Instant Reaction: Blue Jays win in dramatic fashion thanks to Bichette and Barger home runs in the ninth inning
alt
Photo credit: © Dan Hamilton-Imagn Images
Tyson Shushkewich
Jun 18, 2025, 10:04 EDT
The Toronto Blue Jays are back in the win column, dramatically walking off the Arizona Diamondbacks thanks to home run power from the top of the batting order.
Before the late-game heroics, it was a back-and-forth battle between the two sides, as the Jays got out to an early lead before the Diamondbacks separated themselves and were in a position to win until the bottom of the ninth inning.
Addison Barger and Vladimir Guerrero Jr. got things going for Toronto in the bottom of the first, with both players putting doubles into opposite corners and putting one run on the board. Guerrero would be stranded at second base. The right-handed bat would add another tally for the Blue Jays in the bottom of the third inning, driving a Brandon Pfaadt fastball 448 feet over the left field wall for a solo shot. It was his longest home run of the season.
Toronto’s starter, Chris Bassitt, was cruising along until the top of the fourth inning when a couple of singles and a hit-by-pitch plated one run for the Snakes. The Diamonbacks would add two more thanks to a walk, a single, and a throwing error from Barger in right field, which moved Ketel Marte to second base and scored Corbin Carroll. Josh Naylor would tag a double to centre field shortly after to score Marte, and the D-Backs would take an early lead.
It would remain 3-2 until the seventh inning, with both squads putting another run on the board. Left-hander Brendon Little walked a couple of batters and surrendered a single to account for the one run, while the Jays would get contributions from Bichette (double) and Guerrero (single) to add one more run to their tally.
With the Jays down by one run in the ninth, the Diamondbacks sent out closer Shelby Miller to lock down the outing. While he struck out Davis Schneider to put one out on the board, Bichette would tie the game with a solo shot to left-centre field, demolishing a low-splitter that left the bat at 108.3 MPH. With the score now tied, another Jays run would send the fanbase home happy, and Barger would deliver in a timely fashion, smacking a similar splitter over the right field wall for the walk-off home run, a no-doubter that had the team celebrating at home plate and fans jumping in their seats.
On the day, Bassitt would go six innings and allow six hits, three earned runs, one walk, and strike out five to see his ERA settle at 3.75. Jeff Hoffman earned the win for his clean inning of work in the top of the ninth, and the Diamondbacks’ closer would be tagged with the loss and the blown save.
Lineup-wise, the top of the order led the drive, with Bichette, Barger, and Guerrero accounting for seven of the nine hits and the five runs against Arizona, while Ernie Clement and George Springer chipped in with singles of their own. The Jays also lost two outfielders in the game, with Jonatan Clase and Myles Straw both leaving before and during the top of the fifth inning, respectively. A Pfaadt fastball hit Clase on his knee, and he would be replaced by Straw, who was tracking the Naylor double before crashing into the wall. He would be replaced with Alan Roden.