Friday, August 17, 2018

Game #121 Toronto Blue Jays (55-66) @ Kansas City Royals (37-84) - game recap


Ryan O'Hearn drove in what would be the winning run in the 4th as the Royals knocked off the Blue Jays 6-2 to earn the series split

Two hard fought wins in a row. Last night, the Blue Jays hung on after nearly blowing a four run lead. Ken Giles has proven to be lights out in a save situation and a completely different pitcher when the game is not on the line. Tonight, we saw a pitcher in Sam Gaviglio who has really been Jekyll and Hyde this season. His two starts in August, he pitched into the 6th inning. However, his last start in July he could not get out of the 3rd inning. After a day off yesterday, rookie catcher Danny Jansen was right back in the lineup. Russell Martin has held his own defensively at 3rd base but it is not his natural position. He should be focusing on grooming Jansen and also catching the odd game so Jansen can see how he frames pitches and handles the pitchers. He had the night off today after playing the previous three games. The weather has caused delays in three of the games this series. Here is tonight's game recap.

Game Highlights
  • The Blue Jays took the lead in the top of the 2nd as Teoscar Hernandez scored on a sac fly by Danny Jansen
  • The Royals tied it in the bottom of the 2nd on Lucas Duda solo HR to right
  • The Blue Jays took the lead in the top of the 4th as Kendrys Morales singled home Justin Smoak
  • The Royals tied it in the bottom of the 4th as Jorge Bonifacio triple, scoring Rosell Herrera
  • A batter later, Ryan O'Hearn singled home Bonifacio
  • A batter later, Hunter Dozier double home O'Hearn
  • Glenn Sparkman pitching line: 4IP 4H 2R (both earned) 1BB 3K 75 pitches (43 for strikes)
  • The Royals added a run in the bottom of the 5th as Herrera doubled to score Alex Gordon
  • Sam Gaviglio pitching line: 4.1IP 8H 5R (all earned) 1BB 2K 72 pitches (42 for strikes)
  • The Royals tacked on a run in the bottom of the 6th as Whit Merrifield singled home Dozier 
  • Final score: Royals 6 Blue Jays 2
My Take

  • Sammy G had a rough go again today giving up 5 runs on 8 hits and a walk. In a span of 4 batters in the 4th, Gaviglio gave up two singles, a double and a triple to plate three runs. He also committed a balk to allow a runner to get into scoring position. Gaviglio has not won since May 19, partly due to an inability to make it through the requisite 5 innings to qualify for a win.
  • Sorry MK, no epic comeback to report tonight in the recap. In fact, the Blue Jays went quietly into the night as the final 5 batters of the game were outs for our embattled warriors. Kendrys Morales was the last batter to reach base on a walk and Richard Urena had the last Blue Jay hit, singling to lead off the 7th
  • The Blue Jays may have split this four game series but they took the season series 5-2 thanks to an earlier 3 game sweep back in April, including a rare double header at the Roger's Center
  • I really like how well Danny Jansen has done his first 3 games in the bigs. Tonight, he threw out a base runner at first thanks to cat-like quickness to grab the ball before it got too far away. He also had an infield hit of his own, hustling down the base path. Jansen drove in the first run of the game on a sac fly.
  • Kevin Pillar was the only Blue Jay with multiple hits today.
  • Up next, the Blue Jays catch a red eye to the Big Apple where they will face former teammate JA Happ on Sunday. But first, tomorrow's match-up features Marcus Stroman, who can be hot/cold on a given day, against righty Lance Lynn, who the Yankees acquired at the deadline and has been having a rough season. After a late start to the game tonight, it will certainly be interesting to see how well the team can perform on a lack of sleep.