Davis Schneider scores winning run as Blue Jays end 6-game skid with 4-3 win over Dodgers
TORONTO (AP) — Davis Schneider scored the tiebreaking run on a throwing error by catcher Will Smith in the bottom of the eighth inning and the Toronto Blue Jays beat the Los Angeles Dodgers 4-3 on Wednesday, stopping a six-game losing streak and avoiding a three-game sweep. Schneider scored from third when shortstop Miguel Rojas couldn’t handle Smith’s throw on Andrés Giménez’s stolen base attempt. Tyler Rogers (1-0) got five outs for the win and Jeff Hoffman finished for his second save in four chances, stranding runners at first and second.
Ben Casparius (0-1) took the loss as the Dodgers were beaten for the first time in seven games when leading after six innings. Smith went 2 for 3 with an RBI and scored twice but the Dodgers lost for the first time in six games. Schneider sparked Toronto’s comeback from 3-1 in the seventh, when he led off with a pinch-hit walk against left-hander Jack Dreyer.
Tyler Heineman hit a one-out single before George Springer drove in a run with a double off the wall. Daulton Varsho tied it with an RBI single. Toronto’s comeback spoiled a strong, six-inning start by Shohei Ohtani, who allowed one run and four hits.
Ohtani also extended his career-best on-base streak to 43 games with a four-pitch walk in the first. He was hit by a pitch in the fifth and finished 0 for 3. Hoffman struck out Ohtani looking to begin the ninth.
Smith challenged umpire Dan Bellino’s call on Ohtani’s first pitch of the game, but the ball was 1. 9 inches below the strike zone. Rojas returned to the lineup at shortstop after sitting out Tuesday’s game following the sudden death of his father, Miguel Rojas Sr.