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| Teoscar Hernandez drove in a run in a 7-2 loss to the Guardians |
After eking out a win on a fine performance from the bullpen and a pair of solo home runs to fuel the offence, the Blue Jays were going for 2 straight wins over the Guardians, a potential WC opponent. Kevin Gausman got the start with Alejandro Kirk behind the plate. Bo Bichette got the full day off with Santiago Espinal at SS and Whit Merrifield at 2B. Teo got the half day off with Cavan Biggio in RF. Raimel Tapia was in CF. Could the Blue Jays make it two straight wins? Here is today's game recap.
Game Highlights:
- The Guardians opened the scoring in the top of the 1st as Amed Rosario hammered a solo bomb to dead center
- The Blue Jays tied the game in the bottom half of the inning as Teoscar Hernandez doubled scoring Lourdes Gurriel Jr.
- The Guardians retook the lead in the top of the 2nd as Austin Hedges singled scoring Owen Miller
- The Guardians added a run in the top of the 4th as Hedges doubled scoring Tyler Freeman
- The Guardians added a run in the top of 5th as Josh Naylor singled home Rosario
- Two batters later, Miller doubled scoring Oscar Gonzalez
- Kevin Gausman pitching line: 4.2IP 9H 5R (all earned) 1BB 5K 98 pitches (64 for strikes)
- The Blue Jays got one back in the bottom half of the inning on a ground out by Vladimir Guerrero Jr. that scored Santiago Espinal
- Shane Bieber pitching line: 7IP 8H 2R (both earned) 0BB 6K 99 pitches (73 for strikes)
- The Guardians added a run in the top of the 9th as Rosario singled scoring Steven Kwan
- A batter later, Jose Ramirez singled home Rosario
- Final score: Guardians 7 Blue Jays 2
My Take:
- Kevin Gausman battled through 4.2 innings, giving up 5 runs on 9 hits while walking one and striking out 8. Other than a mistake on a ball that left the ball park, the Guardians manufactured their runs with base hits and smart base running. Gausman, to be frank, didn't have his best stuff today.
- The bullpen held the Guardians off the scoreboard until the 9th when Trent Thornton gave up a pair of runs on 3 hits to really put the game away.
- Vlad's hitting streak came to an end today. Perhaps he could have been more patient in his first 2 at-bats when he swung early in the count. In his last AB, you saw him swing the bat in frustration after letting a bit of a hanger go for strike 2. Tomorrow's a perfect day to start a new streak.
- The bats couldn't do much for most of the game against ace Shane Bieber. While they did score a run on 3 hits in the 1st inning, the next 10 in a row were retired before a 2-out single by Raimel Tapia. The final seven Blue Jays were retired in order to end the game.
- Up next, the Blue Jays begin a series against the Orioles, who swept the Blue Jays a week ago. The Orioles have won 4 of 6 games in the season series thus far and have outscored the Blue Jays 36-34. Yusei Kikuchi gets a chance to exact some revenge after a rough game in Baltimore a week ago. The Orioles will counter with righty Kyle Bradish.
