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GAME LOG
TORONTO (AP) -- The Toronto Blue Jays nearly let the Anaheim
Angels slip off the hook.
Darrin Fletcher hit a grand slam and tied a career high with
five RBI as the Blue Jays built a 10-run lead, and held on to beat
the Angels 12-11 on Thursday night.
|  | | Blue Jays catcher Darrin Fletcher, right, drove in Brad Fullmer and Carlos Delgado with a fourth-inning grand slam. |
"Usually when you're up 11-1 in the sixth you think you got the
game in hand," Toronto manager Jim Fregosi said. "We got
ourselves in trouble, but this is the first series we've won all
year."
The Angels, who lost three of their four games against Toronto,
sent 13 men to the plate in the sixth and scored eight runs.
Matt Walbeck's homer off Pedro Borbon made it 11-10 in the
seventh, but Homer Bush restored Toronto's two-run lead with a
two-out single in the bottom of the inning.
Anaheim closed to 12-11 in the eighth when Adam Kennedy led off
with a double against Billy Koch, Mo Vaughn singled and Tim Salmon
hit an RBI grounder. Garret Anderson ended the threat by grounding
into a double play.
The Angels put a runner on second base with one out in the ninth
before Alex Gonzalez made a nice over the shoulder catch in shallow
left center for the second out. Koch then struck out Benji Gill
swinging, but Fletcher dropped the third strike. Fletcher unloaded
a high throw to first, but Carlos Delgado made the catch.
"Carlos is a big target over there," Fletcher said. "I've
seen him jump and dance around in the clubhouse and I knew he'd get
that one."
Fletcher's fourth career slam, off Anaheim starter Kent
Bottenfield, gave Toronto a 11-1 lead in the fourth. The Blue Jays
scored six runs in the inning on Raul Mondesi's RBI double, Brad
Fullmer's RBI single and Fletcher's slam.
"Whether it's the SkyDome, bad pitching, or a juiced ball,
teams have been putting up chunk's of runs here," Fletcher said.
Bottenfield (1-2) allowed nine runs and 10 hits in just 3 1/3
innings.
Toronto starter Roy Halladay (2-2) breezed through the first
five innings before allowing six runs in the sixth. Darin Erstad
and Vaughn each had two-run singles and Tim Salmon added a
sacrifice fly off Paul Quantrill.
"We're down 11-1 in the sixth, but there's no quit in this
clubhouse," Anaheim manager Mike Scioscia said.
Carlos Delgado homered for Toronto in the second inning.
Game notes
Koch watched John Rocker earn his first save on a clubhouse
TV. Before Rocker got the last out, Koch said: "Somebody hit a
bomb!" Koch has reasons to root against Rocker. The native New
Yorker has hated the Braves since his days at Clemson. "They don't
have a team in Carolina so they would always yap about the
Braves," Koch said. ... Fletcher has seven five-RBI games in his
career. ... Fregosi said Shannon Stewart might have to be placed on
the 15-day disabled list. Stewart's pulled quadriceps and strained
right hamstring is not getting any better. He's missed four games.
... Salmon ended a 0-for-14 slump with a double in the sixth. ...
Bottenfield has pitched for seven major league organizations over
the past eight years. ...He had missed the previous five games
because of a pulled quadriceps and a strained left hamstring.
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Minnesota 9
Kansas City 7
Baltimore 8
Tampa Bay 4
Cleveland 9
Oakland 5
Boston 0
Detroit 0
Toronto 12
Anaheim 11
Cincinnati 11
San Francisco 1
Florida 3
Pittsburgh 2
Chicago Cubs 10
Montreal 6
NY Mets 5
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Atlanta 6
Philadelphia 4
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San Diego 1
Arizona 3
Colorado 0
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