"Despite being in Major League Baseball for 50 years, the Toronto Blue Jays have only hit five walk-off grand slams. The most recent one came on Wednesday. Down 3-1 in the bottom of the 10th, Daulton Varsho took Aaron Brooks deep to give the Blue Jays a much-needed 5-3 win to snap a three-game losing streak."
"Their first walk-off grand slam came courtesy of George Bell back on September 4th, 1988, followed by Greg Zaun's home run nearly 20 years to the day, doing so on September 6th, 2008. The other two came in a four-day span."
"The 2017 Blue Jays were a weird team. They were in that transition period between being a World Series contender like they were the two seasons prior, and a rebuilding team like the two seasons after. Following the 2016 season, they signed Steve Pearce to a two-year deal, with the first baseman/outfielder never notching more than 400 plate appearances in a single season. However, he was coming off one of his better years in 2016, slashing .288/.374/.492 with 13 home runs in 302 plate appearances split between the Baltimore Orioles and the Tampa Bay Rays."
"By July 26th, 2017, the Jays weren't completely out of the postseason race, having won the first three games against the Oakland Athletics. July 26th's game saw Marcus Semien hit a two-run home run in the top of the fifth to give the Athletics a 2-0 lead. But in the bottom of the ninth, Justin Smoak tied the game with a two-run blast, followed by a walk-off home run courtesy of Kendry Morales. They finished the night eight games back of the division-leading Boston Red Sox, and six-and-a-half games behind the final wild card spot."
Toronto has produced five walk-off grand slams across 50 years, with the latest coming in the bottom of the 10th to turn a 3-1 deficit into a 5-3 win. Daulton Varsho hit a home run off Aaron Brooks to end a three-game losing streak. The first walk-off grand slam came from George Bell on September 4, 1988. Nearly 20 years later, Greg Zaun delivered another on September 6, 2008. Two additional walk-off grand slams occurred within a four-day span in 2017, during a season positioned between contention and rebuilding. In one 2017 game versus Oakland, Justin Smoak tied the score in the ninth before Kendry Morales hit a walk-off home run, extending the team’s late-game momentum.
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