TORONTO — There was a sense of relief in the Detroit Tigers’ clubhouse after their 9-1 victory over the Toronto Blue Jays on Sunday afternoon.
The victory
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It was the Tigers’ longest losing streak since Aug. 13-23, 2003. They have not lost 12 in a row since 1996.
“It’s good to hear the music playing out there and guys smiling,” Tigers manager Ron Gardenhire said.
The Tigers have a chance to escape the Rogers Centre with a split in the four-game series by winning the finale on Monday afternoon.
The Tigers will start right-hander Mike Fiers (5-4, 4.04 ERA) against Blue Jays left-hander Ryan Borucki (0-1, 3.00).
The Tigers had a team meeting before the game.
“It was just a casual talk,” Gardenhire said. “It wasn’t this rah-rah (speech). … I just let them talk and I just said to them, ‘Tell me what we need to do.’ Some guys spoke up and that’s all I wanted to hear. We’re playing hard. We’ve lost 11 in a row up to this point. These guys have been playing, man. They’ve been in every game. We’ve had a chance to win a bunch of these games.”
The Tigers (37-4
were able to put together a five-run fifth inning with a rally that started with two outs against Toronto starter J.A. Happ, who was 6-0 in his previous eight starts. They added two runs in the sixth, also with a rally that began with two out.
The losing streak was the longest by two games in the majors this season and the longest since the Los Angeles Dodgers lost 11 in a row last September.
“We’ve had our chances over the last 10 or 11 games
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The Blue Jays (39-44) are expected to trade Happ before the July 31 deadline. When he departed in the sixth inning, the Canada Day crowd gave him an ovation.
“I did notice, and I certainly appreciate that,” Happ said. “Maybe it was appreciation for how the season has gone so far or whatever you might take from it, that’s kind of what I took from it. That’s a nice feeling, certainly nicer than potentially getting booed, not that I would expect that at all, either.”
The Tigers face a pitcher who made his major-league debut Tuesday against the Astros in Houston in Borucki. He took the loss after allowing two runs, six hits and four walks in six innings.
Fiers pitched seven strong innings Wednesday against the Oakland Athletics, but took the loss despite allowing only one run on five hits and one walk while striking out five.
Fiers has faced the Blue Jays six times in his career, five as a starter, and is 1-3 with a 4.11 ERA. He made two starts against Toronto last season and was 0-1 with a 5.25 ERA. In two career starts at the Rogers Centre
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The only disappointing news for the Tigers Sunday came from a hamstring injury to center fielder Leonys Martin, who hobbled off the field after a beating out an RBI bunt single in the fifth inning. It was at first announced as a cramp, but Gardenhire said the injury was severe enough to put him on the disabled list. Another player will be brought in for the game Monday.
The day was not a complete loss for the Blue Jays. In the ninth inning, center fielder Kevin Pillar made a spectacular leaping catch to rob Castellanos of what would have been his second homer of the day.
Gardenhire said even Castellanos appreciated Pillar’s catch, although it cost him a homer.
“That was amazing,” Gardenhire said. “That’s a long run, to climb the wall like that and make that play, the timing, the whole package that just tells you how special an athlete he is.”
The teams are 3-3 in the season series.
With the score tied late in the third period, Auston Matthews saw an opening and got himself in position. And when he got the puck from William Nylander, he was able to knock in the winning goal.
Matthews deflected Nylander’s pass in front with just under four minutes remaining to lift the playoff-bound Toronto Maple Leafs to a 5-4 victory over the New York Islanders on Friday night.
”Very good forecheck by (Zach) Hyman to free the puck up and I was able to sneak in there backdoor,” Matthews said. ”It was good for (Nylander) to see that play and make it
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It was Matthews’ 31st goal of the season and broke the fourth tie of the game.
”A good two points for us,” he said. ”Probably not a fun game for coaches but more a fun game for the players.”
Mitch Marner and Nazem Kadri each had a goal and an assist, and Nikita Zaitsev and James van Riemsdyk also scored for Toronto. Frederik Andersen stopped 29 shots to help the Maple Leafs win for the eighth time in 10 games and extend a franchise record with their 47th win.
Toronto, which clinched a postseason berth when Florida lost in overtime at Ottawa on Thursday night, is all but locked into third place in the Atlantic Division.
”It’s nice that we’ve clinched and now we just want to get ready and focused for the playoffs,” Nylander said.
Anthony Beauvillier had a goal and an assist, and Johnny Boychuk, Brock Nelson and John Tavares also scored for the Islanders, who lost for the 15th time in 18 games (3-11-4). Jordan Eberle had two assists and Christopher Gibson finished with 27 saves.
”It was a good hockey game,” Islanders coach Doug Weight said. ”It was exciting and really, for a 5-4 game it was pretty well-played. … Yeah
Marshawn Lynch Jersey , a little bit of puck luck would be nice. It was a heck of a game. Guys battled but just fell short.”
Van Riemsdyk gave the Maple Leafs their first lead of the game – at 4-3 – as he put in the rebound for his 36th at 2:01 of the third.
Tavares tied it for the fourth time as he beat Andersen from the right doorstep for his 34th at 6:28. Tavares now has 80 points, reaching that number for the first time since he had 86 in 2014-15.
”We didn’t want the puck in our net as much as it was tonight,” Maple Leafs coach Mike Babcock said. ”That’s the way it went and we just had to find a way to keep grinding.”
Trailing 2-1 after one period, the Maple Leafs tied the score at 7:52 of the second as Zaitsev’s pass deflected off Islanders forward Mathew Barzal’s stick and past Gibson for the defenseman’s fifth.
Nelson put New York back in front on an odd-man rush as he got a pass across the slot from Andrew Ladd and beat Andersen from the right faceoff dot for his 19th with 9:15 left.
Marner then tied it again as he deflected Jake Gardiner’s shot in front for his 22nd with 2:42 to go in the second.
Beauvillier got the Islanders on the scoreboard with just under eight minutes remaining in the first. Eberle got the puck near the left side of the goal, skated to the corner and sent a pass in front to Beauvillier, who put it past Andersen for his 18th. The goal withstood a Maple Leafs challenge for goalie interference.
Toronto tied it with 3:38 left, just 7 seconds after Anders Lee was whistled for slashing, as Kadri tipped the puck out of the air in front off a pass from Marner for his 31st.
Boychuk put the Islanders back in front on a power play with 1:26 to go in the opening period as he got a pass from Beauvillier near the blue line and sent a one-timer through traffic past Andersen for his sixth.
NOTES: Marner has five goals and 11 assists during his points streak. … Kadri has eight goals and nine points in his last 12 games. … The Maple Leafs swept the three-game season series. … Zaitsev’s goal marked the fourth straight game an Islanders player deflected the puck into his own net. Adam Pelech did it Saturday against the Blackhawks, and Brandon Davidson in each of the last two – against Florida on Monday and at Ottawa on Tuesday. … Lee had an assist on Tavares’ goal, giving him a career-high 22 this season. He also has career highs with 39 goals and 61 points.
UP NEXT
Maple Leafs: Host Winnipeg on Saturday night.
Islanders: At New Jersey on Saturday night.
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2018-09-19, 04:48 goals and 61 points. 
