The best (and worst) Blue Jays moments from last night’s MLB All-Star Game

The best (and worst) Blue Jays moments from last night’s MLB All-Star Game

If you only managed to watch highlights of last night’s Major League Baseball All-Star Game in San Diego—or if you couldn’t take your eyes off Twitter after that epic gaffe during “O Canada”you might not have noticed any Blue Jays players on the field. But they were there: you just had to know where to look. Here, the six best (and worst) Canadian moments from the game:

The intros

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The Blue Jays All-Stars didn’t inspire the same full-throated cheers of support from the west coast crowd as the two Padres in the game. Josh Donaldson still managed to elicit a polite reception from the crowd.

Encarnacion pinch runs for David Ortiz

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If power hitter Edwin Encarnacion has ever been used as a pinch runner before, it must have been a long time ago. But there he was on Tuesday night, stepping into the spotlight to take the place of David Ortiz, who was playing in his final All-Star Game before retirement. Afterward, Big Papi took a quick moment to bro down with his pal.

Aaron Sanchez’s shaky experience

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Sanchez was a little bit off with his command—possibly a case of All-Star jitters. He ended up giving up a run, after a walk and two singles. The highlight of his night: facilitating this terrific leap from tiny Jose Altuve of the Astros.

Donaldson helps end it

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The only play of significance made by a Blue Jays fielder was the final one of the game. With a runner on first base, one out, and the National League down two runs, Nolan Arenado of the Rockies pulled a ball to Josh Donaldson at third base. Donaldson made no mistake with it, starting a double play that ended the game, earning the American League the win.

Ortiz pines for Edwin

The love between Ortiz and Encarnacion continued after the game, when Ortiz had a long session with the media. Reporters tried to bait him into opening up the possibility that he might not retire. Instead, he suggested (jokingly?) that his team go after Edwin. “The Red Sox know they’ll need to reinforce the middle of the lineup,” he said. “Who better than Encarnacion?”

Ugh. The Tenors

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And, of course, there was this. Tenor Remigio Pereira’s decision to go off script during Canada’s national anthem was without question the night’s most memorable bit of Canadian action. This guy managed to desecrate our national anthem and inflame racial tensions in one shot.