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| George Springer hit a leadoff home run in a losing effort as the Marlins came from behind to edge the Blue Jays 2-1 |
After pulling out a win yesterday after another solid Max Scherzer start and 5 runs over the first 2 innings off Pirates starter Matt Keller, the Blue Jays were looking to extend the win streak to 2 games and notch their 22nd series win (15th season series win) of the season. Chris Bassitt got the start with Alejandro Kirk behind the plate. Vlad was out of the starting lineup a second start day with a sore hamstring (Ty France was at 1B). Davis Schneider was in LF, Daulton Varsho was in CF and Nathan Lukes was in RF. Addison Barger was at the hot corner. Could the Blue Jays extend the win streak to 2 games and notch their 22nd series win (15th season series win) of the season? Here is today's game recap.
Game Highlights:
- The Blue Jays opened the scoring in the top of the 1st as George Springer led off the game with a solo blast to left
- The Pirates took the lead in the bottom half of the inning as Tommy Pham doubled scoring Bryan Reynolds and Spencer Horwitz
- Johan Oviedo pitching line: 5IP 2H 1R (earned) 1BB 6K 75 pitches (45 for strikes)
- Chris Bassitt pitching line: 5.2IP 6H 2R (both earned) 2BB 10K 107 pitches (68 for strikes)
- Dennis Santana pitched a perfect 9th for his 9th save of the season
- Final score: Pirates 2 Blue Jays 1
My Take:
- Chris Bassitt battled through 5.2 innings, giving up a pair of runs on 6 hits while walking 2 and striking out 10. Bassitt struck out the 1st 2 batters he faced before blowing the lead George Springer gave him on 2 doubles and a walk. He settled down after that and retired 10 of the next 11 batters. The ten strikeouts drove up the pitch count, but nice job today, other than the 1st and 5th innings.
- The bullpen kept the score where it was over the last 2.1 innings, hitting a batter (Brayden Fisher), allowing 2 hits and walking 2 batters. Brandon Little has been a bit less effective lately. It might be time to give him a bit of a break and maybe some lower leverage situationss for a bit. Also not sold on Seranthony Dominguez. He makes be nervous with his wildnes
- Offensively, George Springer led off the game with a solo HR and that was about it. The Blue Jays best chance to score was the 4th inning when Bo Bichette led off with a double, but the team stranded him at second base. Hard to say whether having Vlad in the lineup or even pinch hitting would have made a difference. Point is moot anyway since the team wanted to give him 72+ hours off with the off-day Thursday. If Vlad still can't play come Friday, I can see the team putting him on the IL retroactively. The team has a relatively comfortable division lead and they need Vlad at full strength for the postseason
- For the moment, the Red Sox and Yankees both gained a half game with the Blue Jays loss (The Red Sox are off today and begin a 4-game series at Yankee Stadium tomorrow and the Yankees will finish their series in Tampa Bay later today; Yankees are 4.5 games back and could be as few as 4 games back of the Blue Jays for first in the AL East if they win tonight and the Red Sox are 5.5 games back of 1st in the AL East). The Tigers did the Blue Jays a favor and defeated the Astros, meaning the Blue Jays maintain their 5 game lead over the Astros for the 2nd best record among the AL division leaders and a bye to the divisional round. If the Blue Jays and Tigers both advanced to the ALCS, the Tigers would have home field advantage in that series, but the Blue Jays would have home field advantage through at least the divisional round. Buckle up Blue Jays fans because scoreboard watching season is upon us!
- Up next, after an off-day/travel day tomorrow, the Blue Jays continue the road trip in Miami. The Marlins swept the season series against the Blue Jays last year, outscoring the Blue Jays 26-7. Shane Bieber is set to come off the IL Friday and make his first start since April 2, 2024. He would have season-ending tommy john surgery 10 days later. The Marlins have not announced their rotation for the series yet.
