Oakland Athletics second baseman Jurickson Profar (23) puts the tag on Toronto Blue Jays Justin Smoak (14) for a double play during the second inning of a Major League Baseball game at Oakland Coliseum in Oakland, Calif., on April 21, 2019.D. Ross Cameron/USA TODAY Sports via Reuters
Justin Smoak got thrown out on a wild sequence that began with another sensational play by Oakland centre fielder Ramon Laureano, but wound up with four hits as the Toronto Blue Jays beat the Athletics 5-4 Sunday for a three-game sweep.
Smoak homered to help Toronto post its first road sweep of at least three games since 2015 and cap a 6-1 trip for manager Charlie Montoyo’s club. The Blue Jays went 1-5 on their first road trip earlier this season.
Both starting pitchers were forced to leave early.
Toronto’s Aaron Sanchez was pulled after four innings because of a broken fingernail, a problem that has plagued him in the past.
A’s starter Brett Anderson (3-1) sprained his left ankle coming off the mound trying to field Randal Grichuk’s single in the third. Oakland was swept at home by Toronto for the first time since 1993 after winning all seven games against the Blue Jays last season.
Daniel Hudson (1-1) retired five batters. Ken Giles got four outs for his seventh save.
The A’s scored three runs in the eighth and had two on with one out in the ninth before Giles struck out Josh Phegley and got Robbie Grossman to pop out.
The Blue Jays received bad news earlier on Sunday, though, when it was learned that Blue Jays pitcher Matt Shoemaker has a torn ACL in his left knee. That will cut short yet another promising season for the oft-injured right-hander.
Shoemaker was hurt at the end of a rundown on Saturday, and Toronto announced the diagnosis and placed him on the 10-day injured list Sunday.
The 32-year-old is 3-0 with a 1.57 ERA in five starts in his first season with Toronto. He was limited to seven starts last year with the Angels because of a strained right forearm. In 2016, he sustained a skull fracture when he was hit in the head by a line drive, and he’s had lingering forearm trouble for a while.
This injury occurred while he was chasing Oakland’s Matt Chapman in the third inning. Shoemaker applied the tag and spun around to avoid contact.