Ty France’s sacrifice fly in the bottom of the eighth inning Sunday snapped a tie and lifted the San Diego Padres to a 5-4 win over the visiting Toronto Blue Jays.
Trailing 4-3 entering the inning, San Diego reached Jeff Hoffman (5-6) for the tying and winning runs. Xander Bogaerts led off with an infield single, swiped second and scored on Manny Machado’s single to center.
Gavin Sheets’ grounder to short moved Machado to second. Jase Bowen pinch-ran for Machado and stole third before France’s long drive to the warning track in right-center was hauled in by Daulton Varsho as Bowen trotted home.
Adrian Morejon (7-2) picked up the win despite allowing a run in the eighth and Mason Miller worked the ninth to earn his 25th save in as many chances.
Neither starter was around for the decision. Toronto’s Kevin Gausman worked six innings, allowing four hits and three runs while walking three and fanning eight. San Diego’s German Marquez toiled for four innings, yielding six hits and three runs with two walks and four strikeouts.
Nathan Lukes gave the Blue Jays a 1-0 lead two batters into the game, launching his fifth homer of the year into the seats in right. The Padres erased that in the second during a weird three-run rally.
Jake Cronenworth lined a bases-loaded single into left-center for a run. After Rodolfo Duran fouled out for the first out, Sung-Mun Song took a 3-0 pitch for a strike and tried to appeal but plate umpire Jen Pawol didn’t grant it. San Diego hitting coach
Steven Souza Jr. was ejected for arguing the call, Pawol’s first big league ejection.
Song walked on the next pitch to force the go-ahead run home and Gausman balked in the third run with two outs.
Ernie Clement tied the game at 3-3 in the fourth with a two-run homer to left, his eighth of the season. Jonatan Clase gave Toronto a short-lived 4-3 lead in the top of the eighth with a two-out RBI single to center.
Machado stroked three of the Padres’ seven hits. Clase and Kazuma Okamoto had two of the Blue Jays’ nine hits.
