TORONTO — The Cleveland Indians are a team headed for the postseason Alex Gordon Jersey , but they have had their troubles with a team that will be going nowhere but home when the season ends in the Toronto Blue Jays.The Indians, who have a big lead in the American League Central, have a chance to escape the Rogers Centre with a series win Sunday afternoon. It has not been easy.Despite being outhit 18-11 on Saturday, the Indians were able to squeeze out a 9-8 victory over the Blue Jays, who almost came back from an 8-3 disadvantage after Cleveland’s seven-run fifth inning.Article continues below ...Cleveland has won two of the first three in the four-game series. The season series stands 3-3.The Indians had a big inning from catcher Roberto Perez, who led off the fifth with his second homer of the season and finished the scoring in the inning with a three-run run double.The Blue Jays had two homers from Randal Grichuk, but their pitchers gave up nine walks.The Indians will start right-hander Mike Clevinger (11-7, 3.11 ERA) in the series finale and the Blue Jays will send out left-hander Thomas Pannone (1-1, 4.58).Clevinger helped the Indians end a three-game losing streak and posted his 11th win of the season while holding the Kansas City Royals to one run in six innings in a 10-strikeout outing Tuesday He allowed four runs and three hits in four innings of a no-decision outing against the Blue Jays on April 13.Clevinger has gone 4-2 with a 2.32 ERA in nine starts since the All-Star break. He is 1-0 with a 6.75 ERA in two career games (one start) against Toronto.Pannone will make his third career major league start because Marcus Stroman is out with a blister on his right middle finger.Pannone’s first two starts were against the Baltimore Orioles with contrasting results. He pitched a one-hitter in seven innings to pick up the win on Aug. 22 in Toronto, but in Baltimore six days later http://www.royalsfanproshop.com/authentic-george-brett-jersey , he allowed seven runs and nine hits in 3 1/3 innings to take the loss. He has made six major league relief appearances.He was acquired in a trade July 31, 2017, that sent reliever Joe Smith to the Indians.Kevin Pillar, who doubled twice Saturday after hitting an 11th inning walkoff homer Friday, is the player with most seniority on a team that is looking to the future with an abundance of September callups.“It’s definite energy and I think it’s a reminder, too,” said Pillar, who has six years with the Blue Jays. “I was in their shoes, too. I was a young kid, trying to prove myself. I think it’s just kind of a friendly reminder that they’re here to take your job and you have to go out and perform every single day Mike Moustakas Jersey , even when it feels like we’re not playing for anything. You have to remember it’s our job to go out and perform, continue to work and prove yourself every day.”Rowdy Tellez already has become a crowd favorite only four games into his big-league career. He hit his first career homer Saturday and added a single. His first six hits were doubles.He is the first player since 1913 with seven extra-base hits in his first four career games. He is the fourth player in the live ball era to have each of his first seven hits go for extra bases.Based on the game Saturday, Cleveland’s bullpen needs help. It could be coming, Andrew Miller (left shoulder impingement) threw 33 pitches off the bullpen mound Saturday afternoon and tried simulating a game setting. The 33-year-old threw a bullpen session Thursday. He has on the disabled list since Aug. 29 and was eligible to be activated Saturday.“I think the next step is to get used in a game and handle that adrenaline again,” Miller said. “I don’t know exactly what we’ll do. It hasn’t been that much time. I think I’d like to get into some games, I’d love to pitch here (in Toronto).”The Indians had left fielder Michael Brantley back in the lineup Saturday and he produced a two-run homer, a single and two walks. He has six career homers against the Blue Jays.He grounded out as a pinch hitter Friday in his only appearance of the first two games of the series because of a bruised left foot. He had fouled a ball off the foot Wednesday. CHICAGO (AP) — The celebration was under way by the time David Bote flung his helmet high into the air on his way home.Teammates were already jumping up and down, ready to mob him at the plate. The fans were in a frenzy, too.Nothing like a game-ending grand