ANAHEIM, Calif. (AP) - ANAHEIM, Calif. (AP) - Already off to the worst start in baseball, the Toronto Blue Jays were forced to push through even more bad feelings before reaching the win column early Saturday morning.
Jose Bautista hit a three-run homer in the 13th inning, Joe Biagini escaped a bases-loaded jam in the bottom of the inning before the Blue Jays held off the Los Angeles Angels 8-7.
The Angels rallied after two Toronto errors in the 13th. Kole Calhoun drove in one run with a single, and Biagini plunked Mike Trout with the bases loaded for another. Biagini then struck out Albert Pujols and got C.J. Cron to line out to center field for his first save.
“When you get that feeling like the last inning, you don’t feel like you win those games very often,” said Russell Martin. “You make an error. You make another error. Then it’s like, ’Oh my gosh.’
“To be able to gut it out and get the victory, to have the momentum shift completely in the other direction, and still get that win, it’s character building for sure.”
In the top of the inning, Bautista hit his first homer of the season after two-out singles from Kevin Pillar and Ezequiel Carrera against Jesse Chavez (1-3).
“The home run felt nice. It was good to contribute,” said Bautista. “It’s a challenge. Sometimes it comes in bunches. Sometimes it goes the wrong way. I’ve just got to be more consistent.”
Bautista’s homer came on a 1-1 pitch and soared out to left-center. The slugger had two hits to bring his average up to .131 this season.
“It was huge not only for what it will do for the team, but what it will do for Jose,” said Blue Jays manager John Gibbons. “I think he can exhale a bit.”
Ryan Tepera (1-0) pitched three scoreless innings in the game that lasted 5 hours, 36 minutes.
Eight Angels pitchers combined to allow seven walks and throw two wild pitches, and Los Angeles also had two errors to waste offensive contributions from Trout and Pujols.
“We put together a good inning in the 13th,” said Angels manager Mike Scioscia. “Obviously we loaded the bases (but) we couldn’t get that hit.
“But we lost this game in a lot of ways earlier. We had some opportunities on the offensive side, but there were some cracks on the defensive side. That really hurt us more than anything.”
Trout hit his fifth homer in the fifth inning and had two hits and two RBIs. Pujols had a bases-loaded double in the third, moving him into a tie with Manny Ramirez for 18th on baseball’s RBI list at 1,831. The double was the 604th of Pujols’ career, tying him for 13th with Paul Waner.
Aaron Loup began pitching the 13th for Toronto, but Cameron Maybin reached on an error by first baseman Justin Smoak then advanced on a passed ball. Loup then walked Danny Espinosa, and third baseman Chris Coghlan then booted Juan Graterol’s grounder to end Loup’s outing, replaced by Biagini.
Toronto went ahead 5-4 in the eighth on a two-run double by Justin Smoak, but Los Angeles tied it later in the inning when Martin Maldonado’s fly ball landed just inside the left field foul pole, beyond the reach of a leaping Carrera for an RBI double.
Called up from the minors prior to the game, Toronto starter Mat Latos gave up four runs and six hits in five innings.
Los Angeles starter Alex Meyer lasted 3 2/3 innings in his first start of the season. Called up from Triple-A Buffalo prior to the game, he walked four batters while giving up two runs and two hits.
TRAINER’S ROOM
Blue Jays: According to Jays manager John Gibbons, RHP J.P. Howell “felt fine” after his one-inning appearance for Class A Dunedin on Thursday, striking out two and allowing one hit. Howell is scheduled to throw another inning on Saturday, and if he comes out of that appearance with no setbacks “he’ll be good to go in St. Louis,” Gibbons said.
Angels: RHP Mike Morin was placed on the 10-day DL with neck tightness. … Reliever Andrew Bailey, sidelined since April 10 with right shoulder stiffness, resumed throwing. … Yunel Escobar left the game after six innings complaining of dizziness.
POSTSEASON HANGOVER
Toronto’s 3-12 record entering Friday was the worst 15-game start ever for a team that reached the playoffs the year before, besting the 4-11 mark set by the 1998 Florida Marlins, who were coming off a World Series championship.
“I like some of the things we’re seeing,” Jays manager John Gibbons said. “We’re just not getting the wins, which is the bottom line, and we need to start getting those quick.”
UP NEXT
Blue Jays: Rookie RHP Casey Lawrence (0-0, 13.50) is expected to be called up from Triple-A Buffalo to make the start Saturday. Lawrence gave up three runs and three hits and walked five (two intentional) in two innings of relief earlier this month.
Angels: LHP Tyler Skaggs (0-1, 5.19) comes off a start versus Kansas City in which he pitched seven scoreless innings, allowing just four hits while matching his career high of nine strikeouts.
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