TORONTO (AP) 鈥� Davis Schneider hit the winning two-run homer in the 14th inning and the Toronto Blue Jays beat Pittsburgh 5-3 on Friday night for their ninth straight win over the Pirates.
Schneider鈥檚 seventh home run of the season came on the first pitch he saw from right-hander Kyle Nicolas (0-1) for Toronto鈥檚 first game-winning hit of 2024.
Schneider was 0 for 5 with three strikeouts before his homer but said assistant hitting coach Matt Hague gave him some helpful advice before his final at bat.
鈥淗e was like 鈥榊ou鈥檝e got to start a little bit earlier, this guy is throwing 98,鈥欌�� Schneider said. 鈥淗e saw that I was kind of a little bit late. I only saw one pitch but I made the most of it.鈥�
G茅nesis Cabrera (1-1) pitched 1 2/3 innings for the win as the Blue Jays matched a season best with their fourth straight victory and won in the debut of their new City Connect uniforms.
鈥淚 feel like we鈥檙e just about putting the pieces together,鈥� Schneider said. 鈥淲e have the talent, it鈥檚 just a matter of putting it all together.鈥�
Cabrera鈥檚 outing capped seven no-hit innings by five Toronto relievers, following work by Chad Green, Yimi Garc铆a, Nate Pearson and Tim Mayza.
鈥淭hey made big pitches,鈥� Blue Jays manager John Schneider said. 鈥淭hat鈥檚 really hard to do with a runner at second that many times in a row.鈥�
After Pittsburgh鈥檚 Bryan Reynolds hit a tiebreaking sacrifice fly in the top of the 11th, Toronto tied it in the bottom half when George Springer hit a two-out RBI single.
Blue Jays right fielder Springer made a on Reynolds鈥� drive in the top half but couldn鈥檛 stop automatic runner Ji Hwan Bae scoring from third.
鈥淭hat changed the game,鈥� Pirates manager Derek Shelton said of Springer鈥檚 play. 鈥淚t鈥檚 the best catch we鈥檝e seen all year. He made an unbelievable play.鈥�
Ke鈥橞ryan Hayes made it 3-2 with a sacrifice fly in the 12th but Kevin Kiermaier answered with a sacrifice fly in the bottom half.
Toronto loaded the bases with two out in the 13th but Carmen Mlodzinski caught Cavan Biggio looking at strike three.
The Pirates opened the scoring in the fifth when Andrew McCutchen hit a two-out RBI single off starter Jos茅 Berr铆os, who gave up six hits and one run over seven innings. Berr铆os walked none and struck out five.
The Blue Jays didn鈥檛 get a runner to second base through the first five innings against Pirates right-hander Bailey Falter. Falter allowed two hits, walked two and struck out five in six innings.
鈥淩eally good effort by Bailey,鈥� Shelton said. 鈥淗e emptied the tank there in the sixth.鈥�
Toronto tied it after reliever Colin Holderman hit Springer with a two-out pitch in the sixth. Pinch hitter Daniel Vogelbach hit a fly ball to deep center that Bae lost in the twilight. The ball hit off the wall for a double, allowing Springer to score.
TRAINER鈥橲 ROOM
Blue Jays: RHP Alek Manoah was placed on the 15-day IL because of a sprained elbow. The 2022 Cy Young Award finalist left Wednesday鈥檚 start against the White Sox after 1 2/3 innings. 鈥� Manager John Schneider said RHP Jordan Romano (elbow) and OF Daulton Varsho (illness) were not available Friday.
ROSTER MOVES
Toronto acquired right-hander Ryan Burr from Philadelphia in exchange for cash and added him to the active roster. To make room on the 40-man roster, Triple-A RHP Joel Kuhnel was designated for assignment.
UP NEXT
Blue Jays LHP Yusei Kikuchi (2-4, 3.25) is scheduled to start Saturday against Pirates RHP Mitch Keller (6-3, 3.59).
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AP MLB:
Ian Harrison, The Associated Press
