John Gibbons got goose bumps as he took the ball out of Mark Buehrle's hands. The Toronto Blue Jays' manager is hoping it won't be the last time he does it.
Buehrle saluted his family in the crowd and took in a warm standing ovation from Blue Jays fans at Tropicana Field after throwing 6 2/3 strong innings in what could be the final extending start of his major-league career. He allowed four runs on six hits as Toronto beat the Tampa Bay Rays 8-4 to trim their magic number for home-field advantage throughout the playoffs to two.
"This guy's worked so hard, this guy's played for so long," centre fielder Kevin Pillar said. "He's probably not going out there 100 per cent, he's got so many innings under his belt and he's getting a little bit older. For him to just go out there and man up and do what he did, it's inspiring what he's able to do."
The veteran left-hander, who has thrown 200-plus innings in 14 consecutive seasons, reached 198 on Friday night.
Hall of Famers Don Sutton and Gaylord Perry are the only pitchers in major-league history to hit that mark in exactly 15 consecutive seasons, and only Cy Young (19) and Warren Spahn (17) had longer streaks. If the Blue Jays have already clinched the top seed in the American League on Sunday, they're likely to let Buehrle pitch to hit the milestone in the regular-season finale.
"It's short rest," Buehrle said. "If the game comes down to mattering for having the best overall record, that's their decision. But if it doesn't matter and I can go out there and throw slower than I ever have before in my life, then I might lobby for it."
Beyond Sunday, there's plenty of uncertainty for the 36-year-old, who has battled through fatigue over his past several starts. When Toronto goes to a four-man rotation for the playoffs, Buehrle may or may not have a spot on the 25-man roster as a bullpen arm.
Buehrle hasn't pitched in relief since his rookie year in 2000. He did make five post-season starts for the Chicago White Sox from 2005-2008. His 15th victory of the season was the 214th of his major-league career.
"His career speaks for itself," Gibbons said. "It's an honour for me to have a chance to manage these three years here. He's been one of the best in baseball year after year, just durability, wins, he's doing everything right."
Beyond Brett Cecil, the Blue Jays don't have a reliable left-hander to go to in the pen. Aaron Loup and Jeff Francis are on the expanded roster but are not expected to be available in the playoffs.
Buehrle is a free agent after this season and, though he has been incredibly durable throughout his career, 3,000-plus innings have taken their toll.
The innings Buehrle gave the Blue Jays a few months ago were brilliant. He allowed two or fewer earned runs in nine starts from June 3 to July 21, bridging the gap before they got David Price at the trade deadline.
Price has long admired Buehrle and said before the game that he calls his teammate "Legend."
"He's Legend with what he's done," Price said. "Guys don't do that. To do what he's done over the course of his career. I think he's thrown over 50,000 pitches. C'mon. I'd be throwing right-handed at that point."
On Friday night, Buehrle (15-7) did some very efficient, professional pitching. Rarely getting the ball to the plate at over 80 mph, he mixed his pitches to get three strikeouts and several fly-ball outs.
Buehrle joined the history books by becoming the first pitcher to hit the same batter (Rays outfielder Brandon Guyer) three times in a game since 2007 and made a mistake on a pitch that Mikie Mahtook turned into a three-run home run.
"That's a crazy game," Buehrle said. "I felt pretty good and was making some pitches and then there are a couple bloops and then I make a mistake and he hits a home run. I wish those balls would've went to the guys — the broken-bat base hit and the little blooper over first base. But it's baseball."
Buehrle watched as Pillar made a highlight-reel diving catch in centre field and got to 103 pitches before Gibbons gave him the hook. Pillar took pride in his catch but said it was done for Buehrle.
"We were playing to win, we were playing for home-field advantage but we were also playing for Buehrle today and just trying to get outs for him," Pillar said. "He had a good shot at doing it today and really just wanted to go out and make plays for him."
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