The Toronto Blue Jays officially coughed up their lead in the AL East with this year’s most embarrassing out.
Granted, Toronto is playing in one of the toughest divisions in baseball. However, in July, they had as much as a 6.5 lead as the Boston Red Sox battled back from a slow start, and the New York Yankees seemed dead in the water. However, losing six out of their last seven as the other two teams got hot has evaporated their lead in the division.
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On Wednesday night, their lead was officially gone after a 7-1 loss to the Red Sox at home. The defeat was bad enough. However, it was the way it was stamped into the record books that added a whole bunch of insult to injury.
With two outs and a man on, catcher Alejandro Kirk took a Payton Tolle pitch to right field. It looked like it would extend their hopes of a rally after Isiah Kiner-Falefa opened the bottom of the 9th with a homer to put their first run on the board. Unfortunately, the rally did not continue.
The reason was that Wilyer Abreu played the ball in the outfield well and immediately threw it to first to get the out on the plump, 245-pound catcher. The moment caught announcers and players off guard because it appeared to be an obvious hit. Instead, it was the final out of the game, and Kirk went to the bench and smashed some equipment in frustration.
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Yankees win again to tie Blue Jays for first in the AL East
The Blue Jays’ loss was their second straight at the worst time. The Yankees posted a dominant 8-1 win over the White Sox on Wednesday. The victory put them in a tie for first place in the division lead. Fortunately for Toronto, they have the tiebreaker between the division rivals.
However, the Jays have one more game with the hot and confident Red Sox, while the Yankees get another against a 58-win Chicago team. After those series come to a close on Thursday, the Blue Jays’ final three games come against the Rays, while New York is home to face the Orioles for three.
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