| Jose Berrios threw 7 strong innings in a 3-1 win over the A's |
After eking out a win yesterday on the strength of a 4RBI effort from Vlad and 8 strong innings from Kevin Gausman, the Blue Jays were looking for their 2nd straight win as they began a final series against the Oakland A's, who will be known as the Athletics as they play out of Sacramento until their new home in Vegas is ready for the 2027 season. Since this will be the last series between the A's and Blue Jays, I will do a fun fact each day in the my take section. Ace Jose Berrios got the start with Alejandro Kirk behind the plate. George Springer was back in the field after DH'ing yesterday (Spencer Horwitz served as DH tonight). The rest of the lineup was the same as yesterday. Could the Blue Jays make it two straight wins? Here is tonight's game recap.
Game Highlights:
- The Blue Jays opened the scoring in the bottom of the 1st as George Springer led off with a solo bomb to the second deck in left-center
- Two battrers later, Vladimir Guerrero Jr. singled to extend his hitting streak to 21 games
- The A's tied it in the top of the 3rd as Darell Herrnaiz whacked a solo blast to left-center
- The Blue Jays took the lead in the bottom of the 5th on a fielder's choice hit by Alejandro Kirk that scored Guerrero Jr.
- Mitch Spence pitching line: 6.2IP 8H 2R (both earned) 0BB 2K 81 pitches (54 for strikes)
- Jose Berrios pitching line: 7IP 6H 1R (earned) 1BB 8K 103 pitches (68 for strikes)
- The Blue Jays added a run in the bottom of the 8th as Spencer Horwitz belted a solo jack to the 4th deck inright
- Chad Green threw a perfect 9th for his 11th save of the season
- Final score: Blue Jays 3 A's 1
My Take:
- Jose Berrios fired 7 strong innnigs, giving up a run on 6 hits while walking 1 and striking out 8. He made one mistake in the 3rd inning that went over the wall and he had to escape jams in the 6th and 7th inning as it was clear he was tiring. He'll be a staple of the rotation the next several seasons
- The bullpen allowed just a walk over 2 innings. Erik Swanson is starting to show his form from 2023 and if that can continue and he has a solid off-season, he could be an option to close and set up for the Blue Jays next year. Chad Green is looking pretty good to and all the way back from Tommy John surgery
- The Vlad train continues to roll. He got two more hits, extending his hit streak to 21 games, and made a fine catch on a foul pop fly
- Two solo home runs (one each off the bats of George Springer and Spencer Horwitz) plus a fielder's choice off the bat of Alejandro Kirk carried the day
- The Blue Jays were 1-7 with runners in scoring position
- A's/Blue Jays fun fact: these five players played for both the Blue Jays and A's (feel free to chime in with more in the comments section): Rickey Henderson, Dave Stewart, Josh Donaldson, Jose Canseco and Marcus Semien
- Up next, the Blue Jays try to extend the win streak to 3 games and notch their 12th series win and 6th season series win of the season. Yariel Rodriguez starts against A's righty Osvaldo Bido
