Wild Card hero Encarnación gets Toronto fired up

TORONTO -- The Blue Jays opened their first home Wild Card matchup in six years the same way they closed out the last one: with an iconic moment from Edwin Encarnación.

A 2016 Wild Card hero, Encarnación threw the ceremonial first pitch at Rogers Centre on Friday, as the Blue Jays geared up to face the Mariners in the first contest of the 2022 American League Wild Card Series.

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To the tune of 45,000 voices yelling out his name, Encarnación sauntered to the mound in his old No. 10 Blue Jays jersey, raising his hands and smiling at the stands as Vladimir Guerrero Jr. awaited behind home plate. After a perfect strike, both Blue Jays stars -- former and current -- were all smiles.

Even six years after his departure, Encarnación’s presence is still felt within the club.

“I was talking to [José] Bautista and Encarnación,” said Guerrero during the final month of the regular season. “They both told me, ‘You haven’t seen Toronto yet.’”

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Perhaps the Blue Jays were trying to recapture some of the magic of that fabled night against the Orioles six years ago.

Encarnación provided the decisive swing in the Blue Jays’ 11-inning win over the Orioles back then, launching a walk-off three-run blast to break a 2-2 tie and send Toronto to its second AL Division Series in as many years.

“I was really happy, mostly because it was an extra-inning game,” Encarnación said at the time. “It was just a very special moment for us."

It still is.

Alek Manoah, the Blue Jays’ Game 1 starter, has turned that home run, and the bat flip that followed, into motivation for his postseason debut.

“The video came up on my Twitter feed and I couldn't believe the energy and the atmosphere,” Manoah said on Thursday. “The building was shaking.”