Late drama ends up with Grilli on losing end

NEW YORK — Reliever Jason Grilli has been almost automatic during his time with the Blue Jays, but the way things went on Tuesday night at Yankee Stadium during a 7-6 loss, even the safest bets were anything but in a game that felt like it should be taking place in October.

Toronto and New York saw the lead change hands three times over the final three innings. One minute the Blue Jays were ahead, the next they weren’t, and on and on it went in a topsy turvy-like fashion that had everyone on the field experiencing a roller coaster of emotions.

The dust did not settle until Justin Smoak hit a bases-loaded fly ball in the ninth inning that came within a foot of leaving the park but instead went into the glove of a leaping Brett Gardner. That meant Grilli was on the hook for a loss after a rare misstep during an inning in which he entered trying to protect a one-run lead and walked off with his club trailing by three.

“Leadoff walks never help, but he’s been tremendous,” Blue Jays manager John Gibbons said of Grilli, who was charged with four runs on two hits and a pair of walks. “That’s part of big league …

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