slam to get the festivities started.A pinch-hitting Bote smashed one against Ryan Madson with two outs in the ninth inning to lift the Chicago Cubs to a 4-3 victory over the Washington Nationals on Sunday night.Bote’s long drive to center field came after dominant starts by Washington’s Max Scherzer and Chicago’s Cole Hamels.Madson (2-5) entered with a 3-0 lead to start the ninth and quickly ran into trouble.He gave up an infield single to Jason Heyward with one out and hit Albert Almora with a pitch. Madson then retired Kyle Schwarber on a foul pop before hitting Contreras to load the bases.With a 2-2 count, Bote drove a knee-high fastball well beyond the center-field wall Salvador Perez Jersey , setting off quite a scene.Teammates ripped off his jersey at the plate. He also had a cooler emptied on him as he gave an interview on the field while fans chanted “Bote! Bote!”“It’s magical,” he said. “It’s incredible. It’s an unbelievable feeling. It couldn’t happen to a better team, a better group of people in that clubhouse. And I’m so blessed and honored to be part of it.”There was more after he finished his postgame interview with reporters. As he walked back into the clubhouse, he got a quick hug from none other than noted Cubs fan Bill Murray, who asked, “Is this the hero?”Bote has made quite an impression while bouncing back and forth between the minors as a rookie. He is batting .329 with three homers in 34 games for the Cubs, with Kris Bryant battling injuries this season.His big slam helped Chicago take two of three in the first meeting between these teams since the Cubs beat Washington in the NL Division Series. It also made a winner of Justin Wilson (4-3), who got the final two outs in the ninth.Madson said a recurring back issue flared up when he was warming up, causing pain going down his right leg.“Sometimes it will shoot, sometimes it won’t http://www.royalsfanproshop.com/authentic-brandon-moss-jersey ,” he said. “That’s really the truth of the matter. Just trying to fight through it. Not everybody feels 100 percent all the time, but this one’s pretty big. So I’ll lose basically position, control over the ball.”Scherzer tossed three-hit ball over seven innings. The three-time Cy Young Award winner struck out 11 and walked one.But the Nationals managed just three hits — one off Hamels. He gave up one run in seven innings, struck out nine and walked one in his third start since Chicago acquired him from Texas.The only hit he allowed was Daniel Murphy’s single in the second to put runners on first and third. Mark Reynolds then drove in Ryan Zimmerman with a sacrifice fly.The Nationals did not get another hit until Trea Turner tripled against Brandon Kintzler, sparking a two-run ninth.A-ROD, MADDON MAKE PEACECubs manager Joe Maddon and ESPN analyst Alex Rodriguez insisted they made peace over the former slugger’s comments criticizing pitcher Yu Darvish last month.Maddon said they had a “very open and candid” conversation before the game. Rodriguez also said it was “very positive.”The two were at odds after Rodriguez accused Darvish — sidelined since May 20 because of triceps and elbow injuries — of causing a rift in the clubhouse by rehabbing with the team rather than at the Cubs’ facility in Arizona. Maddon fired back at the time, and he made it clear again Sunday that he will protect his players.Rodriguez, who took two questions from reporters before sprinting away, seemed to have no regrets.“What’s great about this is we all have the same interests — to grow the game, to highlight stories as objectively as we can Bo Jackson Jersey ,” he said.Both he and Maddon said they planned to have drinks together at some point.TRAINER’S ROOMNationals: The Nationals held 3B Anthony Rendon out of the lineup for the second straight game because of a sore left wrist, though he entered in the bottom of the ninth. … Closer Sean Doolittle (left toe inflammation) hopes to start throwing off the mound in the next day or two. He has not pitched since July 6.Cubs: The Cubs activated RHP Anthony Bass (right mid-thoracic strain) and assigned him to Triple-A Iowa after he cleared waivers.UP NEXTNationals: Washington opens a four-game series at surging St. Louis, with LHP Tommy Milone (1-1, 5.50 ERA) starting for the Nationals and RHP Miles Mikolas (12-3, 2.74) pitching for the Cardinals.Cubs: Send LHP José Quintana (10-8, 4.28) to the mound when they open a two-game series against Milwaukee on Tuesday.