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| Bowden Francis threw 5 solid innings in a losing effort as the Orioles came from behind to defeat the Blue Jays 7-3 |
After playing spoiler and pulling off a win over the Orioles on the back of a 5-run rally in the 6th inning, the Blue Jays were going for their 2nd straight win and 12th series win. Bowden Francis got the start with Brian Serven behind the plate. Davis Schneider got the start in LF, Vlad was at the hot corner and Spencer Horwirz was at 1B. Leo Jimenez was at SS and Ernie Clement was at 2B. Could the Blue Jays make it 2 straight wins and 12 series wins? Here is tonight's game recap.
Game Highlights:
- The Orioles opened the scoring in the top of the 1st as Anthony Santander whacked a 2-run blast to right-center; also scorring Colton Cowser
- Vladimir Guerrero Jr. extended his hitting streak to 19 games with a single in the 1st inning
- Two batters later, Ernie Clement scored on a sac fly by Spencer Horwitz
- The Blue Jays tied it up in the bottom of the 2nd as Brian Serven singled scoring Leo Jimenez
- Two batters later, Serven scored on a throwing error by Orioles 3B Coby Mayo that scored Serven
- Bowden Francis pitching line: 5IP 3H 2R (both earned) 1BB 7K 81 pitches (59 for strikes)
- Trevor Rogers pitching line: 5IP7H 3R (2 earned) 2BB 2K 94 pitches (59 for strikes)
- The Orioles took the lead in the top of the 7th as Jackson Holliday belted a 2-run jack to right; also scoring Eloy Jimenez
- The Orioles added a run in the top of the 8th as Santander hammered a solo bomb to left-center
- Six batters later, Jimenez doubled scoring Austin Slater and Adley Rutschman
- Final score: Orioles 7 Blue Jays 3
My Take:
- Bowden Francis may have had his best start in a Blue Jays uniform, firing 5 innings, allowing a pair of runs on 3 hits while walking 1 and striking out 7. After giving up a leadoff double in the 2nd, Francis retired 8 of the next 10 batters he faced. He needs to pitch well to show he can be an option in the rotation next year since there will be 2 open spots with Yusei Kikuchi gone and Alek Manoah not coming back before June and could be after the all-star break.
- The bullpen gave up 5 runs on 4 hits while walking 2 and striking out 2 over the last 4 innings. Ryan Burr was tagged with both a blown save and the loss after giving up a 2-run HR in the 7th inning. Newbie Ryan Yarbrough was responsible for the other three runs the bullpen gave up. Yerry Rodriguez was the only reliever to retire every batter he faced.The bullpen has to be the priority in the off-season
- Offensively, Ernie Clement (RBI and forced a throwing error for another run) and Brian Serven (run scored, RBI) did the damage.
- As has been a problem the last couple of season, the Blue Jays had their opportunities to score, but largely failed to get the clutch hits. Tonight, the team was 2-10 with runners in scoring position.
- Up nextt, the Blue Jays try to avoid their 20th series loss of the season. Kevin Gausman starts against Oroles righty Dean Kremer
