TORONTO — Luke Maile drove in the winning run as the Blue Jays edged the Royals 5-4 in 10 innings at the Rogers Centre.
The Blue Jays defeated the Royals 11-3 in the first game before sweeping Tuesday’s doubleheader. It was the third time in franchise history the Blue Jays played host to a doubleheader at the Rogers Centre. Toronto won both contests on July 17, 1989 against the Angels and took two from the Cleveland Indians on Oct. 5, 2001.
A doubleheader was necessary on Tuesday after large chunks of ice had fallen off the nearby CN Tower and damaged the dome at Rogers Centre on Monday. The game was postponed for safety reasons.
Toronto (11-5) has now won three straight and six of seven while Kansas City (3-12) has lost seven straight.
Tyler Clippard (1-0) pitched a scoreless 10th inning for the win. Bryan Flynn (0-1) was saddled with the loss.
Trailing 3-0 ,Toronto finally got on the board when Kansas City turned to its bullpen in the seventh. Justin Grimm took over from starter Danny Duffy and promptly walked the bases loaded. With Brad Keller on in relief of Grimm, Maile singled home a pair of runs. Devon Travis’s RBI single tied the game 3-3 and Steve Pearce drove in Maile for the go-ahead run.
Alcides Escobar tied it 4-4 with a solo home run off Ryan Tepera in the eighth.
In the 10th, Maile singled to shallow right, driving in Kevin Pillar for the final score.
The Royals opened the scoring in the first when Joe Biagini hit Lucas Duda with the bases loaded. Kansas City doubled its lead in the third on a Mike Moustakas RBI double and Abraham Almonte gave the Royals a 3-0 on a solo home run in the sixth.
Joe Biagini (0-0), who last started for triple-A Buffalo on April 9, allowed three earned runs on six hits over 5 2/3 innings while throwing a career-high 106 pitches.
Randal Grichuk hit a three-run home run as part of a six-run sixth inning and Jaime Garcia (2-0) went five innings surrendering three runs on five hits as the Blue Jays thumped the Royals 11-3 in the first game.
Pitching on eight days rest, Garcia admitted he struggled Tuesday afternoon.
“No excuses,” he said. “It wasn’t my best stuff. I really wasn’t sharp at all, but at the same time it doesn’t take away from my competitiveness and trying to get people out.”
Yangervis Solarte hit a two-run home run in the first to give the Blue Jays an early 2-0 lead and finished the first game 2-for-3 with four runs-batted in.
Moustakas and Duda each hit solo home runs for the Royals while Eric Skoglund (1-1) took the loss. Paulo Orlando brought Kansas City’s first run home scoring Dudas on a ground out.
Notes: The Blue Jays will send J.A. Happ (2-1, 3.94 ERA) to the mound in Wednesday’s series finale while the Royals will counter with Ian Kennedy (1-1, 1.00). … Toronto begins a four-game series in New York against the Yankees on Thursday.
THE CANADIAN PRESS