First off, happy father's day to our male readers. After a HUGE come from behnd win yesterday on the back of scoring 6 runs with 2 outs in the 9th, the Blue Jays were looking to make it two in a row. Teoscar Hernandez made his return to the lineup after his paternity leave expired and served as DH. Jared Hoying was optioned to AAA. Ace Hyun-Jin Ryu got the start. Lourdes Gurriel Jr. was back in the field after missing a day yesterday after tweaking his back on a swing. Could the Blue Jays nmake it two in a row? Here is today's game recap.
Game Highlights:
- The Orioles opened the scoring in the bottom of the 1st as Trey Mancini hammered a solo bomb to dead center
- The Blue Jays tied the game in the top of the 5th as Bo Bichette singled scoring Reese McGuire
- Two batter later, Teoscar Hernandez doubled scoring Bichette
- A batter later, Randal Grichuk singled scoring Vladimir Guerrero Jr.
- A batter after that, Cavan Biggio singled home Hernandez
- Matt Harvey pitching line: 41IP 9H 4R (all earned) 2BB 4K 84 pitches (55 for strikes)
- The Blue Jays added a run in the top of the 8th as McGuire doubled scoring Lourdes Gurriel Jr.
- Two batters later, Bichette singled home McGuire
- Hyun-Jin Ryu pitching line: 7IP 3H 1R (earned) 1BB 4K 100 pitches (67 for strikes)
- The Orioles got one back in the bottom half of the inning as Pedro Severino smashed a solo blast to left
- Three batters later, Mancini crushed a two-run bomb to right-center; also scoring Pat Valaika
- The Blue Jays added a run in the top of the 9th as McGuire doubled scoring Grichuk
- Tyler Chatwood pitched a scoreless 9th for his 1st save of the season
- Final score: Blue Jays 7 Orioles 4
My Take:
- Hyun-Jin Ryu had a solid start, giving up 2 hits in the 1st inning, including a solo HR and just 2 other base runners the next 6 innings (a one out single in the 2nd and a 2-out walk in the 5th). He seemed to have everything working today and was getting a lot of soft contact
- The bullpen bent but didn't break. Trent Thornton gave up 3 runs on a pair of home runs in the 8th and Tyler Chatwood walked the first batter he face on 4 pitches but retired the next three batters to end the game. Jordan Romano, not surprisingly, was unavailable after pitching 2 innings yesterday. The options late in the game are still limited with several relievers still on the shelf
- The offense was essentially 2 big innings. They put a 4-spot on the board in the 5th and 2 more in the 8th plus an insurance run in the 9th
- Reese McGuire is certainly making a case to remain on the roster when Alejandro Kirk and Danny Jansen return from the injury list. He was 4-5 with 2 runs scored and 2 RBI today
- Every Blue Jays starter, except Marcus Semien and Santiago Espinal had at least one hit today and Espinal drew a walk
- The Blue Jays were 7-19 withe runners in scoring position. They got nothing out of a bases loaded situation in the 1st inning
- Up next, after an off-day tomorrow, the Blue Jays head to Miami for a mini 2-game series. They swept the series in Buffalo at the beginning of the month. Ross Stripling starts Tuesday against Marlins righty Sandy Alcantara
