Tampa Bay Rays v. Toronto Blue Jays

Trevor Richards v. Tanner Roark

6:37PM EDT - Sahlen Field - Buffalo NY

Game #15 Miami Marlins (8-4) @ Toronto Blue Jays (6-9) - game recap

 

Travis Shaw hit a pair of home runs, including the game-tying solo shot in the 8th  in a losing effort in a wild 14-11 loss to the Marlins

I'm dedicating this game recap to Susan McRae, a Blue Jays fan who passed away this morning. After pulling out their first extra innings win of the season, the Blue Jays wrapped up their brief 2-game series against the Miami Marlins, aka, the team that nearly killed the baseball season. Nate Pearson got the 3rd start of his career, looking to notch his first career W. Same lineup as last night, except Rowdy Tellez was at DH. Could the Blue Jays finally win a series? Here is tonight's game recap.

Game Highlights:

• The Marlins opened the scoring in the top of the 1st as Brian Anderson smashed a three-run bomb to left; also scoring Matthew Joyce and Corey Dickerson
• The Marlins added a run in the top of the 3rd as Eddy Alvarez drew a bases loaded walk forcing in Dickerson,
• Two batters later, a run (Joyce) came home on a fielding error by Vladimir Guerrero Jr. Magneuris Sierra just beat Guerrero Jr. to the bag. The call was upheld after the Blue Jays challenged
• A batter later, Francisco Cervelli scored on a passed ball by Danny Jansen
• A batter later, Alvarez stole home
• A batter later, Jesus Aguilar singled home Sierra
• Nate Pearson pitching line: 2.1IP 5H 7R (4 earrned) 4BB 1K 65 pitches (33 for strikes)
• The Blue Jays got a pair back in the bottom half of the inning as Teoscar Hernandez smacked a 2-run blast to left-center; also scoring Bo Bichette 
• The Blue Jays got 2 more back in the bottom of the 4th as Rowdy Tellez crushed a 2-run blast to right-center also scoring Randal Grichuk
• Jordan Yamamoto pitching line: 3.1IP 7H 4R (all earned) 2BB 5K 75 pitches (42 for strikes)
• The Marlins added a run in the top of the 5th as Jonathan Villar singled home Cervelli
• A batter later, Aguilar singled scoring Alvarez and Jon Berti
• The Blue Jays got a pair back in the bottom half of the inning on their third 2-run HR of the night, this time to left by Travis Shaw; also scoring Bichette
• The Blue Jays got a pair back in the bottom of the 6th as Danny Jansen clobbered a 2-run bomb to left also scoring Tellez
• The Blue Jays got one back in the bottom of the 7th as Guerrero Jr. sent a screamer over the wall in dead center 
• The Blue Jays got one back in the bottom of the 8th as Bichette smacked a solo shot to left-center
• A batter later, the Blue Jays tied the game as Shaw sent a bomb to right-center 
• The Marlins took the lead in the top of the 10th as Sierra singled home Alvarez and Berti
• Two batters later, Aguilar singled scoring Sierra 
• Josh A. Smith pitched a scoreless 10th for his 1st save of the season
• Final score: Marlins 14 Blue Jays 11

My Take:

