DENEDIN, Fla. — David Fletcher had a two-run single in the 11th inning and the Los Angeles Angels beat Toronto 7-5 Thursday night in the first regular-season game played at the Blue Jays’
spring training ballpark.
Fletcher’s hit to centre came on the first pitch from Rafael Dolis, who replaced Ryan Borucki (1-1) with runners on second and third and two outs.
Junior Guerra (2-0) worked a scoreless 10th before Raisel Iglesias struck out the side for his second save.
Toronto became the first team in Major League Baseball history to play home openers in three different cities over three consecutive seasons. The Blue Jays played in Toronto in 2019 and moved home games to the ballpark of their Triple-A team in Buffalo, New York, after the Canadian government barred them due to novel coronavirus travel restrictions.
TD Ballpark, also the home of Toronto’s low Class-A minor league club, last year completed a renovation that cost more than $102 million. Four trucks with additional lighting were brought in for this year’s regular-season games.
The first three homestands at least will be played in Dunedin, through mid-May.
One reason the Blue Jays opted to stay in Florida was the weather, which was an ideal 80 degrees at first pitch – surprisingly, it was around the same temperature in Buffalo.