Game # 109 - Toronto Blue Jays (50-59) @ Nationals (55-54) - game recap

 

After dropping yesterday's game due to a disastrous start from Shane Bieber and the bullpen, the Blue Jays were looking to notch their 13th series win and 5th season series win of the season. CJ Van Eyk was optioned to AAA-ball and righty Chad Dallas was recalled from AAA-ball. Trey Yesavage got the start with Alejandro Kirk behind the plate. Vlad got the complete day off to rest his sore hamstring with Kazuma Okamoto at 1B. Ernie Clement was at the hot corner for the second straight day and Davis Schneider got the start at 2B. Could the Blue Jays notch their 13th series win and 5th season series win of the season? Here is today's game recap. 

Game Highlights:

• The Nationals opened the scoring in the bottom of the 4th as Jacob Young doubled scoring CJ Abrams 
• Zack Littell pitching line: 4.2IP 4H 0R 3BB 2K 81 pitches (50 for strikes)
• The Blue Jays tied it up in the top of the 6th as Ernie Clement doubled scoring George Springer
• The Blue Jays took the lead in the top of the 7th as Daulton Varsho singled scoring Kazuma Okamoto 
• Trey Yesavage pitching line: 6.2IP 3H 1R (earned) 3BB 4K 97 pitches (57 for strikes)
• The Blue jays added a pair of runs in the top of the 8th as Okamoto doubled scoring Davis Schneider and Myles Straw
• A batter later, Okamoto singled home Okamoto
• The Nationals got one back in the bottom half of the inning as Luis Garcia Jr. singled scoring James Wood
• Louis Varland got the last 6 outs for his 23rd save of the season 
• Final score: Blue Jays 5 Nationals 2

My Take:

• Trey Yesavage threw 6.2 strong innings, giving up a run on 3 hits while walking 3 and striking out 4. Yesavage retired 9 of the last 10 batters he faced.  It has been an uneven season for Yesavage - here's hoping he builds on this positive start and finishes the rest of the season strong because he will be a key part of the rotation whenever baseball returns after a very likely lockout/strike.
• The bullpen gave up a run on 3 hits while walking 2 and striking out 1 over the last 2.1 innings. A bit of a rough outing for the usually reliable sidewinder Tyler Rogers, who only retired one batter and forced John Schneider to call upon Louis Varland to get the last 6 outs. It's a good thing Varland has looked like Mariano Rivera this season and been Mr. Automatic converting all 23 save opportunities. Unless the Blue jays receive an outstanding trade offer, (MLB ready player who has already shown he can star and a top prospect at minimum) The Blue jays should keep him in the fold and look at signing him to a point term deal. 
• Offensively, Kazuma Okamoto (2RBI, 2 runs scored and George springer (RBI, run scored) carried the day. Ernie Clement and Daulton Varsho also knock in a run each.
• Every Blue Jays starter except Nathan Lukes and Andres Gimenez had a hit
• Alejandro Kirk was 1-2 on ABS challenges and Nationals catcher Harry Ford was 1-1 on ABS challenges 
• The Blue Jays were 5-13 with runners in scoring position
• Up next, after an off-day/travel day tomorrow, the Blue Jays return home for a brief weekend series against the St.  Louis Cardinals. The Blue Jays swept the season series last year, outscoring the Cardinals 20-15. The Cardinals will start righty Kyle Leahy on Friday.  The Blue Jays haven't set their rotation for the series yet. 

Game # 109 - Toronto Blue Jays (49-59) @ Washington Nationals (55-53)

 

Who can take a sunrise, sprinkle it with....ewww? Me....I stunk out the joint in 1990

These Nats are made for walkin' and that's just what they'll do...

Woof...that first inning was ugggllleee...

I guess it's a good thing that Bieber isn't an archery instructor on the side.

The offense did their best to climb out of the hole but by that point the horse had left the barn and was halfway to the Ozarks.

Hopefully our own Wyld Stallyn can harness his inner...horse...thing.

Day baseball on a Wednesday! Giddyup!!

When Bieber Decided To Be A Fulltime Pitcher...

Maybe he should give archery another crack...

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Good grief...none of these people look real...

Game #108 - Toronto Blue Jays (49-59) @ Washington Nationals (55-53) - game recap

 

George Springer hit a 3-run HR in an 8-6 loss to the Nationals

After pulling off a win yesterday thanks to a solid effort from the bullpen and Myles Straw and Luis Urias providing the offense, the Blue Jays were looking to extend the win streak to 2 games and notch their 13th series win and 5th season series win of the season. Shane Bieber got the start with Brandon Valenzuela behind the plate. Yohendrick Pinago was in LF. Ernie Clement was at the hot corner and Andres Gimenez got the start at SS. Could the Blue Jays extend the win streak to 2 games and notch their 13th series win and 5th season series win of the season? Here is tonight's game recap.

Game Highlights:

• The Nationals opened the scoring in the bottom of the 1st on a bases loaded walk to Keibert Ruiz that forced in James Wood 
• A batter later, Dylan Crews was forced in on a bases loaded walk to Daylen Lile
• A batter after that, CJ Abrams scored on a sac fly by Nasim Nunez
• Two batters later, Ruiz scored on a bases loaded walk to Jacob Young
• Shane Bieber pitching line: 0.2IP 1H 4R (all earned) 6BB 0K 42 pitches (16 for strikes)
• The Blue Jays got one back in the top of the 3rd as Vladimir Guerrero Jr. singled scoring Nathan Lukes. Nationals 3B Jorbit Vivas was charged with a throwing error on the play
• The Blue Jays added a run in the top of the 4th on a ground out hit by Andres Gimenez that scored Brandon Valenzuela 
• Vladimir Guerrero Jr. was removed from the game prior t-o the start of the bottom of the 4th with hamstring tightness
• The Nationals added a run in the bottom half of the inning as Luis Garcia Jr. whacked a 2-run blast to right; also scoring Jacob Young
• Three batters later, Crews hammered a solo bomb to dead center
• The Blue Jays got one back in the top of the 5th as Kazuma Okamoto hammered a solo bomb to dead center
• The Nationals added a run in the bottom half of the inning on a sac fly by Young that scored Liles
• Cade Cavalli pitching line: 6IP 6H 3R (2 earned) 2BB 3K 98 pitches (64 for strikes)
• The Blue Jays got 3 back in the top of the 8th as George Springer hammered a 3-run bomb to straightaway center; also scoring Okamoto and Lukes
• Clayton Beeter pitched a perfect 9th for his 11th save of the season
• Final score: Nationals 8 Blue Jays 6