• It was a rough night for Nate Pearson, who gave up 7 runs on 5 hits, while walking 4 and striking out 1. You can throw the ball real hard, but if you don't locate the ball, big league hitters will either clobber it or draw a walk because they won't swing at a bad pitch. Pearson didn't get much help from the defense with three runs being unearned thanks to a fielding error by Vlad with the bases juiced
• The bullpen wasn't much better. Jacob Waguespack allowed a further 4 runs on 5 hits (2 runs were unearned due to more defensive blunders). Shun Yamagushi has his best outing in a Blue Jays uniform, throwing 2.1 perfect innings and striking out 4. Jordan Romano allowed his first base hit of the season. Rafael Dolis had an ugly inning in the 10th. An unforced error moved the runner up AND the batter on the first play of the inning was safe due to bad positioning. Later in the inning, the Blue Jays nearly got caught with nobody covering third after Danny Jansen had a ball bounce away from him, very nearly allowing Sierra to advance from 1st to 3rd on the play.
• It was all about the long ball for the Blue Jays offence. In 4 straight innings, the Blue Jays had a 2-run HR. They followed that feat up with 3 solo shots to knot the game at 11. Travis Shaw haad two of the home runs, including the game-tying shot in the 8th. It's clear that the Blue Jays hitters are pretty comfortable playing in Buffalo, as most of them should be having played in Buffalo as the last stop of their minor league careers or as a rehab stint
• This was an ugly game for the defense that saw the Marlins score SIX unearned runs. This game had it all: Bichette threw the ball away in the 10th, Pearson threw a wild pitch in the 3rd, The Marlins were allowed to steal home, players weren't in a good position on a sac bunt and couldn't even get an out, Danny Jansen had a passed ball get by him, Vlad missed a catch. A big part of baseball is mental. You have to be paying attention to what's going on around you and to your assignment. Bottom line, mentally the Blue Jays weren't ready to play today
• Up next, after an off-day tomorrow, the Blue Jays open a weekend series against the Tampa Bay Rays. Tanner Roark will start for the Blue Jays against an unknown Rays pitcher (probably an opener)

Game #14 Miami Marlins (7-4) @ Toronto Blue Jays (6-8) - game recap

 

Travis Shaw knocked in the winning run as the Blue Jays knocked off the Marlins 5-4 in 10 innings for their first extra innings win of the season 

After a marathon 21 day road trip, the Blue Jays FINALLY returned to their temporary home in Buffalo. Vladimir Guerrero Jr., Bo Bichette, Cavan Biggio, Danny Jansen, Reese McGuire, Randal Grichuk, Teoscar Hernandez, Anthony Alford, Santiago Espinal, Billy McKinney, Sam Gaviglio, Jacob Waguespack, Nate Pearson, Wilmer Font, Jordan Romano, Anthony Kay, and Ryan Borucki have all played at least a couple of games for the Buffalo Bisons either as the final stop in their minor careers or as a rehab stint, so most of the team will be familiar with their home city and ball park.The Blue Jays were wearing their 3rd jersey's (baby blue) for the unofficial home opener. Hyun-jin Ryu got the start today, looking to build off a solid start last Tuesday. The usual suspects in your typical every day Blue Jays lineup, except Joe Panik served as the DH today. Danny Jansen was also back behind the plate after having Sunday off and Vlad was back in the field as 1B after DH'ing Sunday. Could the Blue Jays win their unofficial home opener in their temporary new home? Here is tonight's game recap.

Game Highlights:

• The Marlins took the lead in the top of the 3rd as Brian Anderson lined a solo shot to left
• The Blue Jays took the lead in the bottom of the 6th on a three-run blast to left by Bo Bichette, also scoring Danny Jansen and Cavan Biggio
• Elieser Hernandez pitching line: 5.1IP 4H 3R (all earned) 1BB 5K 82 pitches (53 for strikes)
• Hyun-jin Ryu pitching line: 6IP 2H 1R (earned) 2BB 7K 92 pitches (57 for strikes)
• The Blue Jays added a run in the bottom of the 7th as Biggio singled home Randal Grichuk
• The Marlins tied the game in the top of the 9th as Francisco Cervelli cranked a three-run blast to left-center; also scoring Jon Berti and Anderson
• The Blue Jays walked it off in the bottom of the 10th as Travis Shaw lined a single to right scoring Anthony Alford
• Final score: Blue Jays 5 Marlins 4

My take:

