After a strong win off the back of a pair of clutch HR and a solid performance from Steven Matz, the Blue Jays were going for 2 straight wins to end the second-to-last home stand of the season. Hyun-Jin Ryu was placed on the 10-day IL with neck stiffness. Taylor Saucedo was recalled from AAA. Jose Berrios got the start agains his former team with Danny Jansen behind the plate. Corey Dickerson was in CF and Breyvic Valera was at the hot corner. Could the Blue Jays make it 2 straight wins? Here is today's game recap.
Game Highlights:
- The Blue Jays opened the scoring in the bottom of the 1st as Vladimir Guerrero Jr. singled scoring Marcus Semien
- A batter later, Bo Bichette bashed a 2-run blast to the opposite field in right-center; also scoring Guerrero Jr.
- Three batters later, Lourdes Gurriel Jr. singled scoring Teoscar Hernandez
- A batter later, Breyvic Valera singled home Corey Dickerson
- Luke Ferrel pitching line: 1IP 7H 5R (all earned) 0BB 1K 34 pitches (24 for strikes)
- The Twins got a pair back in the top of the 4th as Nick Gordon doubled scoring Josh Donaldson and Miguel Sano
- The Twins got one back in the top of the 7th as Ben Rortvedt drilled a solo bomb into the second deck in right
- Jose Berrios pitching line: 6.2IP 4H 3R (all earned) 1BB 6K 100 pitches (65 for strikes)
- Jordan Romano pitched a scoreless 9th for his 19th save of the season,
- Final score: Blue Jays 5 Twins 3
My Take:
- Jose Berrios threw a solid game against his former team, giving up 3 runs on 4 hits while walking 1 and striking out 6. He had an wunforced error (missing a catch on a pop-up in the 2nd inning. He retired 9 in a row at one point
- The bullpen was near perfect, giving up just a hit batter with 2 outs in the 9th while striking out 4
- The offense exploded for 5 runs on 7 hits in the first inning, then coldn't plate anyone after that. Every Blue Jays starter reaches base at least once and all but Springer had at least one hit.
- The Blue Jays were a paltry 3-12 with runners in scoring position
- In terms of the wild card race, the Red Sox won, the Yankees lost big and the Mariners were poised to win barring a complete meltdown. The Blue Jays are in the 2nd WC spot, 1.5 games up on the Yankees 2.5 games up on the A's (they were up 1-0 on the Angels in the 3rd) and 4.5 games up on the Mariners
- Up next, the Blue Jays hit the road for the last road trip of the season. They will start in Tampa Bay tomorrow. The Rays have won 9 of the 16 games in the season series and have outscored the Blue Jays 68-67. Robbie Ray starts against Rays righty Shane Baez.
