Game # 46 New York Mets (21-26) @ Toronto Blue Jays (26-20) - game recap

 

Santiago Espinal broke the game open with a bases clearing double n the 6th in a 7-3 victory over the Mets

After splitting the first 2 games of the series, the Blue Jays were looking to wrap up the series and homestand with a win before embarking on their final road trip of the season, starting Tuesday in NY after the final off-day of the season Monday. Hyun-Jin Ryu was on the mound looking for his 4th win of the season, which would put him in the top 20 in the MLB. Cavan Biggio got his 1st career start at the hot corner. Jonathan Davis got the start in RF, Jonathan Villar was at 2B and Vlad played his 3rd straight game at 1B (a new record!). Danny Jansen was back behind the plate after the day off yesterday. Could the Blue Jays make it two series wins vs. the NY teams this week? Here is tonight's game recap.

Game Highlights:

• The Mets took the lead in the top of the 1st as Dominic Smith singled home Jeff O'Neil. Todd Frazier was thrown out at home trying to make it a 2-run single
• Lourdes Gurriel Jr. made an outstanding catch in the outfield to end an inning for the second straight day
• The Blue Jays took the lead in the bottom of the 2nd as Gurriel Jr.smashed a 2-run blast to left; also scoring Randal Gricuk
• David Peterson pitching line: 5IP 3H 2R (both earned) 2BB 2K 81 pitches (52 for strikes) 
• The Blue Jays added a run in the bottom of the 6th on a bases loaded walk by Jonathan Villar that forced in Vladimir Guerrero Jr.
• Two batters later, Santiago Espinal doubled home Villar, Gurriel Jr. and Grichuk
• A batter later, Danny Jansen singled scoring Espinal
• Hyun-jin Ryu pitching line: 6IP 8H 1R (earned) 0BB 7K 92 pitches (62 for strikes)
• The Mets got one back in the top of the 8th as Frazier singled scoring JD Davis
• Two batters later, Michael Conforto scored on a fielder's choice hit by Smith
• Final score: Blue Jays 7 Mets 3

My Take:

• Hyun-jin Ryu had to work out of some jams early, but limited the damage in the 1st to a single run, thanks to Randal Grichuk's magnificent throw home. Lourdes Gurriel Jr. made another outstanding catch to get out of the 2nd inning (his second in as many days). Ryu got better as the game went on, and retired the last 8 batters he faced. If not for a long inning in the 6th by the Blue Jays, he might have started the 7th inning.
• Bo Bichette was 0-4 with a pair of strikeouts. It might take a few games to get his timing back
• Cavan Biggio extended his hitting streak to 4 games with a double in the 6th
• Up next, after a final off-day Monday, the Blue Jays embark on the final road trip of the season, starting with a key series that opens Tuesday in NY. Tuesday's pitching match-up will be Taijuan Walker against Yankees righty Deivi Garcia

Game # 45 New York Mets (21-25) @ Toronto Blue Jays (25-20) - game recap

 

Robbie Ray threw 5 solid innings as the Blue Jays edged the Mets 3-2

After a total beat-down to the Mets last night, the Blue Jays were looking to right the ship and even the weekend series at 1. The Blue Jays welcomed back Bo Bichette, after he missed a month with a knee sprain while stretching out before an at-bat. Robbie Ray made his second start since the Aug. 31st trade. It's been clear that he'll be Pete Walker's little pet project for the remainder of the season. Alejandro Kirk made his MLB debut. In a normal season, he would have been playing in the minors, but there is no minor league season this year, so why not? Cavan Biggio got the start in RF with Joe Panik at 2B. Jonathan Villar was at DH tonight. Could the Blue Jays rebound from last night's rout? Here is tonight's game recap.

