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Instant Reaction: Blue Jays’ Ernie Clement walks off the Tigers in 2-1 victory

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It’s safe to say that was the Toronto Blue Jays’ biggest win of the season so far.

On Saturday afternoon, they hosted the Detroit Tigers for the second of three games, defeating the best team in Major League Baseball by a score of 2-1 in walk-off fashion. Let’s take a look at what happened in this one!

 

In the top of the second, the Tigers scored the opening run, as Spencer Torkelson hit his 12th home run off Eric Lauer. The score stood this way until the bottom of the eighth, as Alejandro Kirk drove in Ernie Clement to tie the game at one.

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Toronto won the game in the bottom of the ninth, as Daulton Varsho hit a key double with one out. The Tigers decided to intentionally walk a pinch-hitting Anthony Santander, bringing Ernie Clement to the plate. Clement hit a single to the outfield, walking off the Tigers to bring the Jays’ season record to 22-23.

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Takeaways…

The Tigers were 26-0 when leading after six. They now have one loss, as the Blue Jays tied the game in the bottom of the eighth and walked it off in the bottom of the ninth. Their 12 comeback victories are third in Major League Baseball.

Ernie Clement had a great game. Clement drew the walk after starting it 0-2, the first time in his big league career he has ever achieved that feat. He eventually came into score to make it 1-1, and drove in the game-tying run in the bottom of the ninth for his second career walk-off hit.

Alejandro Kirk continues to hit key hits. In their last win on Wednesday, Kirk drove in all three runs the Jays scored in their 3-1 victory over the Tampa Bay Rays. On Saturday, he ripped a ball down the right field line to even up the game.

Like Kirk, Daulton Varsho has come up with some huge base hits in his 13 games. Varsho just missed a two-run home run in the bottom of the seventh. He made up for it in the bottom of the ninth, hitting a one-out double and scoring the game-winning run.

Blue Jays’ pitching had a good day as well, with the lone blemish being a solo home run off Eric Lauer. The lefty threw three innings, striking out five. Yariel Rodriguez pitched two innings, allowing a measly hit to bring his season ERA to 3.52. Brendon Little continues to be one of the best relievers in baseball, striking out two in his inning to drop his ERA to 1.69.

Chad Green walked a batter but got out of the inning with a run. Yimi Garcia pitched a clean inning, and Jeff Hoffman walked the lead-off batter, who was erased on a terrific throw from Nathan Lukes.

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It wasn’t a conventional day for the Blue Jays’ pitching staff, mainly focusing on matchups, but they delivered.

The question is, how will the bullpen look on Sunday during the rubber match? That game starts at 1:37 PM ET, with Jose Berrios expected to start for the Jays.

Ryley Delaney is a Nation Network writer for Blue Jays Nation, Oilersnation, and FlamesNation. They can be followed on Twitter @Ryley__Delaney.