Game #113 - Toronto Blue Jays (53-60) @ Houston Astros (58-56) - game recap

 

Brendon Little got 4 strikeouts in a 3-1 win over the Astros 

After dropping yesterday's game due to a  bad day at the office for closer Louis Varland, the Blue Jays were looking to start the week and road trip with a win. They took on the Astros, who took the series in Toronto 6 weeks ago, outscoring the Blue Jays 14-12. The Blue Jays were sellers at the trade deadline owing- to being in last in the AL East and with slim playoff hopes. Kevin Gausman was traded first to the Cubs for outfielder Brett Bateman and infielder Ty Southisene. Gausman finishes his Blue Jays career 53-51 and a 3.62ERA in a 148 regular season starts over 5 seasons. This season, Gausman is 5-10 with a 4.38ERA over 23 starts. In a separate deal with the Cubs, the Blue Jays acquired righty Jameson Taillon for cash considerations. Taillon was recently DFA'd by the Cubs and is 2-8 with a 5-92ERA over 15 starts this season. Adam Macko was traded to the Rangers for infielder Josh Smith and righty Josh Stephan. Macko is 2-0 with a 4.91ERA over 22 appearances this season. Smith is batting .213 with 1HR and 8RBI in 163AB this season. The Blue Jays also acquired righty Jose Soriano from the Angels for a trio of prospects. Soriano is 9-6 with a 3.29ERA over 22 starts this season. Daulton Varsho and righty Spencer Arrighetti switched dugouts. Varsho is batting .243 with 7HR and 26RBI in 333AB this season. Arrighetti 7-5 with a 4.60ERA over 17 starts this season. Finally, Jeff Hoffman was traded to the Twins for a trio of prospects and international cash. Hoffman was 6-7 with a 3-92ERA, 5 saves and 4 blown saves in 51 appearances this season. On to the ball game today. Soriano and Smith already reported to the team before first pitch. Lazaro Estrada was recalled from AAA-ball and righty John Klein was optioned to AAA-ball. Shane Bieber got the start with Alejandro Kirk behind the plate. Vlad was back in the field after the half day off as DH yesterday (George Springer served as DH tonight). Jesus Sanchez was in LF, Myles Straw was in CF and Nathan Lukes was in RF. Kazuma Okamoto was back at the hot corner after covering 1B for Vlad yesterday. Ernie Clement got the start at 2B. Could the Blue Jays start the week and road trip with a win? Here is tonight's game recap.

Game Highlights:

• The Blue Jays opened the scoring in the top of the 2nd as Alejandro Kirk belted a solo jack to left-center
• The Blue Jays added a run in the top of the 4th as Jesus Sanchez singled scoring Kazuma Okamoto. Astros LF Taylor Trammel was charged with a throwing error on the play
• A batter later, George Springer scored on a sac fly by Ernie Clement
• Cristian Javier pitching line: 6IP 7H 3R (all earned) 0BB 2K 85 pitches (58 for strikes)
• The Astros got one back in the bottom of the 6th as Jeremy Pena singled scoring Yainer Diaz
• Shane Bieber pitching line: 5.2IP 9H 1R (earned) 2BB 6K 87 pitches (54 for strikes)
• Tyler Rogers threw a perfect 9th for his 3rd save of the season.
• Final score: Blue Jays 3 Astros 1

My Take:

• Shane Bieber battled through 5.2 innings, giving up a run on 9 hits while walking 2 and striking out 6. Bieber battled through jams all night, but was able to pitch his way out of them except for the 6th inning. This start was up in the air right up to 3pm since there were likely teams that kicked the tires on acquiring him. It can't have been easy getting in a mindset to pitch after waiting all day to see if you were even playing until 2 hours before the first pitch
• The bullpen held the Astros to a hit and 3 walks while striking out 4 over the last 3.1 innings. Fans must have been jumping out of their seat and screaming at the TV when Brendon Little entered the game with a 2-run lead in the 7th inning. This was the highest leverage opportunity he has had in a while. Little came through, getting 4 outs - all strikeouts. Can he keep the momentim going - especially since the Blue Jays have only him and Mason Fluharty in the bullpen as southpaw options after trading Adam Macko to the Rangers. Tyler Rogers retired every batter he faced and will likely be the backup option as closer when Louis Varland is down,
• Offensively, the bats continue to be on the cold side with Alejndro Kirk (solo HR), Jesus Sanchez (RBI single) and Ernie Clement (sac fly) doing the damage tonight.
• The Blue Jays were 4-1 on ABS challenges today and Astros catcher Yandy Diaz successfully overturned both Astros ABS challenges
• The Blue Jays were 1-8 with runners in scoring position
• Up next, the Blue Jays try to extend the win streak to 2 games and notch their 15th series win of the season. Trey Yesavage starts against Astros righty Hayden Wesneki

Game #113 Toronto Blue Jays (52-60) v. Houston Astros (58-55)

 

Game #112 - St. Louis Cardianals (55-57) @ Toronto Blue Jays (52-60) - game recap

 

Max Scherzer threw 6 solid innings in a 5-1 loss to the Cardinals 

After a huge win after a solid, likely final start in a Blue Jays uniform for Kevin Gausman, the Blue Jays were looking to extend the winning streak to 4 games and complete their 2nd series sweep and 1st season series sweep of the season. Max Scherzer got the start with Alejandro Kirk behind the plate.. Vlad got the half day off as DH with George Springer in LF and Kazuma Okamoto at 1B. Ernie Clement was at the hot corner and Andres Gimenez was back at SS. Could the Blue Jays  extend the winning streak to 4 games and complete their 2nd series sweep and 1st season series sweep of the season? Here is today's game recap.