Game Highlights:

• The Mets opened the scoring in the top of the 4th as Jake Marisnick doubled home Michael Conforto
• The Blue Jays tied the game in the bottom half of the inning as Randal Grichuk singled scorIng Bo Bichette 
• The Blue Jays took the lead in the bottom of the 5th on a sac fly by Travis Shaw that scored Alejandro Kirk
• Robbie Ray pitching line: 5IP 4H 1R (earned) 2BB 5K 90 pitches (55 for strikes)
• The Blue Jays added a run in the bottom of the 6th as Jonathan Villar singled home Vladimir Guerrero Jr.
• Seth Lugo pitching line: 5.1IP 7H 3R (all earned) 1BB 5K 91 pitches (60 for strikes)
• The Mets got one back in the top of the 7th on a fielder's choice hit by JD Davis that scored Wilson Ramos
• Final score: Blue Jays 3 Mets 2

My Take:

• Robbie Ray had his best outing in a Blue Jays uniform, firing 5 innings, allowing 1 run on 4 hits while walking 2 and striking out 5. He had better command of his pitches today and was much more economical, allowing him to throw deeper into the ball game. You could see the work Pete Walker has done with him and the impact it has had.
• Bo Bichette was 1-4 in his return and scored the Blue Jays first run of the ball game
• Alejandro Kirk was 1-3 with a run scored and drew a walk in his big league debut. He had a bit of a rough 9th defensively, having a couple of balls get away from him, forcing Rafael Dolis to throw an extra pitch
• The game ended on a pickoff by Dolis. The Blue Jays got lucky in the 8th when Jonathan Villar was nearly picked off. He stole second base on the next pitch
• Weird play of the game: The Mets won a challenge in the 4th, preventing Bichette from scoring from 1st base when the play was ruled a ground-rule double. Grichuk drove him home 5 pitches later.
• More base-running blunders: Travis Shaw was thrown out, trying to advance from 1st to 3rd on the play
• Up next, the rubber match of the series in a battle of the southpaws. The Blue Jays will send ace Hyun-Jin Ryu to the mound against Mets lefty David Peterson.

Game # 44 New York Mets (21-24) @ Toronto Blue Jays (24-20) - game recap

Vladimir Guerrero Jr. drove in the only Blue Jays run in an ugly 18-1 loss to the Mets

After a sorely needed off-day, the Blue Jays were back in action, taking on one of the best pitchers, righty Jacob DeGrom, in the game today. It also was supposed to be the "home" return of Marcus Stroman, but he opted out of the season a few weeks back. The Mets, despite being 4 games under .500, are in the hunt for a WC spot, 2.5 games back of Miami for the final playoff spot. Milwaukee and Colorado are both a half game ahead of NY and both 2 back of Miami. Lots of roster moves ahead of this one. Top catching prospect Alejandro  Kirk was promoted to the bigs (Caleb Joseph was subsequently designated for assignment). Ken Giles was also activated for the first time since July 27. Billy McKinney was DFA'd for the second time this season and Sean Reid-Foley was optioned to the taxi squad for Jacob Waguespack. Chase Anderson started for the Blue Jays, still looking for his 1st win of the season.  Vlad was back in the field after three consecutive days at DH. Look for him to play more in the field with Rowdy Tellez out for a while with a knee tendon strain. Cavan Biggio was in right field, covering for the injured Teoscar Hernandez, who is also expected to miss some time with an oblique strain. Travis Shaw was at his familiar position at the hot corner, Lourdes Gurriel Jr. was back in LF, Jonathan Villar got the half day off serving as the DH, Danny Jansen was back behind the plate, Joe Panik got the start at 2B, Santiago Espinal was at SS (Bo Bichette is real close to returning, but not ready today), and of course, Randal Grichuk was patrolling CF. Could the Blue Jays bring down a giant? Here is tonight's game recap.

Game Highlights:

• The Blue Jays took the lead in the bottom of the 2nd as Vladimir Guerrero Jr. singled home Randal Grichuk
• The Mets took the lead in the top of the 3rd as Michael Conforto spanked a 3-run blast to left-center, also scoring Wilson Ramos and Brandon Nimmo
• Five batters later, Jeff McNeil doubled home JD Davis
• Chase Anderson pitching line: 2.2IP 4H 4R (all earned) 3BB 4K 67 pitches (34 for strikes)
• The Mets added a run in the top of the 4th as Ramos scored when his counterpart Danny Jansen missed the throw home on a fielder's choice hit by Davis
• A batter later, Dominic Smith belted a grand slam to right; also scoring Conforto, Davis and Nimmo
• Five batters later, Ramos double scoring Jeff McNeil, Andres Gimenez and Robinson Cano
• Two batters later, Conforto singled home McNeil
• A batter later, Davis doubled scoring Conforto
• The Mets added a run in the top of the 7th on a bases loaded walk by Cano that forced in Conforto
• Two batters later, Davis scored on a fielder's choice hit by McNeil
• Jacob deGrom pitching line: 6IP 3H 1R (earned) 2BB 9K 102 pitches (68 for strikes)
• The Mets added a run in the top of the 8th as Ramos crushed the first pitch of Ken Giles return over the wall in dead center 
• The Mets added a run in the top of the 9th as Gimenez doubled home Pete Alonso
• Final score: Mets 18 Blue Jays 1

