By Ron Kaplan, contributor
Kevin Pillar hit his 12th home run on Sunday in one of the great comebacks in memory as the Toronto Blue Jays scored seven times in the bottom of the ninth to beat the visiting LA Angels, 11-10. Pillar’s long knock came with one man on base and decreased the deficit to 10-6. The Jays (49-56) pulled off the accomplishment with a walk-off grand slam by Steve Pearce, his second walk-off grand salami in four days. It was Toronto’s only win in three games. Pillar had one other hit in the game, and the pair accounted for his weekend total in seven at bats (he appeared as a defensive substitute in Saturday’s meeting).
Alex Bregman‘s solo shot (#11) accounted for the only run for the Houston Astros (68-36) in their 13-1 loss to the host Detroit Tigers. He was 2-for-11 for the three games, two of which were won by the Tigers (46-56). Bregman is recouping from a recent hamstring injury but managed to avoid going on the DL.
Ian Kinsler was 2-for-9, including his 17th double, 29th RBI, and eighth stolen base. He missed yesterday’s finale.
Ryan Braun just missed a two-run homer in the Milwaukee Brewers’ 2-1 win over the visiting Chicago Cubs on Friday. He singled, doubled (#14), walked twice, and drove in the Brewers’ only run the next day in a 2-1 loss and was 0-for-4 yesterday in another defeat. The Brewers (55-52) have lost seven of their last ten games and are 14-15 since Braun returned from the disabled list on June 27, falling out of first place and trailing the Cubs by two and a half.
Ryan Lavarnway got the start on Friday and responded by going 2-for-3, including a two-run double, in the Oakland Athletics’ 6-3 loss to the visiting Minnesota Twins. He appeared in the other two games as well, going hitless in two at-bats with a walk. The As — 46-59 — took two of the three games.
The Twins made it official, releasing veteran lefty reliever Craig Breslow after designating him for assignment recently. Here’s hoping someone picks him up.
Danny Valencia was 2-for-11 with an RBI as the Seattle Mariners (53-53) took two of three from the visiting NY Mets.
Joc Pederson was 2-for-6 with a double (#16) as the LA Dodgers (74-31) swept the visiting San Francisco Giants. And here’s another example of why Pederson is a mensch.
Richard Bleier struck out three batters and gave up a hit in two scoreless innings of work on Friday as the Baltimore Orioles (50-56) lost to the host Texas Rangers, 8-2. They took the series two games to one, but the big news was Rangers’ third baseman Andre Beltre becoming the 31st player to get 3,000 hits. Mazel tov, Andre.
Brad Goldberg did not appear for the Chicago White Sox (40-62), who lost two of three to the visiting Cleveland Indians.
Cincinnati Reds pitcher Scott Feldman, who is on the disabled list, reportedly is coming along nicely and may not need any rehab games.
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