The Toronto Blue Jays outlasted the Detroit Tigers in what was the longest game in franchise history. Jose Bautista singled in the bottom of the 19th inning and drove in Munenori Kawasaki to break the deadlock and give the Jays the 6-5 victory. Jose Reyes singled in the bottom of the ninth to tie the game at five and force extra innings, though nobody would have imagined they would need an extra ten to decide the winner. For nine and half innings neither team was able to get a run across home plate, as Lionel Rickie's "All Night Long" played over the loud speaker at Rogers Centre, according to ESPN.
The Tigers and Jays combined for 39 hits, as both teams used eight pitchers to try and win the game that lasted 6:37, by far the longest lasting game the Jays have ever played in.
While there was some fun trivial facts surrounding the game, it was a crucial win for the Jays (63-56), who are 1.5 games out of the final wildcard spot. For the Tigers(63-52), who had their newly acquired pitcher David Price start the game, it means they now only have a half game lead over the Royals for first place in the AL Central. Price was unimpressive by his standards in his second start with the Tigers, allowing four earned runs is six innings of work. Toronto starter Mark Buehrle was worse though, only lasting three and a third innings while allowing nine hits and five runs, though only two were earned.
The marathon of a game allowed for players to pad their stats a bit-- Jose Reyes had four hits in the game and Melky Cabrera drew five walks. For the Tigers, Torii Hunter had four hits in nine at-bats. Nolan Reimold will be thankful that his team was able to pull off the win, as he struck out an embarrassing five times.
According to Mlive it is the second straight extra innings loss for the Tigers at the hands of the Jays. These losses could turn out to be crucial later on in the season, as both teams may be competing for one of the two wildcard spots.