My Take:

• In a word, that was an ugly game for pretty much every Blue Jays pitcher. After Chase Anderson gave up 4 runs on 5 hits (Anthony Kay actually gave up the 5th hit but the run scored was charge to Anderson) and a walk. Kay and Jacob Waguespack then combined to spot the Mets 10 runs (ironically coming 3 days after the Blue Jays magical 10 run inning vs. the Yankees) on 7 hits, 2 walks, a hit batter and a fielding error by Danny Jansen. Waguespack then saw two inherited runners score when Ryan Borucki walked the first batter he faced and then the Blue Jays gave up a run for an out. The only slight positive was seeing Ken Giles pitch a relatively tidy 8th inning (after seeing the first pitch he threw go over the wall for a HR). Giles then struck out the next two batters. The question will be how he feels tomorrow.
• The Blue Jays actually retired the Mets in order in the 1st and 6th innings. Waguespack also faced the minimum in the 5th.
• Offensively, besides the 1st inning where they scored their only run, the Blue Jays biggest threat to score came in the 6th, when they had runners on 2nd and 3rd with 2 outs. Randal Grichuk lined out on the 1st pitch
• Up next, the Blue Jays try to snap the 2-game losing streak. Expect Reid-Foley back up from the taxi squad with Waguespack definitely needing a couple of days off after throwing 58 pitches tonight. Lefty Robbie Ray gets his second start in a Blue Jays uniform. The Mets will counter with righty Seth Lugo

Game # 43 New York Yankees (22-21) @ Toronto Blue Jays (24-19) - game recap

 

Derek Fisher drove in both runs in a 7-2 loss to the Yankees

After two huge wins over their division rivals, The NY Yankees, the Blue Jays were going for a sweep over the Yankees for the 1st time since May 30-June 1st. The accomplish that, the Blue Jays had to get to Deivi Garcia, who was making his 3rd career start. Tanner Roark was on the bump for the Blue Jays, vying for his 3rd win of the season.Rowdy Tellez was out of the lineup after tweaking his knee chasing a foul ball. Travis Shaw got the start at 1st base with Vlad at DH for the 3rd straight day. Caleb Joseph was behind the plate and Jonathan Villar got the start at SS. Derek Fisher got the start in LF with Lourdes Gurriel Jr. getting the day off. Could the Blue Jays make it four wins in a row? Here is tonight's game recap.

Game Highlights:

• The Yankees opened the scoring in the top of the 2nd as Gleyber Torres smashed a solo bomb to dead center 
• The Blue Jays took the lead in the bottom half of the inning as Derek Fisher smashed a 2-run blast to right-center; also scoring Caleb Joseph
• The Yankees tied it on the 1st pitch of the 3rd inning on a screaming line drive to right by DJ LeMahieu 
• Tanner Roark pitching line: 4IP 2H 2R (both earned) 3BB 3K 68 pitches (38 for strikes)
• The Yankees took the lead in the top of the 5th as  Luke Volt singled scoring Tyler Wade 
• Three batters later, Torres doubled home Volt and Aaron Hicks 
• Deivi Garcia pitching line: 7IP 5H 2R (both earned) 0BB 6K 95 pitches (63 for strikes)
• The Yankees added a run in the top of the 9th as Clint Frazier singled home LeMahieu
• A batter later, Hicks scored on a groundout by Torres
• Final score: Yankees 7 Blue Jays 2

My Take:

