Castellanos hit his fourth career grand slam, Jordan Zimmermann pitched seven strong innings and the Tigers beat the Toronto Blue Jays 9-1 on Sunday.
Manager Ron Gardenhire scheduled the pregame meeting, a relaxed session in which players were invited to say whatever was on their mind. Castellanos called it an opportunity to ”just kind of address the elephant in the room.”
”It gave anybody a chance that wanted to speak up to speak up,” said Castellanos, adding that Victor Martinez, James McCann and Gardenhire were among those who talked.
JaCoby Jones hit a two-run homer as the Tigers won for the first time since June 17, when they completed a three-game road sweep of the Chicago White Sox.
Castellanos nearly hit another home run in the ninth but Blue Jays outfielder Kevin Pillar made a leaping catch at the wall.
”I felt like I was going to have a chance to make a play,” Pillar said. ”A ball like that hit as high as it is it allows me time to kind of track the ball and track the fence and go up to try to make a play. ”
Castellanos stopped on the basepaths to applaud Pillar’s catch before turning and heading back to the dugout.
”What else can you say the end of the day besides `What a play,”’ Castellanos said. ”It sucks it had to happen to me but plays like that have to happen to somebody.”
Niko Goodrum had a career-high four hits and Jose Iglesias had two hits and two RBIs for Detroit, which had lost 12 of 14 at Rogers Centre.
”That was a fun win, a really fun with with a lot of great swings,” Gardenire said.
Zimmermann (3-0) allowed one run and five hits in his third start since returning from a shoulder injury that caused him to miss more than a month.
”He had a great curveball today,” Gardenhire said. ”That’s probably the best curveball I’ve seen all year out of him.”
Wearing red jerseys and caps for Canada Day, the Blue Jays couldn’t deliver a win for the holiday crowd of 37,445.
Tigers outfielder Leonys Martin left with a sore left hamstring after his bases-loaded bunt single in the fifth brought home Detroit’s first run. Martin was replaced by Victor Reyes.
Following the game Deadrin Senat Jersey Elite , Gardenhire said Martin would be placed on the 10-day disabled list. A corresponding roster move will be made before Monday afternoon’s series finale.
Castellanos followed with his 13th home run, a shot that bounced off the top of the wall in right. It was his first grand slam since Sept. 8, 2017, also against Toronto.
Castellanos also made a fine catch in right, reaching back to grab Russell Martin’s line drive for the final out of the fourth.
Iglesias chased Blue Jays left-hander J.A. Happ (10-4) with a two-out, two-run single in the sixth.
Happ matched season-worsts by allowing seven runs and 10 hits in 5 2-3 innings.
”It’s not a pretty outing and I own that,” Happ said.
Happ had won six consecutive decisions since his previous defeat, May 10 against Seattle.
Teoscar Hernandez tripled in the first and scored on a two-out double by Justin Smoak, but Zimmermann recovered to retire the next nine Blue Jays batters.
For the second straight game, the roof was closed at Rogers Centre because of high heat and humidity.
MUSIC MAN
Blue Jays RHP John Axford complied a list of more than 500 songs by Canadian artists and has been playing his mix in the clubhouse all weekend. Axford’s `Oh Canada!’ playlist can be streamed using the online music service Spotify.
NOT YOUR DAY
The Blue Jays are 14-26 on Canada Day, including a 12-17 mark at home.
TRAINER’S ROOM
Tigers: RHP Alex Wilson, who left in the eighth inning Saturday because of a sore left calf, was not available. … RHP Drew VerHagen (nasal fracture) pitched one scoreless inning for Triple-A Toledo Saturday night, his first rehab appearance. VerHagen has been out since June 20.
Blue Jays: Toronto optioned utilityman Darnell Sweeney to Triple-A Buffalo after the game and will make a corresponding roster move Monday.
UP NEXT
Tigers RHP Mike Fiers (5-4, 4.04) faces Blue Jays LHP Ryan Borucki (0-1 Joe Montana Jersey Limited , 3.00) in Monday afternoon’s series finale. Fiers is 0-2 with a 5.91 ERA in two career starts at Rogers Centre. Borucki made his major league debut at Houston last Tuesday, allowing two runs in six innings.
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With its decision to ban kneeling during the national anthem, critics are accusing the NFL of prioritizing being in the good financial graces of mainstream America over the social justice passions of its players trying to draw attention to the deaths of African-Americans at the hands of police.
