TORONTO -AP- Standing in the on-deck circle, Howie Kendrick watchedYasmani Grandal battle through an eight-pitch at bat for a tying sacrifice fly.
With Toronto closer Roberto Osuna on the mound, Kendrick had no intention of being so selective.
Kendrick hit a tiebreaking RBI single on the first pitch he saw in the eighth inning, and the Los Angeles Dodgers beat the Blue Jays 4-2 on Sunday.
"I wasn't really going to wait around to see his slider," Kendrick said of his approach against Osuna. "He left a fastball out over the middle and I was able to put a good swing on it."
 
Kendrick delivers winning hit, Dodgers beat Blue Jays 4-2
 
It was the second hit of the series for Kendrick, who had gone 1 for 10 before the clutch swing.
"For him to find some outfield grass was big," manager Dave Robertssaid. "A big hit for us."
Joc Pederson connected for his sixth homer as Los Angeles took two of three from Toronto. It's the first series win for the Dodgers since they won two of three at Colorado from April 22 to 24.
Chris Hatcher (3-3) got the win despite yielding a run in the seventh that gave Toronto the lead. Pedro Baez got two outs in the eighth andKenley Jansen finished for his major league-leading 11th save.
With Los Angeles trailing 2-1 in the eighth, Chase Utley sparked the winning rally with a leadoff walk against Drew Storen (0-2). Corey Seager followed with a ground-rule double to right.
Osuna came on and struck out Justin Turner, and then intentionally walked Adrian Gonzalez to load the bases. Grandal followed with a sacrifice fly and Kendrick singled in Seager.
Storen's ERA went up to 9.00 in his first year with Toronto. He had made three consecutive scoreless appearances.
"I'm just frustrated with today," Storen said. "You don't want to lose the ballgame there. But tomorrow the sun comes up and you get right back after it."
Seager made it 4-2 with an RBI single off Chad Girodo in the ninth.
Toronto has lost two straight after winning the previous four.
Dodgers right-hander Ross Stripling pitched six innings of one-run ball. The rookie struck out six and walked none after yielding a season-high five runs in his previous outing, April 30 against San Diego.
"With eight days off I wanted to come out and be as sharp as I could and just attack," Stripling said. "I feel like the last couple of outings have been really average and I felt like I've just been kind of begging for strikes instead of attacking."
Stripling retired his first six batters before Kevin Pillar's leadoff double in the third. Pillar later scored on a fielder's choice grounder by Ryan Goins.
Pederson tied it with a two-out drive off Marco Estrada in the seventh.
Estrada, who held the Dodgers hitless through the first five innings, remained winless in five outings. He allowed one run and three hits in seven innings.
Estrada has received six runs of support during his five-game winless stretch.
CATCH OF THE DAY
Utley ended the eighth by making a great play on Jose Bautista's infield flare. Utley, who had been breaking to cover second on the play, kept going and made a headlong dive for the catch.
"He's just so heady," Roberts said of his veteran second baseman. "He's always in the right spots."
MOTHER'S DAY SPECIAL
Susan Happ, the mother of Blue Jays left-hander J.A. Happ, threw out the first pitch.
 

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