Varsho gets tiebreaking hit in the 11th inning as the Blue Jays beat the Dodgers 6-3
By Greg Beacham, The Associated Press on July 25, 2023.
LOS ANGELES (AP) – Daulton Varsho hit a tiebreaking two-run double in Toronto’s three-run 11th inning, sending the Blue Jays to a 6-3 victory over the Los Angeles Dodgers on Monday night. Matt Chapman homered in the eighth for the Blue Jays, who earned their 11th win in 16 games. Toronto loaded the bases in the 11th on third baseman Chris Taylor’s throwing error and Whit Merrifield’s single before Varsho’s low line drive to right was misplayed by Jason Heyward, who wasn’t charged with an error. Varsho had been batting .128 (6 for 47) in his previous 16 games before arriving at Dodger Stadium, but he capped his first two-hit game since June 17 with the go-ahead RBIs. “Obviously it’s been a tough month for me, but you’ve got to keep your head up, keep grinding and help this team win in any way possible,” Varsho said. Bo Bichette drew a bases-loaded walk from Phil Bickford (2-3) to make it 6-3. “You know who they have in the bullpen, and luckily enough, I’ve faced a lot of these guys before,” said Varsho, who spent the previous three seasons with Arizona. Jay Jackson (3-0) pitched two hitless innings of relief, retiring all of the Dodgers’ top hitters. All-Star closer Jordan Romano finished for his 28th save, tying Baltimore’s Félix Bautista for the AL lead. “Seems like these guys are tested mentally every night,” Toronto manager John Schneider said. “Games are close. Games are tight. Hopefully that makes us a little more battle-tested down the road.” Max Muncy homered in his third consecutive game for Los Angeles, hitting a 435-foot tying shot in the eighth inning. Heyward also homered for the NL West-leading Dodgers, who took their first back-to-back losses since July 2. “I thought we had a chance to get to Jackson,” Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said. “We couldn’t cash in. (Taylor is) sure-handed. Didn’t make the play right there. I thought the inning would have been different had he made the play. I thought Jason had a do-or-die play (and) just didn’t come up with it. But that’s not the reason we didn’t win.” After Chapman put the Blue Jays ahead 3-2 with his first homer since July 6, Muncy tied it with a drive off Trevor Richards for his 25th homer of the season. The slugger, who also had an early RBI single, has eight hits, four homers and 13 RBIs in his last five games. The Dodgers loaded the bases later in the eighth, but pinch-hitter Miguel Rojas flied out. Michael Grove yielded eight hits with six strikeouts while pitching into the fifth inning for the Dodgers. “I would have loved to go six or seven tonight and keep our bullpen out of the game a little longer, but (it’s) a step in the right direction,” Grove said. Grove said he voluntarily changed his pants before the fifth inning because the Blue Jays asked the umpires to check the spot on his leg where he wipes his hand after every pitch. Grove is one of three rookies currently in LA’s injury-plagued rotation with the trade deadline looming. Before the game, Roberts acknowledged his team urgently needs starting pitching, even with Clayton Kershaw likely returning in August. Los Angeles’ starters entered Monday ranked 29th in the majors with a 6.12 ERA since Kershaw’s last start in late June. José BerrÃos yielded five hits and four walks over five innings for Toronto. CONFLICTED DEWEY Drew Doughty threw out the first pitch on LA Kings Night in a particularly appropriate matchup for the star defenseman. The Ontario native is a longtime fan of the Blue Jays, whose cap he wears frequently around town, but he also regularly attends Dodgers games. TRAINER’S ROOM Blue Jays: LHP Hyun Jin Ryu joined the Jays in Los Angeles as his return from Tommy John surgery nears. Ryu spent seven years with the Dodgers before joining Toronto on a four-year, $80 million contract that ends this season. He might throw a simulated game before he returns to the major league mound. Dodgers: All-Star slugger J.D. Martinez missed his second straight game with hamstring tightness. Roberts expects Martinez to start Tuesday. … Noah Syndergaard threw at Dodger Stadium between starts in his rehab assignment. He has been out since June 7, ostensibly with a blister, after a series of terrible starts. Roberts said that after Syndergaard makes his third appearance for Triple-A Oklahoma City on Thursday, “that’s when the rubber meets the road and we’ll have to make a decision.” UP NEXT Julio UrÃas (7-6, 5.02 ERA) makes his first start for the Dodgers since yielding a career-high eight runs in Baltimore last week. He faces Toronto’s Chris Bassitt (10-5, 3.92), who is 3-0 with a 3.68 ERA in his last seven starts. ___ AP MLB: https://apnews.com/hub/MLB and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports 28-27
