Phillies had trouble reaching base. When Burnett broke

TORONTO – The Blue Jays took a kidney punch on Friday night and needed less than 24 hours to deliver a counter blow to the Tigers, setting up a Sunday afternoon rubber match between one-time rivals that find themselves in the throes of different playoff races. Wholesale NMD . The Jays responded to the three-spot Detroit placed on Casey Janssen the evening before with an attack on the Tigers Achilles Heel, its bullpen, tying the game in the ninth and winning the game in the 10th. The result absolved Marcus Stroman, brilliant once again, of a tough luck loss while at the same time robbing Max Scherzer, brilliant once again, of a deserved win. Funny enough, it was manager John Gibbons musing to assembled media before Saturdays game that his club hadnt yet found the "magic" of a gap, extra-base hit to walk off a game at home this season. So it was appropriate when the skipper ambled into his post-game press conference with vice-president of communications Jay Stenhouse in tow, blaring the Lovin Spoonfuls "Do You Believe in Magic" from his mobile phone. Nolan Reimold, a waiver pick up from Baltimore, hit a gap shot to score Danny Valencia, a trade acquisition from Kansas City, in the 10th. "Usually you see in the first couple of weeks, when they get some place, they do something big," said Gibbons. "Its just kind of the way it happens with new faces and they both did." The victory is important to the Blue Jays as the club weeds its way through a cluttered wild card picture and tries to remain relevant in the hunt for the American League East crown. Its important because Scherzer is the first of three consecutive Cy Young Award winners Toronto will face (David Price on Sunday; Felix Hernandez on Monday). Its important because the Jays starting rotation, which refuses to fall apart despite evidence that it should, continues to get the job done on more nights than not. After J.A. Happ took a loss despite throwing eight innings of two-run baseball on Thursday and R.A. Dickey stood to win after allowing two runs in six innings on Friday, the club couldnt continue to waste fortuitous efforts. Stroman was electric. His only blemish in nine innings was a two-out, two-run rally in the sixth. He didnt have his strikeout game on Saturday but instead relied on the groundball, getting 14 of his 27 outs that way and darn near wearing out Munenori Kawasaki over at third base. "My sinker was really good today, probably a lot better than my four-seam command," said Stroman. "I commanded it to both sides of the plate and got a lot of groundball outs with it." As impressive a part of Stromans strong beginning to his big league career is his ability to bounce back after a rough start. His three worst starts came on June 17 in New York (3 2/3 innings, two earned runs), July 9 in Anaheim (3 2/3 innings, five earned runs) and August 3 in Houston (three innings, five earned runs). In the three starts that followed, including Saturday, Stromans pitched a combined 24 innings and allowed only three earned runs (1.13 ERA). CURIOUS MOVE Tigers manager Brad Ausmus has a better understanding of his personnel than someone who sees the club only six times in the regular season but it was an odd decision to lift Max Scherzer from Saturdays game. Scherzer left after eight innings with a 2-1 lead. Hed held the Jays to just four hits, striking out 11 and walking none. Hed thrown 106 pitches and had shown no signs of tiring. Ausmus elected to send out closer Joe Nathan for the ninth. He coughed up the tying run and left with the bases loaded with one out. Joakim Soria came in to clean up the mess but the Jays got the last laugh when Reimold walked off Joba Chamberlain in the 10th. ENCARNACION TO BEGIN REHAB ASSIGNMENT Injured slugger Edwin Encarnacion was to be in Single-A Dunedins lineup for its Saturday night game against the Tampa Yankees. Encarnacion was hurt on July 5 in Oakland. He suffered a Grade-2 strain of his right quadriceps. Despite missing five weeks, his 26 home runs had Encarnacion tied for fourth-most in baseball entering Saturdays action. In 88 games this season, Encarnacion is hitting .277/.368/.591 with career bests in OPS (.959) and OPS+ (160). He is expected to return to the Blue Jays on the upcoming road trip, either in Seattle or next weekend in Chicago. Pharrell NMD Hu China .Y. -- Dallas Stars coach Lindy Ruff had an opportunity to experience an entire range of emotions in his first trip back to Buffalo to face his former team. Adidas NMD Factory Outlet . He says he will have the operation Wednesday and be ready in time for training camp in September. Bernier