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Carrera’s safety squeeze sets up walk-off win
- Updated: September 25, 2016
TORONTO — The Blue Jays are known for hitting home runs, but they found a rather unconventional way to steal a victory away from the Yankees on Sunday afternoon: The safety squeeze.
Ezequiel Carrera brought home the tying run in the ninth inning with a bunt up the first-base line. That not only gave the Blue Jays renewed life but it also set the stage for Edwin Encarnacion’s walkoff single later in the inning for a 4-3 victory over the Yankees.
Toronto is one of the most home-run reliant teams in all of baseball. The club ranks second in the Majors with 216 homers, but with runs coming at a premium in September, the Blue Jays also have started playing more small ball. There were a pair of bunt attempts earlier in the game, a lot of aggressive baserunning, and the game-altering squeeze.
“Zeke can handle that bat with the best of them when it comes to bunting and things like that,” Blue Jays manager John Gibbons said. “We were fortunate that it was one of those plays that they tried to flip home, and it really opened up the whole inning.”
Carrera and Encarnacion will receive most of the attention after the win, but it was a seven-pitch walk …
