Blue Jays hold on to defeat Phillies 6-5
PHILADELPHIA — Some positive self-talk on the mound helped Ryan Tepera close out a much-needed win for the Blue Jays.
Justin Smoak homered, Sam Gaviglio struck out six over six innings and Tepera escaped a ninth-inning jam for his first save to lead Toronto to a 6-5 victory over the Philadelphia Phillies on Friday night.
Yangervis Solarte and Kevin Pillar added RBI doubles for the Blue Jays, who opened a nine-game road trip after going 1-6 and getting outscored 43-22 on a seven-game homestand against Oakland and the Angels. Toronto blew late leads in two of those defeats.
“We desperately needed that,” manager John Gibbons said. “We needed to close that out and (Tepera) did it. I’m proud of him.”