Some opponents of the new policy now vow to never watch an NFL game again.
The NFL’s new anthem policy – similar to NBA rules in place for decades – makes the athletes stand for ”The Star-Spangled Banner” or be absent from the field while it’s played.
Critics say the league acted without input from its majority-black players and buckled to pressure from some major advertisers and even President Donald Trump, who rallied his mostly-white base against players for failing to display their patriotism, shifting the debate from social justice for minorities to how to act during the anthem itself. Others, including some players, applauded the league’s action or took no issue with the policy.
”I think they made this decision to placate Donald Trump and those like him who blindly equate standing for the national anthem with patriotism,” said Democratic U.S. Rep. Cedric Richmond of Louisiana, chairman of the Congressional Black Caucus. ”The country I want is a country where everyone wants to stand for the national anthem,” Richmond said, emphasizing the word ”wants.”
Vice President Mike Pence tweeted ”(hash)Winning” and declared the decision ”a win for the fans, a win for (President Trump), and a win for America.”
The NFL started requiring players in the league to be on the field for the anthem in 2009 – the year it signed a marketing deal with the military. Its new rule passed Wednesday permits players to stay in the locker room during the ”The Star-Spangled Banner” but requires them to stand if they come to the field.
Taking a knee during the anthem has been an issue since August 2016, when now-unemployed quarterback Colin Kaepernick started protesting the deaths of African-Americans at the hands of police. The issue bubbled over from the field into living rooms as other players joined the movement, and morphed into a larger discussion last fall when Trump called on NFL owners to fire players who did not stand during the national anthem.
”This is white supremacy Cheap Customized Cincinnati Bengals Jerseys , period. A blatant and disgusting attempt to strip black athletes of their voice and reduce them to a number on a jersey – all while continuing to profit off of their bodies,” said Rashad Robinson, executive director of advocacy group Color of Change.
Bree Newsome, who climbed a pole to snatch down the Confederate flag at the South Carolina statehouse in 2015, tweeted: ”For the white-owned NFL to blackball Kaepernick & then change policy to specifically target Black athletes’ protest of racism is not simply a matter of football. It is about using one of the largest stages in America to reinforce racial caste in USA.”
Civil rights groups denounced the decision.
”Instead of working together to address an issue disproportionately plaguing the communities of the majority of NFL players, the owners instead desire that players bury their heads, shut up, and just play football,” NAACP chairman Derrick Johnson said.
Kaepernick and other NFL players who kneeled said their protests were over the shootings and other mistreatment of African Americans at the hands of law enforcement. The quarterback was not resigned by the San Francisco 49ers after beginning his protest and has not played for an NFL team since. He has filed a grievance against the league, as has out of work safety and fellow protester Eric Reid.
Calls to boycott the NFL because of the anthem decision started immediately online. NFL fans previously had threatened to boycott the NFL because players were kneeling during the Star Spangled Banner, and others said they wouldn’t watch until Kaepernick was signed by a team. Now a new group is promising not to watch pro football games.
”As a former NFL player I am extremely conflicted but more than likely will not be supporting anymore until this is resolved amongst other issues,” said Matthew A. Cherry, who played for the Jacksonville Jaguars, Cincinnati Bengals, Carolina Panthers and the Baltimore Ravens.
The NFL Players Association said it would challenge any changes that violate the collective bargaining agreement.
”This is fear of a diminished bottom line. It’s also fear of a president turning his base against a corporation Authentic Dalton Schultz Jersey ,” Philadelphia Eagles defensive end Chris Long said on Twitter . ”This is not patriotism. Don’t get it confused. These owners don’t love America more than the players demonstrating and taking real action to improve it. It also lets you, the fan, know where our league stands.”
Cardinals safety Antoine Bethea, a 12-year NFL veteran, said ”fining players for really expressing what they believe, I think that’s kind of overboard.”
Others said they approved of the compromise.
”I’m going to stand for the national anthem,” Denver defensive end Derek Wolfe said. ”Whatever anybody else wants to do, that’s their decision and they have the right to their opinion. So, they can do whatever they want – as long as they stay in the locker room, I guess.”
Pittsburgh Steelers guard Ramon Foster shrugged his shoulders when asked about the policy and said that in a way, players are powerless.
”If the team says, `This is what we’re doing,’ and ownership (does too), you either deal with it or you’re probably going to get.
