Britton: "It was tough sitting down there and having to watch it"

TORONTO - The closer fidgeted tonight while a season burned.

Zach Britton, the best reliever in baseball this season and one of the leading candidates for the Cy Young Award, warmed up a few times and never pitched. Six relievers followed starter Chris Tillman to the mound in the American League wild card. Britton's name won't appear in the box score.

He won't get another chance in 2016.

Ubaldo Jimenez faced three batters in the 11th inning and allowed back-to-back singles to Devon Travis and Josh Donaldson and Edwin Encarnacion's walk-off home run to give the Blue Jays a 5-2 victory over the Orioles at Rogers Centre.

Britton allowed four earned runs during the regular season. Jimenez, owner of a 2.45 ERA in his last seven starts, gave up three over a span of three batters.

Manager Buck Showalter said Britton "was fine." Britton confirmed it after the game. His health didn't come into play.

Asked whether he considered using Britton at some point, Showalter replied, "Yeah, I considered a lot of things during the course of the game, but our guys did a good job getting us to that point. We just couldn't finish it off.

"Yeah, he was available."

Left-hander Brian Duensing, who made 14 appearances this season, entered in the bottom of the 11th and struck out Ezequiel Carrera. Showalter summoned Jimenez into the game and it unraveled.

Showalter also used Mychal Givens for 2 1/3 scoreless innings, Donnie Hart to retire the only batter he faced, Brad Brach for 1 1/3 scoreless and Darren O'Day for 1 2/3 scoreless.

The Orioles didn't have a hit after Manny Machado's infield single with two outs in the sixth, only their fourth hit of the night. They were held to two runs on one swing from Mark Trumbo in the fourth. An offense that did nothing against the Blue Jays' much-maligned bullpen won't be the center of attention.

Showalter said he didn't shy away from Britton simply because it was a tie game on the road.

"No, same thing, eighth inning, ninth inning, I like the job that Darren could do, I liked the job that Brad could do, I like the job that Mychal could do, I like the job that Duensing could do," Showalter said.

"It looked like it was going to be one of those that was more than one inning. Nobody was pitching better for us than Ubaldo, too, so there's a lot of different ways to look at it. So, that's the way it went. It didn't work out. Has nothing to do with philosophical."

Britton said he was up in the ninth, 10th and 11th.

"Just waiting until I got the call," he said.

"I figured he would wait, maybe eighth or ninth if we were ahead I'd be in the game. Once the score was tied, I felt like when there was an opportunity for me, I was going to get in the game. Whether or not that was a lead or not, I wasn't sure.

"It was just frustrating to have to sit down there and watch and not be able to help the team.

"I was fine. I warmed up multiple times down there, so I was good to go. Everything was fine. Ubie's thrown well here, though, so the opportunity to get him in the game right there ... Obviously, he wasn't starting, but he had been throwing well."

Britton ended the regular season 47-for-47 in saves and sporting a 0.54 ERA. It was historic, making his absence tonight all the more puzzling.

"It was obviously frustrating to watch the guys battle ahead of you and you want to go in there and do the same and give your team a chance to win, especially knowing if you don't win there's no tomorrow," Britton said.

"Like I said, it was tough sitting down there and having to watch it and not being able to get in the game."

Britton will have lots of time to rehash the events. The Blue Jays are headed to Texas. The Orioles are going home for a long winter.

"It's frustrating, but it's not my call," Britton said. "The guys ahead of me threw really well and like I said, Ubaldo's thrown great recently, so there was no doubt in my mind that he was going to go in there and throw zeroes. They had the best part of their lineup coming up and eventually one of these teams was going to score. Let's be honest. With the amount of offense that we put up, both sides this year, it was just a matter of time."

With runners on the corners and one out in the 11th, Britton and his heavy sinking fastball made sense with a double play in order. Encarnacion is 4-for-14 lifetime against Britton. Jose Bautista, who stood on deck, is 2-for-9.

Encarnacion was 9-for-41 with a home run against Jimenez before tonight. Bautista was 3-for-38.

"I was expecting in certain situations if maybe there was an opportunity for a double play ball in a big situation, whether we were ahead, behind or whatever," Britton said. "Coming into today they just told me to be ready to go multiple innings if need be and I was prepared."

Showalter said using Britton in an attempt to get a double play crossed his mind. Same as in the sixth and each inning that followed.

"So, there's a bunch of decisions to make there during the course of the game," he said. "Our pitchers pitched real well the whole game to hold that club to two runs at that point. You could make a case, probably other than Zach, Ubaldo is pitching better than anybody we've had for the last six or seven starts.

"Those are a lot of tough decisions, but we're maybe a little different if you're playing at home. There's a lot of different ways to look at it. If we didn't have so many good options down there and we wanted to have a strong Zach and have him there in case the game goes extra innings. There's so much to that game. But I know the world that you (reporters) have to live in, so I respect that."

Showalter went to the mound with runners on the corners and Encarnacion's presence looming large, but he didn't discuss the idea of an intentional walk.

"We talked about depths and what we're going to do with the baseball and what have you," he said. "I really didn't want to box Ubaldo into having ... It's more about depth of infield and what we're going to do with the ball with a couple options, which way it might take us."

The session ended with a reporter apologizing for "harping" on the subject and Showalter replying "Are you really?" The reporter said he just didn't understand the thinking behind using Jimenez or anyone else instead of Britton.

"We can talk about it privately," Showalter said. "I'll let you know everything I'm thinking. I understand you've got to ask your question. It's OK."

The wounds will close and the Orioles will take greater satisfaction in making the playoffs for the third time in five season. The healing process already started tonight inside a quiet clubhouse.

"I thought we battled all the way through," Britton said. "Tonight was kind of an indication of our season to an extent, just never giving up and it's just frustrating to end it like this, but overall I thought we had a heck of a season. A lot of guys individually and then as a team. Going from some pretty high highs to some low lows, but somehow we found a way to be in this game."

They just couldn't close it. No lead, no closer.

With the season on the line, did Showalter regret not using Britton?

"You could do afterward, yeah," he replied. "We went for about four innings there trying to get to that spot. It looked like if he pitches a couple innings, if he can physically, then you're assuming, which is a pretty good assumption with the way he's pitched this year ...

"No, playing on the road has a little something to do with it, too, but we have some good options that have done a great job for us all year and Zach's one of those."