Wild Walk Offs in Critical Matchups Punctuate Dramatic Friday Night

We entered the weekend with a couple of huge series taking place around baseball: The Los Angeles Dodgers battling the San Francisco Giants for 1st place in the National League West; and the Toronto Blue Jays trying to cling to their playoff dreams with a series against one of the teams they must catch, the Oakland A's.

For dramatics and wild finishes, neither matchup disappointed, to say the least. 

In Toronto, the Blue Jays entered the bottom of the 8th inning down 8-2, and their Wild Card hopes fading fast. Then, the offense woke up. And Lourdes Gurriel Jr. stepped to the plate with the bases loaded:

A grand slam capped a 6-run inning, and the Jays had tied it at 8. After the Toronto closer, Jordan Romano, gave up a 2-run HR to Mark Canha in the top of the 9th, it seemed like all was lost again for the Jays, now down 10-8 and down to their last out. That's when Marcus Semien stepped to the plate against his former team, the team that wasn't interested in bringing him back this season:

Yes, a walk-off against the team that let you walk. Incredible.

Over on the west coast, the Dodgers were down to their last out in the top of the 9th, trailing the Giants 1-0, when Chris Taylor singled in the tying run. But that only set things up for this unexplainable moment in the bottom of the 11th, as the Giants had the bases loaded but two out:

Will Smith pulled off the bag by inches, and Buster Posey was safe, and the Giants win and retake possession of 1st place. 

Baseball drama at its best, on both coasts. 

Photo Credit: Nick Turchiaro-USA TODAY Sports