•  A starter NOT named Matt Shoemaker managed to pitch into the 6th inning. Hyun-jin Ryu had his best start in a Blue Jays uniform, firing 6 strong innings, allowing just one run on 2 hits while walking 2 and striking out three. More important, he was pretty economical with his pitches and just four batters worked him to a full count. Ryu has proven to be a smart off-season signing by the Blue Jays. Hopefully he can maintain the consistency over the length of the 4-year deal
• Offensively, the Blue Jays got some timely hitting with Bo Bichette putting the Blue Jays in the lead with a 3-run blast. Cavan Biggio singled home an insurance run the next inning. The Blue Jays had a great approach in the 10th with Danny Jansen advancing the runner with a perfect sac bunt and the next two batters drawing walks (one intentional and one not) then Shaw came throw with a clutch single
• The bullpen blew the save today, after a strong week last week. Anthony Bass put himself in a tough position, getting behind Cervelli with 3 straight balls. A lot of times, managers give veterans the green light to swing at the pitch on a 3-0 count. Also, a lot of times, the batter will let thar pitch go, knowing that he has 2 more strikes if the next pitch is a strike. A lot  of times, the pitcher is just trying to throw a strike on a 3-0 count, so the pitch is a meatball down the middle. To be honest, I'm surprised more batters don't swing on a 3-0 count with the pitch likely being a desirable one to hit.
• Joe Panik and Travis Shaw were the only Blue Jays batters in today's lineup who had never played in Buffalo. They had 1 hit (Shaw's game-winning single) in 8AB combined
• AJ  Cole got his first win in a Blue Jays uniform, pitching the final 1.1 innings
• Up next, the Blue Jays look for their first series win and sweep as they wrap  up this short two game series. Nate Pearson gets his 3rd career start. The Marlins will counter with Hawaiian-born righty Jordan Yamamoto

Game #14: The Buffalo Blue Jays.

 

Ten weekly random thoughts: week 2 - August 3-9

Baseball has survived another week of play. After a disastrous opening week that saw an entire team, the Miami Marlins, come down with the COVID-19 virus, affecting the schedules of no less than six teams, including your Toronto Blue Jays, the MLB saw a better week with one further team infected by COVID-19. The Weekend series between the Ct. Louis Cardinals and Chicago Cubs was wiped out when sevveral Cardinals players tested positive for COVID-19. As of the publishing of this blog post, the MLB has very little wiggle room left to reschedule games if further teams are affected by the COVID-19 virus or if there is inclement weather. Rob Manfred has already threatened to shut down the league if players don't smarten up and start staying in there bubbles. This week started off rough for the Blue Jays, who were clobbered 10-1 on Tuesday by the Atlanta Braves. It was pretty apparent that the Blue Jays were rusty after having 4 days off between games.  The Blue Jays won the next game on the back of a strong 5 ending 8K performance by Hyun-jin Ryu and a pair of manufactured runs off of base hits and a Sac fly. The Braves took the the rubber match on Thursday with Nick Markakis walking off the Blue Jays in the bottom of the ninth after Toronto had battled back to tie the game in the 7th inning. Next, the Blue Jays moved on to Boston for the final stop in their marathon road trip to start the season. Boston took the opener of the series', building a 4-2 lead after three innings and hanging on for a 5-3 victory. The second game of the weekend series went Toronto's way. Chase Anderson made his Blue Jays debut, coming off at 10 day IL. He threw 2 strong innings and one poor inning. The bullpen picked him up, throwing six shutout innings. Again, the Blue Jays scraped across two runs off an RBI double by Bo Bichette in the 7th and a groundout by Rowdy Tellez in the 8th inning. Sunday's game featured a back and forth game with both teams hitting long balls. Was the game knotted at 3, the Red Sox the 9th off, what else, a home run. It would have been nice for the Blue Jays to wrap up the road trip with the series win, but give the Red Sox credit for their timely hitting. Looking at the week ahead, the Blue Jays start the week with a pair of games against the Miami Marlins. It is likely that the Marlins will not be able to field a very competitive team with most of their players still sick with COVID-19. The Blue Jays wrap up the week with a weekend Series against the Tampa Bay Rays, who they played in the opening weekend in St Petersburg. the Rays won that series on a series of unforced errors By The Blue Jays. Maybe on the weekend the Blue Jays will exact some revenge time. Here are 10 random thoughts from week 2 of the MLB

