LOS ANGELES (AP) 鈥 Daulton Varsho hit a tiebreaking two-run double in Toronto's three-run 11th inning, sending the Blue Jays to a 6-3 victory over the Los Angeles Dodgers on Monday night.
Matt Chapman homered in the eighth for the Blue Jays, who earned their 11th win in 16 games.
Toronto loaded the bases in the 11th on third baseman Chris Taylor鈥檚 throwing error and Whit Merrifield鈥檚 single before Varsho鈥檚 low line drive to right was misplayed by Jason Heyward, who wasn鈥檛 charged with an error.
Varsho had been batting .128 (6 for 47) in his previous 16 games before arriving at Dodger Stadium, but he capped his first two-hit game since June 17 with the go-ahead RBIs.
鈥淥bviously it's been a tough month for me, but you've got to keep your head up, keep grinding and help this team win in any way possible,鈥 Varsho said.
Bo Bichette drew a bases-loaded walk from Phil Bickford (2-3) to make it 6-3.
鈥淵ou know who they have in the bullpen, and luckily enough, I've faced a lot of these guys before,鈥 said Varsho, who spent the previous three seasons with Arizona.
Jay Jackson (3-0) pitched two hitless innings of relief, retiring all of the Dodgers鈥 top hitters. All-Star closer Jordan Romano finished for his 28th save, tying Baltimore's F茅lix Bautista for the AL lead.
鈥淪eems like these guys are tested mentally every night,鈥 Toronto manager John Schneider said. 鈥淕ames are close. Games are tight. Hopefully that makes us a little more battle-tested down the road.鈥
Max Muncy homered in his third consecutive game for Los Angeles, hitting a 435-foot tying shot in the eighth inning. Heyward also homered for the NL West-leading Dodgers, who took their first back-to-back losses since July 2.
鈥淚 thought we had a chance to get to Jackson," Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said. 鈥淲e couldn鈥檛 cash in. (Taylor is) sure-handed. Didn鈥檛 make the play right there. I thought the inning would have been different had he made the play. I thought Jason had a do-or-die play (and) just didn鈥檛 come up with it. But that鈥檚 not the reason we didn鈥檛 win.鈥
After Chapman put the Blue Jays ahead 3-2 with his first homer since July 6, Muncy tied it with a drive off Trevor Richards for his 25th homer of the season. The slugger, who also had an early RBI single, has eight hits, four homers and 13 RBIs in his last five games.
The Dodgers loaded the bases later in the eighth, but pinch-hitter Miguel Rojas flied out.
Michael Grove yielded eight hits with six strikeouts while pitching into the fifth inning for the Dodgers.
鈥淚 would have loved to go six or seven tonight and keep our bullpen out of the game a little longer, but (it鈥檚) a step in the right direction,鈥 Grove said.
Grove said he voluntarily changed his pants before the fifth inning because the Blue Jays asked the umpires to check the spot on his leg where he wipes his hand after every pitch.
Grove is one of three rookies currently in LA鈥檚 injury-plagued rotation with the trade deadline looming. Before the game, Roberts acknowledged his team urgently needs starting pitching, even with Clayton Kershaw likely returning in August. Los Angeles鈥 starters entered Monday ranked 29th in the majors with a 6.12 ERA since Kershaw鈥檚 last start in late June.
Jos茅 Berr铆os yielded five hits and four walks over five innings for Toronto.
CONFLICTED DEWEY
Drew Doughty threw out the first pitch on LA Kings Night in a particularly appropriate matchup for the star defenseman. The Ontario native is a longtime fan of the Blue Jays, whose cap he wears frequently around town, but he also regularly attends Dodgers games.
TRAINER'S ROOM
Blue Jays: LHP Hyun Jin Ryu joined the Jays in Los Angeles as his return from Tommy John surgery nears. Ryu spent seven years with the Dodgers before joining Toronto on a four-year, $80 million contract that ends this season. He might throw a simulated game before he returns to the major league mound.
Dodgers: All-Star slugger J.D. Martinez missed his second straight game with hamstring tightness. Roberts expects Martinez to start Tuesday. ... Noah Syndergaard threw at Dodger Stadium between starts in his rehab assignment. He has been out since June 7, ostensibly with a blister, after a series of terrible starts. Roberts said that after Syndergaard makes his third appearance for Triple-A Oklahoma City on Thursday, 鈥渢hat's when the rubber meets the road and we'll have to make a decision."
UP NEXT
Julio Ur铆as (7-6, 5.02 ERA) makes his first start for the Dodgers since yielding a career-high eight runs in Baltimore last week. He faces Toronto's Chris Bassitt (10-5, 3.92), who is 3-0 with a 3.68 ERA in his last seven starts.
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