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| Brandon Belt scored twice and drove in a pair of runs in a losing effort as the Mariners came from behind to edge the Blue Jays 9-8 |
After a heartbreaking walk of loss off the bat off ex-Blue Jays outfielder Teoscar Hernandez, the Blue Jays were looking to snap a five game skid at T-Mobile park. Kevin Gausman got the start with Alejandro Kirk behind the plate. Vlad was back in the field after DH'ing yesterday (Brandon Belt served as DH this afternoon). Kevin Kiermaier was in CF and Daulton Varsho was in LF. Could the Blue Jays win in Seattle for the first time since August 15, 2021? Here is today's game recap.
Game Highlights:
- The Mariners opened the scoring in the bottom of the 3rd as Call Raleigh whacked a solo blast to right-center
- A batter later, Dylan Moore hammered a solo bomb to the upper deck in left
- Three batters later, Julio Rodriguez clobbered a solo jack to left
- The Blue jays got one back in the top of the 4th as Matt Chapman singled scoring Vladimir Guerrero Jr
- The Blue Jays got one back in the top of the 5th as Kevin Kiermaier smacked a solo blast to right
- Three batters later, Brandon Belt belted a 2-run bomb to dead center; also scoring George Springer
- A batter later, Guerrero Jr. smashed a solo blast to left-center
- The Mariners got one back in the bottom half of the inning as Raleigh hammered a solo bomb to dead center
- Logan Gilbert pitching line: 5IP 8H 5R (all earned) 1BB 5K 94 pitches (61 for strikes)
- The Blue jays added a run in the top of the 7th as Daulton Varsho singled scoring Belt
- A batter later, Alejandro Kirk singled home Varsho. Teoscar Hernandez was charged with a fielding error on the play
- Kevin Gausman pitching line: 6IP 5H 4R (all earned) 0BB 9K 87 pitches (58 for strikes)
- The Mariners got one back in the bottom of the 7th as Kolten Wong singled scoring Ty France
- A batter later, J.P. Crawford doubled scoring Moore and Wong
- Three batters later, Hernandez doubled home Crawford and Rodriguez
- The Blue Jays got one back in the top of the 9th as Cavan Biggio singled scoring Matt Chapman
- Justin Topa got the last 3 outs for his 2nd save of the season
- Final score: Mariners 9 Blue Jays 8
My Take:
- The long ball hurt Kevin Gausman, who was pitching for the first time in two weeks after missing a turn with a sore side. Four of the five hits Gausman gave up went over the wall for home runs. He started the game well enough, retiring the first six batters he faced and striking out the side in the 1st inning. Gausman seemed to lose the strike zone a bit in the 3rd inning and left three pitches in the prime hitting zone. Despite giving up four runs, Gausman left the game with a chance to win
- Unfortunately, the bullpen could not hold the lead. Nate Pearson and Yimi Garcia combined to give up five runs on four hits and two hit batters in a forgettable 7th inning. The normally reliable Pearson had an off day today and was charged with four of the runs. Meanwhile, Garcia could be pitching his way out of a job with Hyun Jin Ryu and Chad Green both expected to return from Tommy John surgeries in the next week or so. At any rate, don't expect Garcia to be put in a high leverage situation if he gets another chance.
- For the second straight game, Teo burned his former team with a huge late clutch hit. A day after hitting a walk off single, Hernandez broke the tie with a two run double down the line, more than making up for a defensive gaffe in the top half of the inning to allow the Blue Jays 7th run to score
- The Blue jays came with their hitting shoes, matching the Mariners home run fest with two dingers of their own to take a 5th inning lead
- Brandon Belt, Vlad, Chapman, and Daulton Varsho combined to go 6-19 with 6 runs scored and 5 RBI
- The Blue Jays were 4-13 with runners in scoring position
- Up next, the Blue Jays try to avoid a series sweep at T-Mobile Park for the second straight season, avoid being swept for the 4th time this season and avoid their 4th season series loss of the season. Alek Manoah starts against Mariners righty Bryan Waoo
