A's Beat Blue Jays With Help of Instant Replay
OAKLAND (CBS/AP) -- Josh Reddick scored the tiebreaking run in the seventh inning on a play that was overturned by replay, and the Oakland A's held on to beat the Toronto Blue Jays 8-7 Friday night.
Reddick drew a two-out walk from Brett Cecil (0-6) and went to second on Khris Davis' single. Stephen Vogt followed with a sharp single up the middle before center fielder Kevin Pillar appeared to throw out a sliding Reddick at the plate.
Plate umpire Mark Wegner initially called Reddick out, but A's bench coach Mark Kotsay -- filling in for ejected manager Bob Melvin -- challenged the ruling. The call was overturned after a review of 2 minutes, 56 seconds.
Reddick, Davis and Vogt all homered for the A's. Ryan Dull (3-2) retired five batters to earn the win, and Ryan Madson pitched the ninth for his 18th save.
The Blue Jays entered two games out of first place in the AL East and had won eight of nine heading into the All-Star break but couldn't hold leads of 3-2 and 7-3.
Reddick homered in the third. Davis and Vogt hit back-to-back shots in the fifth. All three home runs came off Toronto starter Marcus Stroman.
Stroman was chased after Vogt's home run in the fifth. The right-hander gave up seven runs in 4 2/3 innings with five strikeouts.
Oakland rookie Daniel Mengden allowed seven runs and six hits in 3 1/3 innings.
Melvin and first baseman Yonder Alonso were ejected in the fourth for arguing balls and strikes.
NEW-LOOK A'S
Before the game, Melvin said the A's plan to cut into the playing time of OF Coco Crisp and 3B Danny Valencia in order to take a look at some of the team's younger prospects like Jake Smolinski and Ryon Healy. Both started against Toronto, batting eighth and ninth in the lineup, respectively. Smolinski has appeared in only 77 major league games. Healy, called up from Triple-A Nashville before the game, made his major league debut. Crisp went 0 for 5 as the designated hitter, and Valencia entered on defense in the fifth after Alonso's ejection.
TRAINER'S ROOM
Blue Jays: Jose Bautista's sore left big toe is getting better but there is still no word on when he might return. Bautista has been hitting off a tee and recently exchanged text messages with manager John Gibbons. ... RHP Marco Estrada (back) is expected to come off the disabled list in time to start against Seattle when the Blue Jays return home on July 22.
A's: OF Billy Burns was optioned to Nashville after struggling at the plate over the past month. Burns ranks eighth in the AL with 14 stolen bases but is batting just .234. . RHP Nick Tepesch was designated for assignment.
UP NEXT
Blue Jays: RHP R.A. Dickey (7-9) starts Saturday in Oakland. The knuckleballer has allowed six earned runs over his last 21 innings.
A's: Sonny Gray (3-8) hopes to end a seven-game losing streak that is tied for the longest in the majors. The right-hander has a 6.16 ERA over his past 12 starts.
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