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Blue Jays survive Tigers in 19-inning marathon

Aug 11, 2014 - 4:10 AM Toronto, ON (SportsNetwork.com) - The Blue Jays and Tigers played plenty of free baseball on Sunday and it was Toronto coming away with a 6-5 victory thanks to Jose Bautista's RBI single in the 19th inning.

The Rogers Centre sold out for the 10th time this season, and only a fraction of the announced crowd of 46,126 stuck around for the entire six-hour, 37- minute marathon -- the longest in time and innings in Blue Jays history.

The patient fans watched the hosts strand 24 runners and leave the bases loaded three times from the ninth inning on, but a fourth chance with the bags full provided the game-winner.

A back-and-forth three-game series between playoff contenders ended with the Tigers having to use Tuesday's scheduled starter, Rick Porcello.

Porcello (13-7) was in his third inning of relief in the 19th and Munenori Kawasaki led off the frame with a base hit. After Porcello threw away Jose Reyes' bunt to the first-base side, Melky Cabrera was intentionally walked to load the bases in front of Bautista, who lined one over the drawn-in outfield to plate the deciding run.

"A win is a win. We'll take it any way we can," Bautista said. "The only thing that matters is the result."

Chad Jenkins (1-1) anchored an amazing bullpen effort that combined to throw 15 2/3 scoreless inning behind an ineffective Mark Buehrle.

Jenkins tossed six frames and wiggled out of a bases-loaded jam in the 16th by getting Torii Hunter to bounce into a 1-2-3 double play.

The Blue Jays had dropped six of seven before rallying to win Saturday's game in 10 innings. Joe Nathan suffered his sixth blown save of the year in that one, and Joba Chamberlain gave up the deciding run in the 3-2 setback.

Chamberlain was tabbed to close out Sunday's game and did not come through. With Toronto trailing 5-4 in the ninth, Anthony Gose greeted Chamberlain with a single and was called out trying to steal second base. John Gibbons successfully challenged the call, however, as a second look showed Gose got his hand in ahead of the tag.

The reversal left Gose on second, and Reyes delivered a two-out base hit to center field to bring in the tying run.

Another replay went Toronto's way in the 13th when Andrew Romine was originally called safe during a rundown between first and second, which would have put runners on second and third with one out.

Reviews showed Bautista tagged Romine just before hitting the bag, and the Blue Jays escaped when Rajai Davis grounded out harmlessly to first.

J.D. Martinez drove in three runs for the Tigers, whose lead in the AL Central fell to a half-game over the Royals after losing for the fourth time in five games.

David Price was in line for his first win in a Detroit uniform after giving up five hits, three walks and four runs -- two coming on Dioner Navarro's homer.

Reyes' error on a routine ground ball kept the Tigers alive in the first inning. Detroit eventually loaded the bases and Martinez laced a two-run single to left before Nick Castellanos singled in another run.

Martinez doubled in Miguel Cabrera in the third, and Ian Kinsler's one-out, run-scoring double in the fourth signaled the end of Buehrle's outing.

Price was cruising before taking a comebacker off his left knee with two outs in the sixth. The ball caromed into right field, and Danny Valencia trotted into second base with a double. After Price took a few warmup pitches, Navarro cleared the left-field wall to get Toronto on the board.

Price was pulled after putting the first two batters on in the seventh, and Reyes and Melky Cabrera hit RBI singles off Phil Coke to make it 5-4.

"Once we were in extra innings, the bullpen did an outstanding job," Detroit manager Brad Ausmus said.

Game Notes

Detroit left 19 runners on base ... Hunter had four of the Tigers' 22 hits ... Reyes had four of Toronto's 17 hits ... Price eclipsed the 200-strikeout plateau for the third time in his career ... Buehrle was charged with nine hits and five runs, though only two were earned ... Before the game, the Tigers placed starter Anibal Sanchez and reliever Joakim Soria on the disabled list ... Tigers manager Brad Ausmus was ejected after arguing a called third strike on Alex Avila in the third frame.