My Take:

• Shane Bieber was lit up for 4 runs on a hit while walking 6 and striking out none. He had absolutely no command of his pitches today and could be a real risk for someone who tries to acquire him at the deadline since he as been struggling all season with command. At the same time, he won the Cy Young award in 2020 and that will be attractive.
• The bullpwn gave up 4 runs on 7 hits while walking 2 and striking out 6. The two relievers, who are partially responsible for the Blue Jays being in the position they are with with 6 blown saves between them, Jeff Hoffman and Brendon Litlle threw a combined 3.1 innings and struck out 6 batters. I can see CJ Van Eik being optioned tomorrow since he obviously won't be available after throwing 69 pitches.
• The offence tried to do its part with George Springer hitting a huge 3-run bomb to dead center to put the Blue Jays within a pair of runs and 6 outs to work with. Alas, the next 6 batters went down in order. Kazuma Okamoto also went deep in his first AB after taking over for Vlad, who exited the game prior to the bottom of the 4th after tweaking his hamstring running the bases in the 3rd inning.
• The Blue Jays were 1-2 on ABS challenges and the Nationals were 2-1 on ABS challenges
• The Blue Jays were 1-6 with runners in scoring position
• Up next, the Blue Jays try to end the road trip with a win and notch their 13th series win and 5th season series win of the season. Trey Yesavage starts against Nationals righty Zack Littell

Game # 108 - Toronto Blue Jays (49-58) @ Washington Nationals (54-53)

 

Anyone feel like Scrabble?

We had a little bit of everything last night...

Some crappy defense, some power from the non-usual sources, some Okamoto blazing speed, and a lockdown effort by the pen.

We also had the usual subset of idiots with their idiot chants.

Also nice to see Max get some love from the Nats fans.

So join us tonight at Nationals Park for *checks notes* Canada - U.S. Friendship Day...what could possibly go wrong?

Also...shouldn't every day be Canada - U.S. Friendship Day?

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It's a classic!!

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If it's anything like the Jays Summer I bet it tastes pretty damned bitter....

 

Game #107 - Toronto Blue Jays (49-58) @ Washington Nationals (54-53) - game recap

 

Myles Straw scored a run and drove in a run in a 3-2 comeback win over the Nationals

After dropping yesterday's game due to another poor effort from the offense, the Blue Jays were looking to start the week with a win as they continued the road trip in Washington DC. The Blue Jays swept the season series vs. the Nationals, outscoring the Nationals 14-7 last season. Max Scherzer was reinstated from the 15-day IL (and got the start with Alejandro Kirk behind the plate) and Brayden Fisher was placed on the bereavement list. Myles Straw got the start in LF. Could the Blue Jays  start the week with a win? Here is tonight's game recap.

Game Highlights:

• The Nationals opened the scoring in the bottom of the 2nd as Luis Garcia Jr. doubled scoring Nasim Nunez
• The Blue Jays tied it in the top of the 3rd as Luis Urias hammered a solo bomb to dead center
• Two batters later, Ernie Clement doubled scoring Myles Straw
• Eddy Yean pitching line: 2.1IP 3H 2R (both earned) 0BB 0K 20 pitches (15 for strikes)
• Max Scherzer pitching line: 2.2IP 4H 1R (earned) 3BB 4K 75 pitches (44 for strikes)
• The Blue Jays added a run in the top of the 4th as Straw singled scoring Kazuma Okamoto
• The Nationals got one back in the bottom of the 5th as Andres Chapparo whacked a solo blast to left
• Louis Varland threw a scoreless 9th for his 22nd save of the season
• Final score: Blue Jays 3 Nationals 2

My Take:

• Max Scherzer battled through 2.2 innings, giving up a run on 4 hits while walking 3 and striking out 4, Would an extra rehab start have made a difference in his next MLB start? Perhsaps, but not likely with the way his 2026 season has gone. He loaded the bases in the 1st inning but managed to escape that jam. Second inning, he ran into more trouble but limited the damage to a run. Quite frankly he should retire. He has battled injuries this year and has been very ineffective when he has pitched. If he's concerned about moving up another place on the all-time strikeout list, he's one start away with the 4 strikeouts he got today putting him one strikeout away from tying Walter Johnson, who had 3509 strkeouts.
• The bullpen gave up a run on 4 hits while walking 1 and striking out 9 over the last 6.2 innings. Mason Fluharty was credited with the win. Fluharty and Tyler Rogers both retired every batter they faced
• Myles Straw (run scored, RBI) and Jose Urias (solo HR) drove the offense.
• The Blue Jays were unsuccessful on boh ABS challenges. The Nationals were 1-1 on ABS challenges
• The Blue Jays were 3-7 with runners in scoring position. 
• Up next, the Blue Jays try to extend the win streak to 2 games and notch their 13th series win and 5th season series win of the season. Shane Bieber starts against Nationals righty Cade Cavalli