Jose Ramirez #11 of the Cleveland Indians rounds the bases after hitting a two run home run during the eighth inning against the Toronto Blue Jays at Progressive Field on August 21, 2016 in Cleveland, Ohio. The Indians defeated the Blue Jays 3-2.Jason Miller/Getty Images
Marcus Stroman wanted to stay in the game after throwing his 100th pitch. Blue Jays manager John Gibbons didn't agree – and paid dearly for it.
Brett Cecil gave up a two-run homer to Jose Ramirez with two out in the eighth inning, allowing the Cleveland Indians to beat Toronto 3-2 in their series finale Sunday afternoon.
The Blue Jays maintained their one-half game lead over Boston in the AL East, but lost twice in their three-game showdown with AL Central-leading Cleveland.
Stroman worked 7 1/3 innings, striking out nine, and left with the bases empty and a 2-1 lead. Cecil entered and gave up a single to Francisco Lindor, followed by Ramirez's 384-foot shot onto the home run porch in left.
"I worked extremely hard to get my body ready to go seven to nine innings," the right-hander said flatly. "I felt good, but at the end of the day, we lost the game. It's extremely frustrating. I felt fine. I felt fine."
Cecil (1-7) exited the clubhouse and boarded the team bus without speaking to the media. The left-hander has allowed five homers in 26 1/3 innings and has a 5.13 ERA.
Gibbons was eager to explain why he removed Stroman, who has thrown more than 100 pitches eight times this season and has a 9-5 record.
"I thought Stroman was great, he did everything right today," Gibbons said. "I just figured with [lefty Jason] Kipnis coming up, we could use it to our advantage and also swing their next couple of guys around at the plate. They got the best of us."
Melvin Upton Jr. led off the third by homering off Indians starter Corey Kluber. It was his third home run since being acquired from San Diego and his 19th on the year.
AL MVP Josh Donaldson, who missed the previous two games with a jammed right thumb, extended Toronto's lead to 2-0 later in the inning with an RBI single.
Mike Clevinger (2-1) pitched 1 1/3 innings for the win, while Cody Allen worked the ninth for his 24th save. Allen walked Donaldson and Edwin Encarnacion with two out before inducing a game-ending lineout by Russell Martin.
The series had a postseason-like atmosphere with thousands of Blue Jays fans at Progressive Field. All three games were decided by one run.
"Shout out to Canada for coming down and supporting us this weekend," Stroman said. "The Indians are a team we're going to be battling with down the road, so hopefully we'll see them in the playoffs."
Toronto went 3-3 on its six-game road trip.
Right-hander R.A. Dickey makes the start when Toronto opens a three-game home series against the Los Angeles Angels on Tuesday. Dickey has made a team-high 25 starts.