After dropping 2 in a row, the Blue Jays were looking to get back on track with a win. New reliever Trevor Richards has joined the team in Baltimore. Trent Thornton was optioned to AAA-Buffalo (temporarily Trenton). Hyun-Jin Ryu got the start. Danny Jansen was behind the plate as Ryu's personal catcher. Teoscar Hernandez was back in the field after DH'ing yesterday. Randal Grichuk served as DH tonight. Could the Blue Jays snap the 2 game skid? Here is tonight's game recap.
Game Highlights:
- The Blue Jays opened the scoring in the top of the 1st as Vladimir Guerrero Jr. singled scoring Marcus Semien
- Three batters later, Bo Bichette scored on a ground out by Randal Grichuk
- A batter later, Cavan Biggio hit a ground-rule double that scored Guerrero Jr.
- The Blue Jays added a run in the top of the 4th as Lourdes Gurriel Jr. singled scoring Biggio
- Three batters later, Bichette singled home Gurriel Jr.
- A batter later, Guerrero Jr. singled scoring Marcus Semien
- Matt Harvey pitching line: 3.2IP 9H 6R (all earned) 1BB 3K 75 pitches (50 for strikes)
- The Blue Jays added a run in the top of the 5th on a sac fly by Biggio that scored Teoscar Hernandez
- The Orioles got one back in the bottom half of the inning on a sac fly by Austin Hays that scored Domingo Leyba
- The Blue Jays added a pair of runs in the top of the 6th as Bichette hammered a 2-run bomb to left center; also scoring Danny Jansen
- Hyun-Jin Ryu pitching line; 5IP 5H 1R (earned) 2BB 7K 86 pitches (56 for strikes)
- The Blue Jays added a run in the top of the 8th as Hernandez doubled home Santiago Espinal
- The Orioles got on back in the bottom half of the inning as Ryan Mountcastle singled scoring Hays
- Final score: Blue Jays 10 Orioles
My Take:
- It was a better start for Hyun-Jin Ryu, who had his personal catcher back. Since Danny Jansen injured his hamstring June 6, Ryu hasn't looked right. Now Ryu missed a turn with his own injury at the end of April, so you wonder if Ryu may be pitching through something similar. Ryu was 2-3 in the 5 starts without Jansen catching him and was pitching 6 or 7 innings. Tonight, Ryu looked like he was on point with Jansen. He gave up a run on 5 hits while walking 2 and striking out 7 over 5 innings. He probably could have throen another inning, but Montoyo was smart to have him end his night on a high.
- Trevor Richards followed Ryu with a perfect 6th striking out 1. The righty was acquired a day ago in a trade that sent Rowdy Tellez to Milwaukee
- Anthony Kay was shaky in his 2 innings, giving up a run on 5 hits while striking out 2 over 1.2 innings.. With Julian Merryweather a ways from rejoining the team and the Blue Jays opting to keep Thomas Hatch in AAA ball after activating him from the IL, Kay will get a longer look, but he best starting pitching better because the Blue Jays may not be done with the trades for more bullpen help. It was telling that Tim Mayza was the one to replace Kay when he was pulled.
- After giving up 3 runs on 3 hits and retiring just one batter his last time out Sunday, Rafael Dolis walked a batter and struck out 2 in an inning of work.
- A day after the offence sputtered badly, going 0-0 with runners in scoring position, the Blue Jays exploded for 10 runs on 15 hits. The 3 Blue Jays who made their big league debuts in 2019 (Bo Bichette, Vladimir Guerrero Jr. and Cavan Biggio) led the way combining to go 8-13 with 4 runs scored and 7 RBI)
- Every Blue Jays starter except George Springer and Randal Grichuk (although he drove in a run on a sac fly) had at least one hit
- The Blue Jays were 6-13 with runners in scoring position
- Up next, the Blue Jays go for the series win. Alek Manoah gets the start against Orioles lefty Keegan Akin
