Monday, April 2, 2018

Game #5 Chicago White Sox (2-1) @ Toronto Blue Jays (3-2) - game recap

Blue Jays catcher Russell Martin hit a 3 run HR to help the Blue Jays win their third game in a row

Game highlights:

  • Russell Martin threw one away allowing Yolmer Sanchez to take 3rd (Sanchez would be caught in a run down the next pitch)
  • Wellington Castillo opened the scoring in this series with a 2 out 4th inning solo shot off Jaimie Garcia
  • Curtis Granderson broke up the no-hit bid leading off the 5th with an infield single
  • Josh Donaldson tied the game up with his first HR  of the season in the bottom of the 6th with 2 outs
  • Jaimie Garcia pitching line: 6IP 4H 1R (earned) 2BB 7K 92 pitches (56 for strikes)
  • Wellington hit his second HR of the game to give the White Sox their second lead of the game in the top of the 7th
  • Reynoldo Lopez pitching line: 6IP 2H 1R (earned) 2BB 6K 100 pitches (63 for strikes)
  • Russell Martin gave Toronto their first lead of the game with a 2 run HR scoring Granderson in the bottom of the 7th
  • Almedys Diaz extended the lead with a solo HR to lead off the bottom of the 8th
  • Roberto Osuna pitch a perfect 9th to notch his second save of the season
My take: 
  • Jaimie Garcia had a good first start for the Blue Jays. He did commit a throwing error and gave up a HR. However, he did a good job locating his pitches and keeping the White Sox hitters off-balance. He should make a good fifth starter in the Blue Jays rotation
  • It was good to see JD hit his first HR of the year. I still think the Blue Jays need to put him on the DL until he's healthy. Having him DH is just taking playing time away from Kendrys Morales. Also, Donaldson has not looked right at the plate. 
  • The Blue Jays did a great job in driving Lopez's pitch count up by fouling off balls and being selective at the plate. They made Lopez throw 50 pitches over his final 2 innings. Generally the more pitches a batter sees in an at-bat, the greater likelihood of the pitcher throwing a bad pitch or walking the batter.
  • With the Blue Jays victory tonight, Toronto is over .500 for the first time since season's end 2016 when they finished with a record of 87-73. Also, there are now no undefeated teams in the American league. The Washington Nationals remain undefeated in the National League.
  • Next up Toronto looks to extend the winning streak to 4 games with JA Happ getting his second start of the season. Miguel Gonzalez makes his first start for the year for Chicago.