Kiner-Falefa’s career-high five RBI gives Blue Jays win

Brad Fay and Caleb Joseph break down Toronto Blue Jays’ Isiah Kiner-Falefa’s game-winning performance over the Oakland Athletics, in which he acquired a career-high five RBI and showcased some stellar defence.

OAKLAND, Calif. — The Toronto Blue Jays’ first game at the Oakland Coliseum, on June 3, 1977, ended in a 3-2, walk-off loss, when Pete Vukovich came on for Jesse Jefferson with the bases loaded and one out in the ninth and surrendered a Dick Allen sacrifice fly. Forty-seven years later, they closed their account at Major League Baseball’s last dive bar with a final at-bat victory Sunday, riding Isiah Kiner-Falefa’s three-run double in a wild 10^th inning to a 6-4 win.

Before departing with a series victory that has them within a game of .500 at 32-33, the Blue Jays also enjoyed one final only-at-the-Coliseum moment. After Kiner-Falefa’s decisive blow, Davis Schneider skied a popper toward the only dugout without a railing in the majors and as Tyler Soderstrom ranged over, Yusei Kikuchi, seated on the top step, scurried right into the first baseman.

Both were confused on the ground after the collision — Kikuchi was apologetic and sheepish that “it’s probably going viral right now” — and as a crowd of 11,276 booed and the umpires conferred before ruling dugout interference, players exchanged some words, adding to the Gong Show vibe.

“I forgot that there’s no railing,” a contrite Kikuchi said through interpreter Yusuke Oshima. “After (the collision) I just wanted to create a little hole and hide inside it because I was a little embarrassed.”

Oakland, baby. Truly, the last of its kind.

“The last thing Yusei Kikuchi is going to do is try to tackle a first baseman, you know?” said Blue Jays manager John Schneider. “I get where emotions are when you’re in a close game in extra innings and things like that. I caught a little bit of (the verbal exchanges), but love the way our guys stick up for their teammates.”

Added Kiner-Falefa: “It was an Oakland play where there’s no railing and it’s a situation in the game where you have to support your teammates and be out there. It’s just unfortunate.”

Said starter Bowden Francis: “That was crazy.”

Similarly crazy is that two weeks after falling a season-high six games under .500 on May 26, the Blue Jays can return to level ground for the first since they were 15-15 on April 29 with a win Monday at the NL Central leading Milwaukee Brewers.

Jose Berrios starts against Colin Rea in the opener, looking to extend a run of nine wins in 13 outings that’s pulled them back to this point.

“The urgency, the urgency of understanding where we are, the hole we put ourselves into,” Kiner-Falefa said of how the Blue Jays got themselves going. “These are games that we have to have, so being able to come through and find ways to win series, that’s all that matters right now. So it was a big series win and we’ve got to keep the momentum going.”

Even without Kikuchi’s inadvertent Matthew Tkachuk-style bodycheck, rallying from 3-2 down in the eighth inning before Kiner-Falefa split the left-centre field gap on a high slider from Austin Adams made for a memorable Blue Jays send-off to the Coliseum.

The Athletics are headed to Sacramento next season for a three-year pit stop before moving to Las Vegas for 2028. Sin City won’t be an entirely new destination for the Blue Jays when the time comes, as they opened the 1996 season at Cashman Field against the A’s while renovations at the Coliseum were being completed, while from 2009 through 2012, their triple-A affiliate was, rather inconveniently, based there.

Over the years they lost more than they won in Oakland, finishing 107-118 all-time in regular-season games here, although it’s home to the 7-6, 11-inning win in Game 4 of the 1992 ALCS in which they rallied in the ninth off Dennis Eckersley, one of the most important victories in franchise history. More recently, the Athletics’ financial posture helped the Blue Jays export a pair of third basemen, Josh Donaldson first followed by Matt Chapman, to fuel two other competitive windows.

As for this current group, their history here is tied to a fateful series July 4-6, 2022, when they dropped two of three at the beginning of a troubled week that led to Charlie Montoyo’s firing as manager, with John Schneider named his replacement.

Two years later, the Blue Jays recovered from a 2-1, walk-off loss in the series opener to get their two wins as they try to emerge from a different type of tumult. The next stretch for them will be telling, as after Milwaukee, the Blue Jays have two weeks of Cleveland and Boston before hosting the Yankees and Houston for four games apiece.

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“Credit to the guys,” said John Schneider. “We understand this is a long season and there are still 97 games left. Proud of the way they’re going about it really, with some adjustments that have been made, pitchers stepping up and I think our at-bats getting better. … To get out of here with two after a tough one on the first night, couldn’t be prouder of them. But they’re in a good spot right now.”

The challenge, of course, is in staying there and despite needing seven pitchers to cover the 10 innings Sunday, the Blue Jays emerged from their second bullpen game covering for the injured Alek Manoah relatively OK.

Francis led off with four shutout innings and handed over a 2-0 lead, courtesy of Kiner-Falefa’s two-run single in the second, to the rest of the bullpen. Nate Pearson allowed a solo shot to Brent Rooker in the sixth before Trevor Richards surrendered a go-ahead two-run single to Abraham Toro in the seventh, the Canadian infielder dunking a changeup six inches off the plate into centre for a 3-2 edge.

The Blue Jays, who made 16 straight outs against Mitch Spence after Kiner-Falefa’s early knock, responded in the eighth when Daulton Varsho broke that run with a single off lefty Scott Alexander. He advanced to second on a Kiner-Falefa sacrifice bunt and daringly stole third to make life easier on Davis Schneider, whose sacrifice tied the game 3-3.

“That’s the risk-reward,” Varsho said of his game-changing dash. “If I get thrown out there, everybody hates you. But you’ve got to understand who is on the mound, who’s catching and the third baseman is playing far back enough for me to get a good jump to be able to go.”

That also set the stage for the Kiner-Falefa’s decisive drive and Kikuchi’s collision, which Varsho described as “one of the weirdest” plays he’s ever seen. Another came after Davis Schneider’s sacrifice fly in the eighth, when the Blue Jays abruptly pulled back Ernie Clement from pinch-hitting for Spencer Horwitz and Horwitz had to scramble to get ready and ended up taking an automatic strike for not being in the batter’s box in time.

“You can see something new all the time,” said Varsho.

Especially at Oakland Coliseum, even when saying goodbye for the last time.

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