TORONTO (AP) – It was supposed to be a small toast, an acknowledgement that they had secured a wild-card berth.
Instead, the Toronto Blue Jays washed away 22 years of frustration in a deluge of champagne and beer in a raucous celebration.
“(Edwin Encarnacion) wanted to go for it, so we did,” pitcher R.A. Dickey said, music blaring in the background and cigar smoke wafting around him in a joyous clubhouse.
Jose Bautista hit two home runs, David Price won for the ninth time in 11 starts with Toronto and the playoff-bound Blue Jays beat the Tampa Bay Rays 10-8 on Saturday.
“I don’t know where they were hiding the champagne but somebody went and got it and it got a little crazy,” said Bautista, wearing goggles and an alcohol-soaked T-shirt that read “Take October.”