Aaron Hill drove in the game-winning run in the 11th inning for Toronto as the Blue Jays escaped with a 3-2 victory over the Detroit Tigers on Friday night.
Hill's looping line drive to right scored pinch-runner John McDonald from second for Toronto (67-61). After Detroit reliever Phil Coke (7-3) struck out Adam Lind to start the inning, John Buck singled and Fred Lewis walked. McDonald replaced Buck at second and scored easily as Hill connected on a 1-0 changup.
Jose Bautista and Lind hit solo shots for Toronto while Miguel Cabrera went deep for Detroit (64-65).
Both teams failed to take advantage of their opportunities the 10th. Toronto reliever Shawn Camp (4-2) got out of a bases-loaded jam in the top off the inning before Detroit's Ryan Palmer got Vernon Wells swinging with two aboard in the bottom half. Camp also pitched a scoreless 11th for the Blue Jays.
Detroit tied things in the bottom of the ninth off Toronto closer Kevin Gregg. Austin Jackson tripled to centre to start the inning. After Gregg struck out Ryan Raburn, Johnny Damon singled to right to score Jackson and knot things at 2-2.
Gregg's fifth blown save of the season came before a crowd of 20,298 at Rogers Centre.
Lind took Tigers starter Justin Verlander to deep centre on a 2-0 pitch leading off the seventh inning for his 18th home run of the season to give the Blue Jays a 2-1 lead.
Bautista gave Toronto a 1-0 lead with his major-league-leading 42nd homer of the year in the fourth on Toronto's first hit of the night.
Verlander got Yunel Escobar on a grounder to lead off the inning, before Bautista clobbered a 2-0 pitch into the bleachers in left. Bautista is now just five home runs shy of George Bell's club-record of 47 set in 1987. Toronto has gone deep a major-league-best 195 times this season.
Verlander settled down after Bautista's homer, getting the next two batters in the fourth and striking out the side in the fifth. After getting the first two outs in the sixth, Escobar singled to right-centre and Bautista doubled to left, but Wells grounded out weakly to second to end the inning.
Verlander tossed eight innings of five-hit ball to go along with eight strikeouts.
Detroit got to Blue Jays starter Shaun Marcum in the sixth when Cabrera homered off the foul pole in left for his 32nd of the year. After Brennan Boesch grounded out, Jhonny Peralta singled to centre and went first to third on Don Kelly's liner to right. But Marcum struck out Brandon Inge looking and got Alex Avila to fly to centre to end the threat.
Marcum allowed eight hits while striking out four in six innings of work.
Jesse Carlson came in to start the seventh but was removed for Jason Frasor with runners on first and second and two out. Frasor then got pinch-hitter Ramon Santiago swinging.
Scott Downs replaced Frasor in the eighth and gave up a triple to Inge that glanced off right-fielder Travis Snider's glove, but Toronto escaped unscathed when Avila grounded out to second.
Marcum got out of jams with two runners on in both the first and second innings and again flirted with danger in the fifth.
Avila singled to right and Austin Jackson lined one up the middle, but the Toronto right-hander got Will Ryhmes to fly out before getting a double-play ball from Damon to end the threat.