missed five games in March due to the injury. http://www.cheapnmdonline.com/authentic-adidas-nmd-r1-triple-black-unisex.html . Bryce Harper? He also came into Wednesday without a long ball and hadnt driven in a run. He was hitting .160, had nearly three times as many strikeouts as hits and was dropped to seventh in the batting order.MIAMI -- Defensive replacement Ed Lucas provided a boost with his bat, transforming the Miami Marlins extra-inning frustration into an 11th-inning celebration. Lucas single drove home the winning run from second base with one out in the 11th Tuesday night, and Miami beat the Philadelphia Phillies 5-4. The Marlins had lost their past three extra-inning games, each lasting at least 13 innings. They had been shut out for 15 consecutive extra-inning innings before Lucas hit, according to STATS. "After that kind of a streak, it starts to build and grate on you as a team, so it was nice to be able to finish one off," Lucas said. "Weve been so close in the past. We just havent been able to get the big hit when we needed to. So its good to be able to dump one in there and get us out of here for once." Miami broke a four-game losing streak, while the Phillies lost their fifth game in a row and dropped a season-worst 9 1/2 games out of the NL East lead. "It just seems like the games were close to, we just dont win them," said the Phils A.J. Burnett, who pitched six innings. "Weve been in spots to win a lot of ballgames." The Marlins extended another streak, winning their ninth consecutive game when Henderson Alvarez starts. That matched the longest such streak with a pitcher in franchise history. "We need to get him to pitch every day," manager Mike Redmond said. Alvarez allowed two runs in seven innings. Pinch hitter Jeff Baker singled to start the 11th against Justin De Fratus (2-1), then advanced on a sacrifice. He scored without a play on an opposite-field hit by Lucas, who was sent into the game in the eighth because of his defence. "Weve had several opportunities to get that big hit," Redmond said. "It has been a little bit elusive late in the game, and tonight Eddie got one. That was big." The Phillies overcame a 4-2 deficit in the eighth with back-to-back two-out homers by Marlon Byrd and Cody Asche off Kevin Gregg. Byrd clanked his 16th homer off the home-run sculpture, and two pitches later Asche pulled his fifth homer just inside the foul pole. After the homers, Miamis bullpen retired the final 10 Phillies batters. Bryaan Morris (6-0) pitched two innings. Adidas NMD R1 China. "The offence has been inconsistent, sporadic, and it has made it tough on the starting pitcher that day trying to be perfect," manager Ryne Sandberg said. "The bullpen has stepped up and done its job putting zeroes late in the game, only to come short on the offensive side of things a lot of the times." The Marlins Giancarlo Stanton singled home a run to increase his RBI total to 61, which leads the NL. Casey McGehee singled and scored and has reached base in 25 consecutive games. Miami also scored on a strikeout against Burnett, who struck out 10 but allowed four runs, three earned. Alvarez was better, and even when he was on his backside, the Phillies had trouble reaching base. When Burnett broke his bat on a dribbler, Alvarez leaped to avoid the barrel and then crumpled in a heap on the mound. He watched from a supine position as third baseman McGehee threw Burnett out. Alvarez again fell fielding Cameron Rupps one-hopper in the seventh, and while sitting on the mound tossed to first for the out. "I was happy he didnt throw it from his back," Redmond said. "Im glad he at least sat up." The Marlins Steve Cishek also had a highlight-reel moment, reaching behind his back to snare another one-hopper by Rupp for an out in the ninth. NOTES: After the game, the Marlins placed RHP A.J. Ramos on the 15-day disabled list because of shoulder inflammation. ... Phillies LHP Cliff Lee (elbow) threw 60 pitches in three innings in a simulated game Tuesday and said he felt good. Hes expected to make one or two rehabilitation starts before rejoining the rotation, likely after the All-Star break. ... Phils C Carlos Ruiz (concussion) has yet to show much improvement. ... Three-time All-Star Grady Sizemore, who signed a minor league deal last week, might join the Phillies during their trip, Sandberg said. ... Marlins fan Jonathan Esponda, 8, whose gyrations in the stands became an Internet video sensation, threw out the first pitch and then danced with team mascot Billy the Marlin. ... LHP Cole Hamels (2-4, 2.84) is scheduled to start Wednesday for the Phillies against RHP Tom Koehler (5-6, 3.70). ' ' '