TORONTO -AP- Josh Donaldson hit a two-run homer, Aaron Sanchez struck out 10 and the Toronto Blue Jays beat the Baltimore Orioles 5-1 on Tuesday night in the opener of their AL wild-card showdown.
Ezequiel Carrera also homered as the Blue Jays won for the sixth time in eight games. They lead the wild-card standings by two games over the Orioles with five to play.
Baltimore began the day two games ahead of Detroit and Seattle for the league's final playoff spot.
 
Blue Jays beat Orioles 5-1 in AL wild-card showdown
 
Orioles slugger Chris Davis was ejected for arguing with plate umpire Will Little after striking out against Joe Biagini in the seventh, the third time in three at-bats Davis was caught looking. Baltimore manager Buck Showalter also was tossed after he came out to argue.
Sanchez (14-2) struck out the first four hitters he faced and five of the first six. He gave up one run and five hits over six innings to win for the first time in four starts. The right-hander walked three and reached double digits in strikeouts for the second time this season.
Batting leadoff in place of injured second baseman Devon Travis (left shoulder), Carrera went 2 for 3 with two RBI and scored three runs.
He walked in the first and scored when Donaldson homered off right-hander Kevin Gausman, his 37th.
Carrera connected for an opposite-field drive in the third and drove in a run with a single in the fifth.
Two batters later, Toronto made it 5-1 when Carrera scored on third baseman Manny Machado's throwing error.
Gausman (8-12) allowed five runs, four earned, and seven hits in six innings. He gave up two home runs for the second straight start.
 

Comments are closed.