After a solid 7th straight win on the strength of a 3-run shot from Danny Jansen, the Blue Jays were looking for their second straight series sweep and 8th straight win overall. Hyun-Jin Ryu is headed to the 10-day IL with an inflamed forearm. The Blue Jays really need to get the injury examined for possible UCL damage. Alek Manoah got the start with Alejandro Kirk behind the plate. George Springer missed his second straight game with a non-COVID illness. Bradley Zimmer took his place in CF. Lourdes Gurriel Jr. got the complete day off with Raimel Tapia in LF. Vlad had the half day off as DH with Cavan Biggio at 1B. Could the Blue Jays make it two straight series sweeps and 8 straight wins overall? Here is today's game recap.
Game Highlights:
- The Blue Jays opened the scoring in the bottom of the 3rd on a double play ball hit by Santiago Espinal that scored Raimel Tapia
- The Blue Jays added a run in the bottom of the 5th as Espinal doubled scoring Tapia
- The Blue Jays added a psir of runs in the bottom of the 6th as Teoscar Hernandez whacked a 2-run blast to left and into the Blue Jays bullpen; also scoring Vladimir Guerrero Jr.
- Johnny Cueto pitching line: 6IP 7H 4R (earned) 0BB 5K 84 pitches (60 for strikes)
- The White Sox got a pair back in the top of the 8th as Luis Robert doubled scoring Reese McGuire and Leury Garcia
- A batter later, Yoan Moncada singled home Robert
- Alek Manoah pitching line: 7.2IP 6H 3R (all earned) 1BB 5K 102 pitches (68 for strikes)
- The Blue Jays added a run in the bottom half of the inning as Cavan Biggio doubled scoring Hernamdez
- Four batters later, Espinal singled home Biggio and Matt Chapman
- A batter later, Bo Bichette singled scoring Lourdes Gurriel Jr.
- Final score: Blue Jays 8 White Sox 3
My Take:
- Alek Manoah was dominant again. After escaping a 31-pitch bases loaded jam in the 1st inning, Manoah proceeded to retire 19 straight White Sox batters, including the final out of the 1st inning. He had thrown under 90 pitches heading into the 8th inning and should have been out of that inning, but Matt Chapman made a split second decision to try for the force out at 2nd and by then it was too late to get the speedy Leury Garcia at first base.. The next batter Luis Robert then hit a 2-run double knocking Manoah out of the game. The White Sox added one more run off Adam Cimber. Last start, it could be argued that Manoah should have had the opportunity to complete the game. After the 8th inning, Charlie Montoyo is probably going to be more apt to pull Manoah.
- Trent Thornton got mop up duty after the Blue Jays tacked on 4 insurance runs. It was his first appearance since being recalled in place of the DFA'd Ryan Borucki.. Thornton did his job, getting the last 3 outs without a major jam. He struck out 2 batters and walked one.
- It was a busy day for Blue Jays trainer Jose Ministral, who had to tend to multiple players. Raimel Tapia's injury proved to be the worst. He fouled a ball off his knee in the 5th inning. While he finished the at-bat and stay in the game a couple of more innings, Lourdes Gurriel Jr. hit for him in the 8th inning. Ministral also tended to Matt Chapman, who was hit by a pitch. Chapman finished the game
- The bats continue to rake. Santiago Espinal had a big day, driving in 3. Teo also went deep for 2 RBI. I really liked that the offense responded with 4 insurance runs after the big 3-run inning from the White Sox. Playoff baseball is all about responding like that, so a good sign
- Every Blue Jays starter reached base at least once and all but Bradley Zimmer had at least one hit
- Up next, the Blue Jays try to extend the win streak to an impressive 9 games. They welcome the AL-Central leading Minnesota Twins to town for a weekend set. Last season, the Twins won the season series 4-3, but the Blue Jays outscored Minnesota 28-25. Losing the season series proved to deal a critical blow to the Blue Jays missing the playoffs by a single game in 2021. Yusei Kikuchi gets the start against Twins righty Chi Chi Gonzalez
