ARGOMENTO: ”He’s the guy now,” Pederson said. ”But, he doesn

Justin Smoak isn’t a fan of extra innings Will Harris Jersey , so he was doubly happy about his game-winning homer against the slumping Detroit Tigers.

Smoak led off the bottom of the ninth with a home run and the Toronto Blue Jays beat Detroit 4-3 on Saturday, handing the Tigers their 11th straight loss.

”Honestly, nobody wants to play extra innings,” Smoak said. ”To be able to do it in the ninth and get it over with is always a good feeling.”

This is Detroit’s longest losing streak since an 11-game skid in August 2003, the year the Tigers lost 119 times. The Tigers last lost 12 straight in 1996.

Three of Detroit’s 11 defeats, including the past two, have been one-run losses. The Tigers are 13-13 in one-run decisions.

”There’s things we can do better but we’re not playing bad,” Tigers starter Matt Boyd said. ”It may seem dire, but it’s not. We’re close to where we want to be and we’re going to come out on the other end of this.”

Smoak connected against reliever Joe Jimenez (3-1) for his 11th homer of the season. It was the second walk-off drive of his career, with the other coming in 2016 against Texas.

Smoak, who hit a two-run homer in Friday’s 3-2 win http://www.detroitlionsteamonline.com/austin-bryant-jersey , has gone deep in back-to-back games for the first time this season.

”I’m just trying to be aggressive and it’s been better as of late,” he said.

Seunghwan Oh (4-2) worked one inning for the win. Randal Grichuk also homered for the Blue Jays, who have won 10 of 11 at home.

John Hicks hit a solo homer in the Detroit second off Sam Gaviglio and Nick Castellanos made it 3-0 with a two-run shot in the third, his 12th.

Boyd held the Blue Jays hitless until Kevin Pillar’s leadoff double in the fifth. Pillar moved to third on a one-out single by Aledmys Diaz and scored on a groundout by Devon Travis before Grichuk hit his tying homer.

”He was leaving the ball up just a little too much where they could get the bat head to it,” Tigers manager Ron Gardenhire said.

Boyd allowed three runs and four hits in six innings. He walked two and struck out seven.

”I made a few mistakes today and one of them went over the fence,” Boyd said.

Gaviglio gave up three runs and four hits in seven innings, matching his longest outing of the season.

Leonys Martin and Castellanos hit consecutive singles off Joe Biagini in the eighth but the Blue Jays right-hander retired the next three batters in order.

”We had runners in position a couple of times,” Gardenhire said. ”We just didn’t come up with the big one.”

Martin helped preserve the 3-3 tie in the bottom of the eighth by throwing out Travis at home plate. Travis was trying to score from second on Yangervis Solarte’s single to center, but couldn’t beat Martin’s one-hop throw. The assist was Martin’s ninth, tying him with Seattle’s Mitch Haniger for the AL lead.

With a heat alert in place for Toronto, the retractable roof at Rogers Centre was kept closed. The outdoor temperature was 88 degrees Max Scharping Jersey , with high humidity making it feel like 106.

CAGED TIGERS

Detroit has lost 12 of 14 in Toronto.

CRIME DOESN’T PAY

Blue Jays C Luke Maile threw out two runners attempting to steal, both at second base. Maile threw out Jeimer Candelario in the first and Grayson Greiner in the seventh.

TRAINER’S ROOM

Tigers: RHP Alex Wilson had to leave in the eighth because of a sore left calf. Wilson missed almost a month earlier this season because of a strain in his left foot. … RHP Drew VerHagen (nasal fracture) will join Triple A Toledo Saturday night to begin an injury rehabilitation assignment. VerHagen has been out since June 20.

Blue Jays: Toronto put RHP Ryan Tepera (elbow) on the 10-day disabled list and recalled RHP Jake Petricka from Triple-A Buffalo.

