Saturday, April 20, 2019

Game #22 Toronto Blue Jays (10-12) @ Oakland A's (11-12) - game recap

Brandon Drury finished a triple shy of the cycle in a 10-1 rout over the A's 

A day after a win on the back of a masterful gem by Marcus Stroman, who has bounced back very nicely after his worst season statistically. Matt Shoemaker was on the bump today looking to keep his strong start to the season going, aiming for his 4th win of the season. Luke Maile was back behind the plate as Shoemaker's primary catcher. Randal Grichuk was back in CF and Billy McKinney got the start in right field. Could the Blue Jays make it two series wins in a row? Here is today's game recap.

Game Highlights:
  • The Blue Jays opened the scoring in the top of the 3rd as Eric Sogard singled home Brandon Drury 
  • Matt Shoemaker pitching line: 3IP 3H 0R 0BB 1K 46 pitches (34 for strikes); left with knee injury
  • The Blue jays added to the lead in the top of the 4th as Rowdy Tellez crushed a three-run bomb to straight-away center, also scoring Justin Smoak and Teoscar Hernandez
  • A batter later,  Brandon Drury lined an opposite field shot that just cleared the wall in right
  • Four batters later, Freddy Galvis singled home Billy McKinney
  • Mike Fiers pitching line: 3.1IP 9H 6R (all earned) 0BB 4K 61 pitches (44 for strikes)
  • The Blue Jays added a run in the top of the 5th as Drury doubled home Tellez
  • The Blue Jays added two  more runs in the top of the 6th as Smoak smoked a frozen rope over the left field wall also scoring Galvis
  • The Blue Jays added a run in the top of the 9th as Socrates Brito scored on a sac fly by McKinney
  • The A's broke the shutout bid in the bottom of the 9th as Robbie Grossman scored on a sac fly by Mark Canha
  • Final score: Blue Jays 10 A's 1
My Take:
  • This game was overshadowed by the loss of Matt Shoemaker who had his left knee buckle while participating in a rundown. He hopped several times on his right foot before being helped by teammates to the ground. A visibly frustrated Shoemaker eventually left the field with the aid of both Blue Jays trainers. Shoemaker will have an MRI Sunday. Worst case scenario is he needs season-ending ACL surgery.
  • The day nearly got worse an inning later when Sam Gaviglio appeared to not feel right after delivering his 7th pitch of the game. Luckily he was ok after a visit from the trainer and was able to finish the inning and pitch three more innings after that
  • Several Blue Jays had excellent days at the plate:
    • Brandon Drury was 3-4 with a pair of RBI and a pair of runs scored. He finished a triple shy of the cycle
    • Rowdy Tellez was 3-5 with 3RBI and pair of runs scored
    • Justin Smoak was 2-4 with a pair of RBI and a pair of runs scored
    • Freddy Galvis was 2-5 with an RBI and run scored. He also made an outstanding barehanded catch to end the 8th 
    • Eric Sogard was 2-6 with a RBI
    • Billy McKinney was 2-4 with a run and RBI
  • The only Blue Jays starters not to get hits were Luke Maile (although he setup the Blue Jays first run with a sac bunt) and Randal Grichuk
  • Two idiot fans decided to go onto the field of play. I like that the Sportsnet broadcast did not give the "fans" any air time. In today's world, you don't know what their intentions are. Hopefully these two streakers are banned for a long time.
  • Up next, the Blue Jays go for the series sweep in what might be the last game without Vladimir Guerreroi Jr. in the lineup. Aaron Sanchez takes the mound for the Blue Jays against A's lefty Brett Anderson