000 miles from her home in Hawaii to the snowy plains of Nebraska to continue competing. She’s not alone. She and three other women from the women’s wrestling hotbed of Hawaii are on the team at Midland University. The 1,400-student school is among three dozen small colleges that have started women’s wresting programs. With more than 14,000 girls participating in high school wrestling, the sport is growing rapidly and on track to gain greater recognition by the NAIA and NCAA. By Eric Olson. UPCOMING: 900 words, photos, video by 3 a.m. Wednesday.
BKC–WASHINGTON-INSIDE LOOK
SEATTLE – One of the most surprising stories in college basketball is what Mike Hopkins is doing in his first season at Washington. Hopkins provided The Associated Press an inside look at his first-year program to try and explain how the Huskies are in the conversation for an NCAA bid entering February, an idea that seemed unfathomable back in October. By Tim Booth. UPCOMING: 1,000 words, photos and video by 12 p.m. Wednesday.
THURSDAY, Feb. 1
BLACK HISTORY-GAME CHANGERS
Some of the top NFL players say they have been racially profiled, or had a family member or friend who has been. Yes, Colin Kaepernick is out of work and mostly out of the spotlight after starting the latest chapter of black athletes using their sports platforms to make America uncomfortable by raising awareness on racially charged issues in an effort to bring about social and political change. But the issues that spurred him to kneel silently are still very much a part of people of color’s daily lives. And like athletes that have taken a stand before them, many believe the struggle against injustice must continue. By Errin Haines Whack and Fred Goodall. UPCOMING: 900 words, photos and video.
FRIDAY, Feb. 2
BLACK HISTORY-GAME CHANGERS-KAEPERNICK
Colin Kaepernick knew he was sending a message when he first refused to stand during the national anthem, before a preseason game in 2016. He probably never would’ve guessed the price he would pay. Because of the efforts of the now-unemployed quarterback Authentic Alex McGough Jersey , the days of excluding politics and social issues from sports appear to be over, and those who have followed Kaepernick’s lead are feeling more and more empowered to use their platform for something other than mere fun and games. By National Writer Eddie Pells. UPCOMING: 950 words, photos and video by 3 a.m. Friday.
BLACK HISTORY-GAME CHANGERS-BLACK ATHLETES
Sports and race have been intertwined in America’s journey to become a more perfect union, and black athletes have often found themselves at the center of the struggle for racial progress. From Jack Johnson’s defiance outside of the boxing ring, thumbing his nose at segregation and challenging notions of black inferiority to former San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick’s decision to kneel silently during the national anthem ahead of NFL games that many point to as the reason he is now out of the league, black athletes have protested for generations in ways large and small in an effort to highlight injustice, expose hypocrisy and move the country forward. Often met with hate by fans uninterested in mixing sports and social issues, many have taken stances that risk their careers, choosing race over the games they love. Where does that leave us? By AP National Writer Errin Haines Whack. UPCOMING: 1,200 words, photos and video by 1 p.m. Friday.
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Again, if you have questions about the Sports Showcase Digest or the material listed, please reach out to Oskar Garcia, assistant sports editor for the U.S. east region, at 215-446-6632 or at ogarcia(at)ap.org.
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AP Sports