St. Petersburg, Florida: Toronto’s Marco Estrada threw a career-high 129 pitches in another strong performance that helped the Blue Jays beat Tampa Bay 1-0 in 12 innings of dominant defence, cutting the Rays’ lead atop the American League East division.
The Rays were not the only divisional leaders to lose in extra innings, with Houston going down in 13 innings at the Los Angeles Angels.
The Angels’ crosstown rivals the Los Angeles Dodgers won at the Chicago Cubs, while St. Louis’ Jason Heyward continued his power surge as the Cardinals took victory at Miami.
Toronto’s Estrada was on track for a perfect game until Logan Forsythe hit an infield single with one out in the eighth inning. The throw to first was only marginally late and needed to be confirmed by a replay review.
Estrada also carried a no-hit bid into the eighth inning of his previous start. This time, he struck out 10, and departed after giving up another hit in the ninth.
Chris Colabello won it for the Blue Jays when he hit a one-out shot off Brandon Gomes (1-3).
It was even closer in Anaheim, where the Angels had to wait until there were two outs in the 13th inning before Taylor Featherston poked a single over first base for the winning hit.
In the 13th, Erick Aybar greeted Joe Thatcher (1-2) with a leadoff single, advanced to second on a sacrifice and went to third on a ground-out. Chad Qualls walked Chris Iannetta before Featherston came through.
The Dodgers won 5-2 at the Cubs, with Justin Turner and Adrian Gonzalez both hitting homers.
Gonzalez connected for a leadoff drive in the second and Turner belted a three-run shot in the third, helping Los Angeles bounce back after it scored just two runs across the first two games of the four-game series.
The Cubs, who had won their previous four games, finished with nine hits, but left eight runners on base.
St. Louis’ Heyward homered for the third consecutive game to help the Cardinals win 6-1 at Miami.
Heyward hit a three-run homer, his ninth of the season, in the seventh to blow the game open. The Cardinals had just one hit in the first six innings against Miami starter Mat Latos (2-5)” Kolten Wong’s two-run homer in the third.