Game Highlights:

• The Cardinals opened the scoring in the top of the 3rd as Lars Nootbaar doubled scoring Nathan Church
• Max Scherzer pitching line: 6IP 4H 1R (earned) 1BB 5K 84 pitches (58 for strikes)
• Matthew Liberatore pitching line: 6IP 1H 0R 1BB 7K 85 pitches (56 for strikes)
• The Blue Jays tied it in the bottom of the 8th as Luis Urias doubled scoring Andres Gimenez
• The Cardinals retook the lead in the top of the 9th as Jose Fermin singled scoring Masyn Winn
• Three batters later, Bryan Torres scored on a throwing error by Urias on a ball hit by Nootbaar
• A batter later, Jordan Walker singled scoring Blaze Jordan and Nootbaar
• Final score: Cardinals 5 Blue Jays 1

My Take:

• Max Scherzer fired 6 solid innings, giving up a run on 4 hits while walking 1 and striking out 5. Scherzer retired 9 of the first 11 batters he faced. The only downside is he was a strikeout short of tying Walter Johnson for 10th in career strikeouts. Some databases put him 2 strikeouts shoet of the mark at the start of the game, but officially, he was 6 strikeouts back on first pitch. Good timing for Scherzer to have a solid start with the Blue Jays likely sellers at the deadline.
• Louis Varland had a very bad day. The Blue Jays closer came into a tied ball game looking to keep the score where it was. He gave up 4 runs (only 1 earned due to a horrible throw by Luis Urias that should have been caught by Kazuma Okamoto at 1B) on 3 hits while walking 1 and striking out none over 2/3 of an inning. Mason Fluharty was the only reliever to retire every batter he faced
• Offensively, it was another anemic effort with 6 total base runners. George Springer tripled with 1 out in the 7th inning. Alejanndro Kirk struck out looking and Ernie Clement meekly popped out to catcher Ivan Herrera. Vlad came up with a chance to send Varland to the mound with a save opportunity but instead grounded out to shortstop to end the inning and rally. In the first 6 innings, they managed a measley 2 base runners against starter Matthew Liberatore.
• The Blue Jays were 3-2 on ABS challenges and the Cardinals were 1-1 on ABS challenges
• The Blue Jays were 1-7 with runners in scoring position
• I'll save my deadline thoughts for tomorrow's recap, but I do want to say that unless the MLB closes the loophole of deferred contracts and implements a hard cap, the Dodgers will just  continue to snap up all the free agents they want and grab the best players at the trade deadline. Quite frankly, unless the MLB does something in this almost certain lockout/strike, the Dodgers will challenge the Celtics record of most consecutive championships and even most championships in a decade. At this point, many teams simply cannot compete in this unfair playing field.
• Up next, the Blue Jays hit the road for a bit of an unusual road trip where they play three-game sets iin Houston starting tomorrow and Philadelphia starting Friday with a makeup game in Chicago for the rainout June 21. The Astros took the series in Toronto 6 weeks ago, outscoring the Blue Jays 14-12. At the moment, Shane Bieber is penciled in to start against Astros righty Javier Christian.

Game #112 St. Louis Cardinals (54-57) @ Toronto Blue Jays (52-59)

 

Game #111 - St. Louis Cardinals (54-57) @ Toronto Blue Jays (52-59) - game recap

 

Kevin Gausman threw 5.2 solid innings in a 5-1 win over the Cardinals

After a win last night, thanks to a late clutch hit off the bat of Luis Urias, the Blue Jays were looking to extend the win streak to 3 games and notch their 13th series win and 5th season series win of the season. Kevin Gausman made what is likely to be his last start in a Blue Jays uniform with Alejandro Kirk behind the plate. Davis Schneider was in LF and Myles Straw was in LF. Ernie Clement was at SS and Luis Urias got the start at 2B. Could the Blue Jays extend the win streak to 3 games and notch their 13th series win and 5th season series win of the season? Here is today's game recap.

Game Highlights:

• The Blue Jays opened the scoring in the bottom of the 3rd as George Springer doubled scoring Davis Schneider
• The Blue Jays added a run in the bottom of the 4th on a sac fly by Luis Urias that scored Ernie Clement
• The Cardinals got one back in the top of the 6th as Masyn Winn doubled scoring Ivan Herrera
• Kevin Gausman pitching line: 5.2IP 9H 1R (earned) 1BB 4K 94 pitches (65 for strikes)
• Quinn Mathews pitching line: 5IP 6H 2R (both earned) 3BB 3K 97 pitches (63 for strikes)
• The Blue Jays added a run in the bottom of the 7th as Springer doubled scoring Andres Gimenez
• A batter later, Alejandro Kirk singled scoring Vladimir Guerrero Jr. and Springer
• Final score: Blue Jays 5 Cardinals 1

My Take:

• Kevin Gausman fired 5.2IP giving up a run on 9 hits while walking 1 and striking out 4. Not his best start in a Blue Jays uniform but not his worst either. He certainly helped his trade value today, showing prospective teams he can pitch and minimize the damage when he doesn't have his best stuff working. 
• The bullpen pitched 3.1 scoreless innings, giving up 2 hits walking 2 and striking out 2. Tyler Rogers retired every batter he faced.
• Offensively, Alejandro Kirk (2 RBI), George Springer (2RBI, run scored) Luis Urias led the way.
• Every starter except Kazuma Okamono reached base at least once and all but Okamoto and Davis Schneider had a hit
• Alejandro Kirk was unsuccessful on the only ABS challenge of the day 
• The Blue Jays were 3-11 with runners in scoring posittion. 
• Up next, the Blue Jays try to extend the win streak to 4 games and complete their 2nd sweep and 1st season series sweep of the season. Max Scherzer starts against Cardinals righty Michael McGreevy