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| Bo Bichette drove in three runs and scored once in a losing effort as the Mariners came from behind to defeat the Blue Jays 6-5. The Blue Jays have just 1 win in their last 10 games |
After dropping their third straight game to the Mariners, the Blue Jays were looking to avoid the series sweep. The Mariners have already clinched the season series with yesterday's win over the Blue Jays. Max Castillo got the start with Gabriel Moreno behind the plate. Lourdes was back in LF after DH'ing yesterday. George Springer got the half day off as DH with Raimel Tapia in CF. Matt Chapman got the full day off with Santiago Espinal at the hot corner. Cavan Biggio was at 2B today. Could the Blue Jays end the road trip from hell with a win? Here is today's game recap.
Game Highlights:
- The Blue Jays opened the scoring in the top of the 1st as George Springer led off the game on the 1st pitch with a solo bomb to left
- The Mariners tied it in the bottom of the 2nd inning as Carloa Santana whacked a solo blast to right
- The Blue Jays retook the lead in the top of the 4th as Raimel Tapia whacked an opposite field solo jack to left and into the Blue Jays bullpen
- The Blue Jays added a pair of runs in the top of the 5th as Bo Bichette singled scoring Cavan Biggio and Springer
- The Mariners got one back in the bottom half of the inning on a bizarre play where Alejandro Kirk threw the ball through Vlad's glove on an attempt to gun down Sam Haggerty at 1st base for a double play that would have ended the inning. Adam Frazier scored on the play
- A batter later, Julio Rodriguez singled scoring Justin Upton
- Max Castillo pitching line: 4.1IP 3H 3R (1 earned) 1BB 3K 59 pitches (35 for strikes)
- The Mariners got one back in the bottom of the 6th on a sac fly by Cal Raleigh that scored Santana
- Logan Gilbert pitching line: 6IP 9H 4R (all earned) 0BB 7K 99 pitches (69 for strikes)
- The Blue Jays retook the lead in the top of the 7th as Bichette hammered a solo bomb to dead center
- The Mariners took the lead in the bottom of the 8th as Santana blasted a 2-run blast to right; also scoring JP Crawford.
- Paul Sewald pitched a perfect 9th for his 10th save of the season.
- Final score: Mariners 6 Blue Jays 5
My Take:
- Max Castillo pretty much gave the Blue Jays what they were looking for today, five solid innings and a chance to win the finale. If it wasn't for an unfortunate equipment malfunction by Vlad, Castillo would have been in the dugout and the Blue Jays would have been up by 3 after 5 innings. Instead a run scored on the play and the Mariners added one more in the inning. They tied the game the next inning and completed the comeback on a late 2-run jack by Jays killer Carlos Santana. Castillo retired 9 in a row at one point.
- The bullpen gave up 3 runs on 4 hits while walking one and striking out 3 over the final 3.1 innings. Trevor Richards was the only reliever to retire every batter he faced. In fact, Richards had 2 of the strikeouts.
- Offensively, George Springer, Bo Bichette and Raimel Tapia combined to go 7-13 with 4 runs scored and 5RBI. The rest of the lineup was 3-23. Cavan Biggio scored the other Blue Jays run
- Up next, after a much-needed off day, the Blue Jays return home for a pair of games against the Phillies followed by 4 against the Royals to end the unofficial 1st half of the season. The Blue Jays won 2 of 3 against the Phillies last season and outscored the Phillies 15-13. Philadelphia is expected to be without several key unvaccinated players. Neither team has set their rotation for the series. Expect Ace Jose Berrios to get the start Tuesday.
