Blue Jays mark 10th anniversary of Edwin Encarnacion's wild-card walk-off
The Toronto Blue Jays won the 2016 American League wild-card game on Edwin Encarnacion's 11th-inning home run.
TORONTO — The Toronto Blue Jays won the 2016 American League wild-card game 10 years ago on Edwin Encarnacion's dramatic 11th-inning home run.
Encarnacion's one-out, three-run blast off Baltimore reliever Ubaldo Jimenez sealed a 5-2 walk-off victory over the Orioles at Rogers Centre.
"Buck Showalter certainly deserves a thank you, perhaps a nice fruit basket," a fan recap noted, referencing the Orioles manager's decision not to use star closer Zach Britton in the inning.
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Britton remained in the bullpen after Devon Travis and Josh Donaldson singled with one out.
"In the 11th inning, with the Orioles best reliever sitting in the bullpen (Buck Showalter was a genus), the Orioles brought in Ubaldo Jimenez into the game," the recap stated.
Earlier offense was limited, with Jose Bautista hitting a solo home run in the second inning and Ezequiel Carrera bringing home Michael Saunders with a single in the fifth.
Toronto grounded into three double plays, despite only putting seven runners on base all game.
"The one that hurt the most was in the 9th inning, Josh Donaldson (off a leadoff double) and Edwin Encarnacion (intentional walk) on first and second with one out (Bautista strike out on a check swing) when Russell Martin ground one straight at third for an easy 5-4-3 double play," the recap said.
Starter Marcus Stroman pitched six strong innings, his only blemish being a two-run homer allowed to Mark Trumbo.
The bullpen was outstanding, with Brett Cecil, Joe Biagini, Jason Grilli, Roberto Osuna and Francisco Liriano combining for five scoreless innings.
According to win probability added metrics cited in the recap, the Jays of the Day were Encarnacion (.126 WPA), Liriano (.214), Osuna (.195), Grilli (.106) and Donaldson (.284).
Encarnacion left as a free agent after the season, having hit 239 regular-season home runs for Toronto, third in franchise history, and four postseason homers.
He later played for Cleveland, the New York Yankees, Seattle and the Chicago White Sox, posting a .241/.344/.489 line with 114 home runs over those four years.
His final season in 2026 was tough, as he hit just .157/.250/.377 with 10 homers for the White Sox.
The wild-card win propelled the Blue Jays to a sweep of the Texas Rangers in the American League Division Series.
Toronto's season ended in the American League Championship Series, where they lost in five games to the Cleveland Guardians.
That series was defined by outstanding pitching, with Cleveland's hitters managing just .168/.215/.329, while the Blue Jays hit .201/.251/.283.
"I remember thanking Showalter for the assist, and someone on Twitter telling me, 'If you put Britton in there, who gets the save?' I was amazed that people still thought managing for the save stat was a priority," the fan recap added.
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With files from Yahoo Sports