After dropping 2 of 3 in extra innings to the Tigers over the weekend, the Blue Jays were looking to start the week with a win over the 1st place AL Center Chiicago White Sox. Chicago took 2 of three in the Windy city back in June and outscored the Blue Jays 13-9. The wild card race is looking a little bleak. The Blue Jays have 2 teams to leap frog and are 4.5 games back of the 2nd WC spot. The good news is the Blue Jays have 3 games left against the A's and 6 games left vs. the Yankees. They are done with Seattle and Boston. Alek Manoah got the start. Reese McGuire was behind the plate. Santiago Espinal was at the hot corner. Lourdes Gurriel Jr. was DH with Corey Dickerson in LF. Could the Blue Jays start the week with a win? Here is tonight's game recap.
Game Highlights:
- The White Sox opened the scoring in the top of the 6th as Andrew Vaughn singled scoring Yoan Moncada
- The Blue Jays tied the game in the bottom half of the inning as Vladimir Guerrero Jr. singled home Bo Bichette
- Alek Manoah pitching line: 6IP 5H 1R (earned) 3BB 5K 108 pitches (68 for strikes)
- Lance Lynn pitching line: 7IP 4H 1R (earned) 0BB 4K 86 pitches (52 for strikes)
- The Blue Jays took the lead in the bottom of the 8th on a wild pitch byCraig Kimbrel that scored Breyvic Valera
- Jordan Romano pitched a perfect 9th for his 12th save of the season
- Final score: Blue Jays 2 White Sox 1
My Take:
- Alek Manoah pittched 6 strong innings, allowing one run on 5 hits while walking 3 and striking out 5. Basically, he matched Lance Lynn pitch for pitch on yet another night where the offense failed to manufacture much of anything.
- The bullpen was perfect over the final three innings, combining to strike out 5 of the final nine batters
- Reese McGuire had the hot bat with 2 hits. The winning run was manufactured by some heads-up bases running by Breyvic Valera
- The Blue Jays were an abysmal 1-10 with runners in scoring position and they hit into two more double plays.
- In terms of the wild card race, The Yankees and Red Sox both won, while the A's were leading the Mariners 2-0 in the bottom of the 5th. Eseentially, pending the results of the A's-Mariners, the Blue Jays will gain a game on the loser of that game and pretty much maintain position on the other teams. As I said in the preamble, the Blue Jays need help to win the WC race. They also must sweep the A's and take at least 4 of the remaining 6 vs. the Yankees.
- Up next, the Blue Jays go for 2 straight wins. Jose Berros gets the start against White Sox righty Dylan Cease