1. The Blue Jays could see a pair of injured pitchers return in the short term. Ken Giles, who was diagnosed with a mild strain of the flexor mass of his right forearm. He was seen in the bullpen on the weekend doing some arm exercises. The next step is likely to try throwing a bullpen session. If that goes well, he could be back sometime later this week or early next week. Starter Julian Merryweather is also progressing nicely from an oblique strain and could be available as a depth option soon. Normally, when a player is close to returning, they would play some games in the minors. However, that is not an option this year with the minor league season cancelled. Instead, teams will have to limit pitch counts and maybe let returning position players DH as needed.

2. Randal Grichuk returned from the IL after missing a week with an SI joint injury. These are the types of injuries fans can expect to see with this sprint of a season. Grichuk showed no ill effects from the injury and collected 4 hits in 21AB and he drew 2 walks as well. He looked good in the field. Hopefully he stays healthy the rest of the way.

3. Trent Thornton was placed on the 10 day IL after feeling something weird in his pitching elbow. Anytime an injury involves the elbow, you fear Tommy John surgery. Thornton already has a bit of a funky delivery that puts added stress on the elbow. Expect the Blue Jays to exercise caution with Thornton.

4. Outfielder Derek Fisher also missed time this week with a strained left quad. He'll be eligible to come off the IL mid week next week. No word on if he'll be ready at that time.Fisher was batting .250 with 3 hits in 12AB before the injury.

5. Chase Anderson finally made his Blue Jays debut Saturday after starting the year on the 10-day DL. The 32-year-old right-hander was acquired from the Milwaukee Brewers back on November 4th for minor leaguer Chad Spanberger. Anderson pitched 2 strong innings and one inning he'd like to have back. He ended up with the no-decision and got the quick hook, although he was likely on a strict pitch count given that he was coming off the IL and there is no place to play rehab games this season. Expect Anderson to be a spot starter and pitch out of the bullpen as well.

6. Jacob Waguespack had a weird day on Thursday, beginning the day on the Blue Jays roster, being optioned to the taxi squad, along with Espinal Santiago, as teams had to reduce their rosters by 2 players. He was then put back on the big league roster after Trent Thornton was put on the 10-day IL after feeling something weird in his pitching elbow. He warmed up in the bullpen, intending to come into the game in the 6th inning, only to be told he was ineligible as he was not on the official lineup card given to umpire Alan Porter. This was the fault of Charlie Montoyo and before you all say he should be fired for this, give me a break. You can't tell me none of you wouldn't have made the same mistake. 

7. Bonehead decision of the week: The Cleveland Indians were contemplating how to allow fans safely back in the ballpark this week. Um, let's see, one entire team and several other players on several other teams has already been infected with COVID-19, throwing an already tight schedule into disarray and you want fans, who could have COVID-19, into the stands? No way! As it is, it's a miracle the season has lasted this long and we still have 6 weeks to go. At the earliest, fans should not be allowed back into the stadium until there is a vaccine. It's far too risky and baseball players are a unique set of athletes with different body builds. There are probably many more players who have diabetes or heart conditions because they aren't as in shape as athletes in other sports. Umpires and coaches tend to be older as well. Keep the fans at home

8. The Blue Jays better hit the batting cage on their off-day. They struck out 15 times on Sunday and all but Cavan Biggio had at least one strikeout.

9. Three surprising teams two weeks into the season:

• Oakland A's - 12-4 - first in the AL West
• Miami Marlns - 7-3* - first in NL East (they have a week's worth of games to make up but are continuing to win)
• Baltimore Orioles - 7-7 - 3rd in the AL West - I include them because they have lost 100+ games the last 2 seasons. I'd say playing .500 baseball is a huge improvement

10. Blue Jay of the week: Hyun-jin Ryu. He threw 5 solid innings and struck out 8 in his first win in a Blue Jays uniform. Ryu was one of the big-ticket  free agents last off-season.