One of the most newsworthy days of the season began with the surprising move to DFA Cavan Biggio. Then came the bombshell dropped by the club announcing one-time staff ace Alek Manoah will soon undergo season-ending elbow surgery. An actual game would be played against the host Oakland Athletics, a late-night meeting that almost got lost in the shuffle in the wake of the events leading up to first pitch.
What would eventually get lost was a pitch Chad Green threw to JJ Bleday that went deep into right field, a walk-off blast on the first pitch in the ninth inning as the A’s won, 2-1, in dramatic and stunning fashion. It took until the sixth inning for either team to get a runner to third base, a feat managed by the A’s who had runners at the corner with none out against Jays starter Chris Bassitt. A one-out wild pitch scored the game’s first run.
Bassitt limited the damage by keeping Oakland to one run. Through five innings, Bassitt, who once plied his pitching trade in Oakland, had surrendered two hits. He gave up two in the sixth inning, but the costly pitch was the errant heave that led to the run.
The Jays managed to produce three hits through six innings. Vladimir Guerrero Jr. led off the seventh and pulled a ball down the left-field line that would have gone yard had he kept it fair.
He did manage to end up on second base on a slicing ball he hit into right field that should have been caught for the out. Instead, it bounced into the stands for a ground-rule double.
