TORONTO -- The Blue Jays' vaunted bullpen finally hit a bump in the road on Saturday afternoon and spoiled a rare strong outing from a Toronto starter.
Veteran relievers Tyler Clippard and John Axford combined to allow five runs in the top of the eighth as a seemingly guaranteed victory turned into a 5-4 loss at Rogers Centre. Oakland's Chad Pinder changed everything with one swing of the bat on a grand slam off Clippard that sent the Blue Jays to a seventh loss in their last nine games.
The late-inning collapse overshadowed one of Toronto's most feel-good stories of the season as right-hander Sam Gaviglio was forced to settle for a no-decision despite tossing 5 1/3 scoreless innings.