Game winning double in the ninth inning the deciding factor in epic game.
Munenori Kawasaki’s two-out, two-run double in the bottom of the ninth inning drove in the game-winning run Sunday as the Toronto Blue Jays snatched a 6-5 Major League Baseball victory over Baltimore.
The Blue Jays plated four runs in the ninth against Orioles closer Jim Johnson to seal the come-from-behind victory.
With runners on the corners and the Blue Jays down to their final strike, shortstop Kawasaki sliced a double into the gap in left-centerfield that scored the winning runs.
“I did it,” beamed the effervescent Kawasaki — with the help of a phrasebook.
Kawasaki was called up from minor league affiliate Buffalo in April after All-Star Jose Reyes sprained his left ankle.
Kawasaki, who has represented Japan in the Olympics and the World Basseball Classic, had been signed to a minor league deal by Toronto after the Seattle Mariners released him following the 2012 season.
“When Reyes went down we were scrambling,” Blue Jays manager John Gibbons said. “We didn’t know what we were going to do. We knew very little about (Kawasaki) but he’s come up here and done a tremendous job for us.
“He’s played just a good brand of baseball,” Gibbons added.
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