With one swing of the bat, Joey Loperfido’s return to Rogers Centre with the Astros became a resounding success. After Houston let a 4-0 lead slip away and needed a ninth-inning rally to force extras against the Blue Jays on Tuesday, Loperfido’s three-run shot in the 11th inning powered the Astros to a wild 9-7 win. “Those are the wins that, at the end of the year, you go back and you think about them. That was one heck of a win,” manager Joe Espada said postgame. With all the back and forth, a shortened start from Peter Lambert and two extra innings, Espada used five relievers and each member of his bench, including Loperfido, in the victory. “I always ask those guys to stay ready on the bench because you never know,” Espada said. “There’s always a big moment in the game. You don’t have to start the game to be part of a big win. “These young players did it. Those are moments as a team you want to have.” The moment couldn’t have been much bigger for Loperfido, who is returning to Toronto for the first time since a Feb. 13 trade for Jesús Sánchez sent him back to his original Draft club in Houston. “Just happy to come through for the guys in this clubhouse,” Loperfido said. “I think anybody that’s been traded, anytime they play against their former team, I’m sure they want to have good at-bats, and I feel the same way. So, just good timing.”
