Jays Hammer Cliff Lee, Phils With Three 8th-Inning Homers For Win
Eric Thames, Jose Bautista and Edwin Encarnacion each homered off Cliff Lee in the eighth inning, as the Blue Jays salvaged the finale of their three-game interleague series against the Phillies with a 7-4 victory in comeback fashion.
Lee came into the series finale fresh off throwing three consecutive shutouts and was trying to hold a 4-3 cushion in the eighth.
The lead lasted all of five pitches, as Thames took the first pitch he saw over the center-field wall to tie the game prior to Bautista crushing his league-leading 27th home run of the season into the second deck in left.
Three batters later Encarnacion added a two-run blast off Lee (9-6), who was charged with seven runs -- six earned -- in 7 1/3 innings. The lefty entered the contest on a 32-inning scoreless streak.
"They were able to chip away a few runs throughout the game and they had a big eighth inning. I felt like I made decent pitches. Sometimes they hit good pitches too," said Lee.
Jo-Jo Reyes settled down after giving up four runs in the second inning and kept it close long enough for Octavio Dotel (2-1) to earn the win in relief. Dotel recorded the final five outs to snap Toronto's three-game slide.
Get a team-specific recap on the Blue Jays at Bluebird Banter and get updates on the Phillies at The Good Phight and SB Nation Philly.
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