Remembering the Blue Jays’ Wild Card Walk-Off
ten years ago today.In the 11th inning of the Blue Jays’ Wild Card matchup, Edwin Encarnacion delivered a dramatic one-out home run, sealing a thrilling 5-2 walk-off victory over the Orioles.
In the 11th inning, with the Orioles best reliever sitting in the bullpen (Buck Showalter was a genus), the Orioles brought in Ubaldo Jimenez into the game. With one out, we got singles from Devon Travis and Josh Donaldson. At this point, I was sure Zach Britton would
be coming into the game. But Showalter left Jimenez in there.
Then, the unforgettable moment unfolded:
Buck Showalter certainly deserves a thank you—perhaps a nice fruit basket.
Earlier in the game, offense was limited. Jose Bautista hit a solo home run in the second, and Ezequiel Carrera brought home Michael Saunders with a single in the fifth.
We grounded into three double plays, despite only putting seven runners on base all game. According to the recap:
The one that hurt the most was in the 9th inning, Josh Donaldson (off a leadoff double) and Edwin Encarnacion (intentional walk) on first and second with one out (Bautista strike out on a check swing) when Russell Martin ground one straight at third for an easy 5-4-3 double play.
Marcus Stroman pitched six strong innings, his only blemish being a two-run homer allowed to Mark Trumbo.
The bullpen was outstanding—Brett Cecil, Joe Biagini, Jason Grilli, Roberto Osuna, and Francisco Liriano combined for five scoreless innings.
From the recap:
Jays of the Day: Edwin (.126 WPA, I thought it would higher), Liriano (.214), Osuna (.195, please don’t be hurt), Grilli (.106), Donaldson (.284).
We won, so I’m not giving any suckage awards, but if I did: Travis (-.240), Martin (-.296), and Tulo (-.134).
I remember thanking Showalter for the assist, and someone on Twitter telling me, “If you put Britton in there, who gets the save?” I was amazed that people still thought managing for the save stat was a priority.
Edwin left as a free agent after the season, finishing with 239 regular season home runs (third in Jays history) and four postseason homers for Toronto. After that, he played for Cleveland, the Yankees, Mariners, and the White Sox. Over those four years, he posted a .241/.344/.489 line with 114 home runs. This past year was tough: he hit just .157/.250/.377 with 10 homers for the White Sox.
The Jays went on to sweep the Rangers in the ALDS, taking all three games.
Toronto then fell to Cleveland in five games in the ALCS—a series defined by outstanding pitching. Cleveland’s hitters managed just .168/.215/.329, while the Blue Jays hit .201/.251/.283.
