Encarnacion homers as Jays win wild-card game over Orioles in extra-inning thriller
TORONTO — Edwin Encarnacion sauntered out of the Blue Jays’ clubhouse, goggles on his forehead, his shirt drenched in champagne and clutching a bottle in his hand as he looked to share the moment with friends and family.
Inside their locker-room, the jubilant Jays were spraying each other with booze in their second celebration in three days thanks to Encarnacion.
The 33-year-old slugger added to his free agent price-tag with a three-run 11th-inning home run Tuesday that lifted Toronto to a 5-2 wild-card win over the Baltimore Orioles and set up an American League Division Series with the rival Texas Rangers for the second year in a row.
Encarnacion’s blast becomes part of Blue Jays lore, joining Joe Carter’s three-run walk-off homer off Phillies closer Mitch Williams to win the 1993 World Series, and Jose Bautista’s three-run shot, complete with bat-flip, against Texas in Game 5 of the 2015 ALDS.