Sep 26, 2018 3 min read

John Gibbons said he wasn’t going to cry, but the veteran manager struggled to contain his emotions in his final home game with the Toronto Blue Jays.

The Blue Jays gave Gibbons a winning home send-off Wednesday with a 3-1 win over the Houston Astros, who broke out the bubbly anyway.

The World Series champion Astros actually clinched their second straight AL West title when Oakland lost in extra innings at Seattle well past midnight Tuesday. Several of the Astros partied at a hotel meeting room, but they held a more traditional clubhouse celebration – complete with rain jackets and goggles – despite this loss. Houston opens their best-of-five Division Series matchup against Cleveland at home on Oct. 5.

“This is a great moment, a great moment for the Houston Astros organization, myself, all my teammates,” ace Justin Verlander said. “This is something to cherish.”

Before the game, Blue Jays general manager Ross Atkins announced that Gibbons will not return next season. The 56-year-old Gibbons has one season left on a two-year contract extension he received in April 2017.

“We are going to have a new voice. We are going to have a new approach,” Atkins said.

After getting the final out, Blue Jays closer Ken Giles gave the ball to Gibbons and the Rogers Centre crowd of 22,828 rose for a standing ovation.

“I’ve been here a long time,” said Gibbons, who first joined the Jays in 2002. “I’ve had some great times and I’ve had some tough times. It’s sad in a way, but it brought back a lot of good memories. I never cry, I’m not going to cry, my lip might shake a little bit.”

Gibbons was in the midst of a postgame interview on the field when outfielder Kevin Pillar came out and doused his manager with a cooler.

Randal Grichuk hit a two-run homer and rookie Reese McGuire added a solo shot as the Blue Jays won with only three hits.

Grichuk said he was happy to be part of a winning effort for Gibbons.

“He rightfully deserves it,” Grichuk said. “Great manager, easy to talk to, goes about things the right way. He definitely can help young guys and he’s there for the veteran guys. He’s definitely going to be missed here.”

Pillar, the longest-tenured Blue Jays player, stood at the back of a packed news conference to hear Gibbons’ pregame announcement in person.

“What I learned from being in that interview room was that he was four games above .500 for his career and if we could get one win he’d finish his tenure here as a winner,” Pillar said. “You want to come through that line and give your manager a handshake after a win and it was extra special knowing it was his last one at home.”

N.Y. Mets 3, Atlanta 0: Jacob deGrom was dominant in what likely was his final pitch for the NL Cy Young Award, throwing eight stellar innings and leaving with a major league-best 1.70 ERA as the New York Mets blanked the Atlanta Braves 3-0. DeGrom made his final regular-season start, striking out 10 and allowing just two singles against the NL East champions.

He retired his final 20 hitters and improved his record to 10-9. DeGrom gave up no more than three runs in his last 29 starts.