Yankees 5 Blue Jays 9
This game was special. Jose Bautista knew it. The crowd knew it. And showed it.
At the top of the ninth inning, with the Jays leading 9-5 over the Yankees, Jays skipper Gibbons sent out Ezequiel Carrera to replace Bautista in right field. That's when the crowd roared as Jose came down, hugged every Jay on-field, went into the dugout, high-fives the rest of his teammates, then came back out onto the field and waved and acknowledged the fans at the Rogers Centre, by now with chants of "Jose! Jose! Jose!".
Amid signs & placards galore adorned with Jose's name, the faithful let it be known that in their hearts, Jose Bautista will forever be a Blue Jay. Bautista, whose contract ends after this season, will have an option to be picked up for 2018 -- highly doubtful Jays' management will opt to pay out to pick up the option.
That is why to many, this may very well have signalled the last game of Jose people will see in a Blue Jay uniform. Wished him well they did and Bautista was visibly moved:
"A lot of good emotions," a teary-eyed Bautista said. "It's good to be recognized and it's good to feel the love. I appreciate everything that happened today."
With the Yankees having already clinched their playoff-berth Saturday with a 5-1 win over the Jays, Sunday's game started off on the right note as Teoscar Hernandez hit a lead-off homer in the first inning. Offensive contributions also came from Morales, Bautista, Donaldson & Barney.
Jays' starter Marcus Stroman got the win and Osuna closed out the ninth.
Great day, great game, and great Jose!
Game recap
http://www.cbc.ca/sports/baseball/mlb/mlb-blue-jays-yankees-recap-sunday-1.4304765