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| Cavan Biggio drove in a run and scored a run in a 3-2 extra innings win over the Twins. Vladimir Guerrero extended his hitting streak to 18 games with a 6th inning single. |
After a costly loss to the Twins where Tim Mayza dislocated his right (thankfully non-throwing) shoulder diving to make a play on a sac bunt, the Blue Jays were looking to split the 4-game series and remain .500 on the road trip. Mayza was placed on the 15-day IL, but will likely be out longer than that. Trent Thornton was recalled in his place, leaving the Blue Jays with no lefties in their bullpen after Anthony Banda cleared waivers and elected free agency. Kevin Gausman got the start with Alejandro Kirk behind the plate. Vlad got the half day off with Cavan Biggio at 1B. Santiago Espinal was at 2B. Raimel Tapia got the start in CF. Could the Blue Jays earn the series split? Here is today's game recap.
Game Highlights:
- The Blue Jays took the lead in te top of the 2nd as Bo Bichette doubled scoring Teoscar Hernandez
- The Blue Jays added a run in the top of the 3rd as Lourdes Gurriel Jr. singled scoring Cavan Biggio
- Chris Archer pitching line: 5IP 4H 2R (both earned) 0BB 4K 79 pitches (52 for strikes)
- Kevin Gausman pitching line: 6IP 6H 0R 0BB 5K 84 pitches (65 for strikes)
- The Twins got one back in the bottom of the 8th as Jose Miranda singled scoring Jorge Polanco
- The Twins tied the game in the bottom of the 9th as Luis Arraez singled scoring Tim Beckham
- The Blue Jays retook the lead in the top of the 10th on a sac fly by Biggio that scored Whit Merrifield. The play was overturned after it was determined that Gary Sanchez did not give Merrifield a lane to score, otherwise Merrifield is out by a mile
- Final score: Blue Jays 3 Twins 2
My Take:
- Kevin Gausman pitched 6 shutout innings, scattering 6 hits while walking none and striking out 5. Gausman dealt with a base runner in every inning but the 4th. He was pulled after 84 pitches, so you wonder if he had a minor ache that the team didn't want to take a chance on.
- The bullpen blew this game. The normally steady Jordan Romano and Yimi Garcia both allowed a run on 2 hits in the 9th and 8th innings respectively. This was the first game without a lefty in the bullpen. Matt Gage or Taylor Saucedo will likely be recalled to give the Blue Jays that matchup option.
- The bats gave the Blue Jays an early lead with a pair of clutch hits in the 1st and 2nd innings. They benefited from the Buster Posey rule in the 10th. By all rights, Whit Merrifield should have been out on the sac fly to short left. However, since Buster Posey broke his ankle on a similar play in 2011, catchers have to give runners a lane to score and Sanchez denied that with his leg
- Vlad extended his hitting streak to 18 games with a single in the 6th
- Every Blue Jays starter except Santiago Espinal and Raimel Tapia had at least one hit.
- Up next, the Blue Jays go for two straight wins as they begin a 3-game set in Baltimore. The Blue Jays and Orioles have split the four games in the season series with the Blue Jays outscoring the Orioles 25-23. Yusei Kikuchi gets the start against Orioles righty Jordan Lyles.
