Tuesday, July 31, 2018

Game #105 Toronto Blue Jays (48-57) @ Oakland A's (62-46) - game recap

Oakland A's catcher Jonathan Lucroy was 1-2 with 3RBI and a run scored as the A's routed the Blue Jays 10-1

After surviving Chicago and the White Sox, the Blue Jays get to contend with the Oakland A's, who are in a battle with the Mariners and Astros for the AL West title and a wild card spot. Roberto Osuna was dealt to the Houston Astros today for another troublesome pitcher in Ken Giles, David Paulino and Hector Perez, all in the minors currently and all likely to get a look by the Blue Jays. Marco Estrada made his return from a glut injury and blister on his finger. Depending how he performs tonight, he could be dealt by tomorrow or later in the month after clearing waivers. Here is tonight's game recap.

Game Highlights

  • The A's took the lead in the bottom of the 2nd as Mark Canha homered to left-center
  • The A's doubled the lead in the bottom of the 3rd on a sac fly by Khris Davis that scored Nick Martini
  • The A's added another run in the bottom of the 4th on a sac fly by Jonathan Lucroy that scored Stephen Piscotty
  • A batter later, Martini doubled home Marcus Semien
  • Marco Estrada pitching line: 4IP 5H 4R (all earned) 3BB 0K 69 pitches (40 for strikes)
  • Edwin Jackson pitching line: 5.2IP 3H 0R 3BB 5K 101 pitches (62 for strikes)
  • The A's added a run in the bottom of the 8th as Piscotty homered to straightaway center
  • Three batters later, Lucroy doubled home Canha and Semien
  • Three batters later, Jed Lowrie doubled scoring Lucroy and Matt Chapman
  • A batter later, Davis singled to score Dustin Fowler
  • The Blue Jays broke the shutout as Aledmys Diaz launched the first pitch he saw over the left field wall
  • Final score: A's 10 Blue Jays 1
My Take

  • In the not a good sign category, Marco Estrada was removed from the game after 4 innings and 69 pitches. Estrada appeared to be checking his fingers between pitches, indicating a possible issue with the blister. Estrada didn't have a great outing, giving up four runs on five hits and walking three today. His status may be up in the air if indeed the blister issue surfaced again. Given what Aaron Sanchez went through/is going through with his fingers, I would expect the Blue Jays to be extra conservative with Estrada.
  • There was a Tulo sighting in Oakland today. Apparently Troy Tulowitzki is visiting the team this week. Perhaps we will get an update on his recovery from the heel surgeries this week.
  • Jaime Garcia was an absolute disaster today. He gave up 6 runs on 6 hits and a pair of four pitch walks. The confusing part is he pitched a perfect 7th and did so with just 10 pitches. Teoscar Hernandez did not help him dropping a fly ball that a minor leaguer in single A should have caught. With the arrival of the newly acquired Ken Giles expected tomorrow, we may have seen Garcia's last pitch in a Blue Jays uniform
  • The Blue Jays were 0-5 with runners in scoring position today. No Blue Jay had more than one hit today
  • When you can pitch, play defense or drive in runs it's pretty hard to win ball games. To me, there were two stats that stood out for me tonight. First, Blue Jays batters struck out 10 times and A's batters struck out just 3 times. Estrada did not record a strikeout today. The other telling stat was 8 of the 10 A's runs were scored on plays other than the long ball. The only Blue Jays run was on a solo HR. Once again, the Blue Jays are relying far too much on the long ball. They have to find a way to get runners in with singles/doubles.
  • Up next, the Blue Jays look to even the series as Sam Gaviglio pitches against A's righty Trevor Cahill. Hopefully Gaviglio has a good game (like Garcia he's been a disaster at times this season)