UP NEXT

Tigers RHP Jordan Zimmermann (2-0, 4.35) faces Blue Jays LHP J.A. Happ (10-3, 3.62) on Canada Day in Toronto. Zimmermann allowed seven runs in his previous start against Toronto on June 8, 2016. Happ has won six straight decisions and is unbeaten in eight outings.

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Earning a bye week gave the Philadelphia Eagles an opportunity to work even harder.

No mini-vacations. No golfing. No beach trips.

Instead, the Eagles (13-3) kicked off preparation for next Saturday’s divisional playoff game by holding their toughest practice since training camp.

Players put their pads on Wednesday and got after it on the indoor field as starters faced off like it was a hot day in August instead of a frigid January afternoon.

”The guys in this room aren’t afraid to work, grinding, enjoying the process, enjoying the small things a lot of people don’t like to do this time of year,” Pro Bowl safety Malcolm Jenkins said. ”We understand the significance of the situation we’re in and we want to take advantage of the time we have. Guys didn’t want to be off for the whole week. We want to get better.”

The Eagles are the NFC’s No. 1 seed but no longer are Super Bowl favorites after losing MVP candidate Carson Wentz in Week 14. Oddsmakers have three NFC teams listed ahead of Philadelphia.

Backup quarterback Nick Foles played well the first five quarters he filled in for Wentz, then struggled in the last five. He was 20 of 48 for 279 yards with four touchdowns and no interceptions versus 23 of 49 for 202 yards with one TD and two picks. Foles and the rest of the starters sat out the final three quarters of a 6-0 loss to Dallas that prevented Philadelphia from setting a franchise record for regular-season wins.

The defense looked sharp in the last two games Brian Burns Jersey , but had a tough three-game stretch on the road to start December.

So, members of the team’s players’ council told coach Doug Pederson they wanted to practice in pads instead of going through walkthroughs during their bye.

”It’s not a punishment thing; it’s not coming directly from me,” Pederson said. ”It’s what the players want. I listen to my guys. I think they understand that there is a sense of physicality that we have to get back to. So you get back into pads and it sort of refocuses the guys a little bit.”

Of course, there was no tackling at practice, but the intensity level was much higher.

”We were moving around, moving fast,” Foles said. ”Pads are different, and getting to move in pads, getting to throw in pads is a good thing.”

Even the receivers welcomed the change of pace.

”All gas and no brakes now,” Alshon Jeffery said. ”You have to keep working hard and we wanted to go out and compete against one another.”

The Eagles are in the postseason for the first time since a 26-24 home loss to New Orleans on Jan. 4, 2014. Foles rallied Philadelphia from a 20-7 deficit late in the third quarter and tossed a 3-yard touchdown pass to Zach Ertz for a 24-23 lead with 4:54 remaining http://www.pantherscheapshop.com/cheap-authentic-greg-little-jersey , only to watch special teams allow a long kickoff return that helped set up a winning field goal.

The NFC East champions will host the Saints (11-5), Panthers (11-5) or Falcons (10-6) on Jan. 13. They’ll be seeking their first playoff win since advancing to the 2009 NFC championship game as the sixth seed.

Expectations outside the locker room are low. Many folks are predicting Philadelphia is the most likely team with a bye to be one and done. Panic-stricken fans even called for Pederson to bench Foles for second-year pro Nate Sudfeld, who threw his first career pass against the Cowboys. Sudfeld was 19 of 23 for 134 yards. Pederson actually was asked by reporters to confirm that Foles was indeed the starter.

Obviously, he’s not benching Foles for a guy who just made his NFL debut.

”He’s the guy now,” Pederson said. ”But, he doesn’t have to feel the weight of the entire team. This is a team sport. We have to play great defense, obviously, and special teams has to own up to their jobs. Then offensively, we just have to be better all around. I want Nick to embrace it; he has embraced it. At the same time, the guys around him also need to own their jobs and their responsibilities going forward.”

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