Wednesday, May 8, 2019 | 7:07 pm hammering time
Target Centre (considering how welcome the Twins feel) | Toronto, ON
Kyle Gibson (2-1, 4.68, 1.32) vs. Trent Thornton (0-3, 4.08, 1.19)
PREAMBLE:
The Blue Jays were shut-out in the first two games of this series and they look to snap that streak of futility in the finale of a three-game series against the Twins.
Trent Thornton took the only loss in the previous four-game series against the Twins a couple weeks back, so he looks to flip the script by being the only winner for the Jays in this series. He'll take the ball today against Kyle Gibson, who has been hit around a little by the Jays in his career with a high ERA (5.68 ERA overall, including 7.56 in three Toronto starts) even though he's gone 3-1 in four decisions.
NOTES:
Thank goodness for the Oakland A's -- without them, the Jays would be 9-21 on the season. Oof.
Going to start a new, and hopefully regular, feature in my game threats going forward: Blue Jays history. In it, I'll pick out a "Blue Jay of the Day" featuring some obscure player who once played for the Jays (inspired by yesterday's random names thrown about in the game thread), and also have a trivia question or two. So here it is...
BLUE JAYS HISTORY:
Today's Blue Jay of the Day is ... Sam Ewing.
Played for the Jays in 1977 and 1978. Career -1.2 bWAR. Hit .267 with a .320 OBP and 6 HRs in his two seasons with the team for a 88 OPS+. Drafted in the 45th round of the 1967 draft by the New York Yankees, then was drafted 5th overall in the 1st round of the 1970 January-secondary draft by the Montreal Expos. The next year, he was again picked 5th in the 1st round of the January-secondary draft by the Chicago White Sox, the team he played for two seasons prior to joining the expansion Jays; he never again played in the majors after his time with the Jays.
Trivia of the day: Lots of fans remember Roy Hartsfield as the original manager of the Blue Jays and just as many would remember Bobby Cox as the one to take the Jays through their first glory years and first post-season appearance. But... do you remember who was the second manager in Blue Jays history, sandwiched between Hartsfield and Cox?
LINEUPS:
This is your "Waiting for