• Tanner Roark had an ok outing, tossing 4 innings, allowing a pair of runs on two hits, while walking three and striking out 3. After the game, Roark voiced his displeasure at the usage of the starting pitchers, in particular himself. Roark referenced not being a fan of the 3rd-time through the order analytics. In some ways, he has a point. Roark was at 68 pitches when he was pulled, and the pitcher right after him gave up 3 runs, which proved to be the difference. If Montoyo was worried that Roark might get hit hard 3rd time through, have a reliever throwing in the bullpen and ready if needed. Roark's in his 8th year in the bigs, he's earned the right to pitch an extra inning
• The news on Rowdy Tellez seemed to keep getting worse. Halfway through the game, a picture of him sitting in the stands with crutches at his feet was tweeted out. Then word came down (unofficially) that Tellez had sustained an injury to his petellar tendon that would keep him out the remainder of the season. It was an interesting move that Lourdes Gurriel Jr., who has a grand total of 1 start and three games at 1st base at the big league level, pinch hit for Travis Shaw in the 8th and came in defensively the last inning. Of course, Vlad was DH'ing today and the Blue Jays would have had to pinch hit for the pitcher in the 9th as the DH would have been lost if he ha subbed defensively. Expect Vlad to platoon with Shaw going forward. If he's not at 1B Friday, there have to be serious questions about his health.
• Like last night, the Blue Jays went pretty quietly into the night, the last 4 Blue Jays were retired in order, including Aroldis Chapman striking out the side in the 9th. It's not surprising that the Blue Jays were exhausted after playing 28 games since August 14, including a pair of double headers (it would have been 29 games, except for an unscheduled postponement due to a boycott on August 27. That game was made up September 4th in Boston). That's a lot of baseball. The Blue Jays best rest up now, because Monday is the final off day of the season and the Blue Jays play 14 times in the final 13 days of the regular season, due to a double header September 18
• After an off day tomorrow to catch their collective breaths, the Blue Jays kick off a weekend series against the other NY team. No Marcus Stroman, as he has opted out of the 2020 season. The Blue Jays will be in tough with Jacob DeGrom set to start the opener of this series for the Mets. The Blue Jays will counter with righty Chase Anderson

Game # 42 New York Yankees (21-21) @ Toronto Blue Jays (24-18) - game recap

 

Jonathan Davis hit a 2-run HR to lead the Blue Jays to a 2-1 victory over the Yankees

After a huge come from behind win last night thanks to a massive 10-run 6th inning capped off by a grand slam by catcher Danny Jansen, the Blue Jays were looking to make it two in a row against the Bronx Bombers and to improve their playoff positioning. Tonight's tilt featured a battle of two 2015 Mariners teammates (lefty JA Happ and righty Taijuan Walker). Jonathan Davis got his first start of the season at RF in place of the injured Teoscar Hernandez. Cavan Biggio was back at his natural 2B position, Joe Panik was at the hot corner and everyone else was in the same position as last night. Could the Blue Jays beat their old teammate? Here is tonight's game recap.

Game Highlights:

• The Blue Jays opened the scoring in the bottom of the 2nd as Jonathan Davis smacked a 2-run blast to left-center; also scoring Joe Panik
• Taijuan Walker pitching line: 4IP 2H 0R 5BB 3K 88 pitches (43 for strikes)
• The Yankees got one back in the top of the 5th on a sac fly by Mike Tauchman that scored Luke Volt
• JA Happ pitching line: 6.1IP 4H 2R (both earned) 2BB 10K 113 pitches (68 for strikes)
• Rafael Dolis pitched a perfect 9th for his 3rd save of the season
• Final score: Blue Jays 2 Yankees 1

My Take:

• It was a tough go for Taijuan Walker who had zero command in the 1st inning, walking the bases loaded. He only allowed two base hits and no runs, but the walks and hit batter just killed his pitch count. He was at 58 pitches through 2 innings and needed another 30 to get through the next 2 innings. I read somewhere at some point and I think it might have been an ex-pitcher-turned-broadcaster, that something like 7 out of every 10 starters, the average pitcher has his best stuff going and the rest of the time he kind of has to feel it out (maybe he has a decent curve but the fastball command isn't great). Velocity looked ok, so it might just mean bullpen work needed.
• After exploding for 10 runs a night ago, the Blue Jays offence scratched across 2 runs on a home run. The Blue Jays got a runner on base in each of the first 5 innings, but other than the 2-run dinger in the 2nd, they couldn't do anything with it.. In fact, the final 10 Blue Jays batters in a row were retired, 5 on strikeouts. The Blue Jays struck out 13 times on the night
• The Blue Jays relievers also retired the final 10 batters they faced, including 3 strikeouts
• Up next, the Blue Jays go for the series sweep and 4th win in a row. Tanner Roark starts for the blue Jays and the Yankees will counter with righty Delvi Garcia