| Danny Jansen hit a solo HR in a 6-1 loss to the Royals |
After a tough loss yesterday thanks to a Michael Massey 2-run jack in the 2nd inning and a pair of insurance runs in the 8th inning, which was more than enough thanks to the Blue Jays lack of offense, the Blue Jays were looking to notch their 5th series win and end the homestand on a winning note. Chris Bassitt got the start with Danny Jansen behind the plate. George Springer was back in RF with Daulton Varsho back in the lineup and in CF after the complete day off yesterday. Addison Barger was in LF and Davis Schneider got the start at 2B. IKF was at the hot corner. Could the Blue Jays notch their 5th series win and end the homestand with a win? Here is today's game recap.
Game Highlights:
- The Royals opened the scoring in the top of the 6th as Bobby Witt Jr. singled scoring Kyle Isbel
- Two batters later, Salvador Perez singled scoring Witt Jr.
- A batter later, Vinnie Pasquantino scored on a ground out hit by Michael Massey
- Chris Bassitt pitching line: 6IP 4H 3R (all earned) 1BB 4K 92 pitches (62 for strikes)
- The Blue Jays got one back in the bottom of the 2nd as Danny Jansen whacked a solo blast to left and into the Blue Jays bullpen
- Seth Lugo pitching line: 7IP 2H 1R (earned) 2BB 8K 101 pitches (62 for strikes)
- The Royals added 3 runs in the top of the 8th as Massey smacked a 3-run blast just inside the foul pole in right; also scoring Witt and Pasquantino
- Final score: Royals 6 Blue Jays 1
My Take:
- Chris Bassitt threw 6 innings, giving up three runs (all in the 6th inning) on 4 hits while walking 1 and striking out 4. After walking Pasquantino with 2 outs in the 1st inning, Bassitt retired 9 in a row and 14 of the next 15 batters he faced until the fateful 6th inning where he gave up 3 runs on 4 hits. Sadly his effort was wasted by a dreadful Blue Jays offence that could not score a run.
- The bullpen, namely Nate Pearson, gave up 3 runs on 3 hit while striking out 3 over the last 3 innings. Trevor Richards and Brendan Little retired every batter they faced.
- The anemic offence managed a single base hit and 2 walks through the first 6 innings. Danny Jansen went yard in the 7th inning and that was pretty much it. The Blue Jays have to do something and quite frankly it should be Guillermo Martinez getting the boot. The Blue Jays must restructure the coaching staff because, quite frankly, there are too many chefs in the proverbial kitchen and the players have too muh info to process. I don't think making a big trade is going to have much impact because the new player will be overloaded with info from the same coaching staff
- The Blue Jays were 0-3 with runners in scoring position and the bottom 3 in the lineup today (Davis Schneider, Isiah Kiner Falefa and Addison Barger) were a combined 0-9 with 4 strikeouts.
- Up next, the Blue Jays hit the road, where they will begin a weekend set against the Washington Nationals after an off-day/travel day tomorrow. The Blue Jays won the season series against the Nationals 2-1 last season, outscoring the Nationals 17-8. Yusei Kikuchi starts for the Blue Jays. The Nationals haven't set their rotation for the series yet.
