Barger and Bichette homer in ninth as Blue Jays come back for 5-4 win over D-Backs
TORONTO - Bo Bichette hit a game-tying homer in the ninth inning and Addison Barger followed with a walkoff blast to give the Toronto Blue Jays a 5-4 victory over the Arizona Diamondbacks on Tuesday night at Rogers Centre.
Diamondbacks reliever Shelby Miller (3-2) struck out Davis Schneider to open the Toronto half of the frame before Bichette hit a solo shot to left field.
Barger ended it five pitches later with a no-doubt homer inside the right-field foul screen.
Vladimir Guerrero Jr. also homered for the Blue Jays, who ended their three-game losing skid. His 448-foot blast was his longest homer of the season.
Canadian Josh Naylor had two hits and a run for the Diamondbacks.
Barger and Guerrero hit back-to-back doubles in the first inning off Arizona starter Brandon Pfaadt to push the opening run across. A sliding catch by former Blue Jay Lourdes Gurriel Jr. in left field prevented further damage.
In the fourth inning, Toronto's Jonatan Clase was hit by a pitch in the right knee area and left the game. Myles Straw took over in centre field but was hurt in the fifth after crashing into the wall on Naylor's RBI double.
Straw, who suffered a right ankle sprain, was replaced by Alan Roden.
The Diamondbacks made it 4-2 in the seventh inning when Eugenio Suarez hit an RBI single that plated Ketel Marte. Guerrero singled home Bichette in the bottom half of the frame to make it a one-run game.
Blue Jays starter Chris Bassitt (7-4) allowed three earned runs, six hits and a walk over six innings. He had five strikeouts. Jeff Hoffman (6-2) worked the ninth inning for the victory.
Announced attendance was 38,537 and the game took two hours 57 minutes to play.
MOMENT OF SILENCE
A moment of silence was observed before the game in honour of Dr. Ron Taylor, who won two World Series titles as a player and was a Blue Jays team physician for 30 years.
Taylor, who died Monday at age 87, was inducted into the Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame in 1985.
ROSTER MOVES
Earlier Tuesday, the Blue Jays placed right-hander Bowden Francis on the 15-day injured list due to a right shoulder impingement and designated reliever Erik Swanson for assignment.
The team also selected left-hander Justin Bruihl to the big-league roster and recalled right-hander Paxton Schultz from Triple-A Buffalo.
COMING UP
Eric Lauer (2-1, 2.37) was expected to start for the Blue Jays (39-33) on Wednesday night against fellow southpaw Eduardo Rodriguez (2-3, 6.27) of the Diamondbacks (36-36).
This report by The Canadian Press was first published June 17, 2025.
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