AL Wild Card Series 2020: Blue Jays v. Tampa Bay

Hyun-Jin Ryu v. Tyler Glasnow

Tropicana Field - Tampa FL - 4:07PM EDT

Wild Card game #1 - Toronto Blue Jays (0-1) @ Tampa Bay Rays (1-0) - game recap

Bo Bichette drove in the Blue Jays only run with a sac fly as the Rays took the first game of the best-of-3 wild card series 3-1

The Blue Jays were relegated to the last playoff spot after losing the season finale, meaning they have to face the Tampa Bay Rays in St. Petersburg, a location that has not been kind historically to the Blue Jays. Matt Shoemaker got the start in the opener (presumably to give Hyun-jin Ryu an extra day of rest after he threw 100 pitches and went 7 innings Friday. Vlad go the start at 1B, while Alejandro Kirk became the youngest player to DH in a playoff game with Danny Jansen behind the plate. Jonathan Villar was at 2b with Cavan Biggio playing the hot corner. Everyone else was in their expected positions. Could the Blue Jays steal the 1st game of this series and prove Montoyo's gamble of not starting his ace in the 1st game right? Here is today's game recap.

Game Highlights:

• Matt Shoemaker pitching line: 3IP 2H 0R 0BB 2K 35 pitches (27 for strikes)
• The Rays opened the scoring in the bottom of the 4th on a wild pitch by Robbie Ray that scored Randy Arozarena
• Blake Snell pitching line: 5.1IP 1H 0R 2BB 9K 82 pitches (48 for strikes)
• The Rays added a pair of runs in the bottom of the 7th as Miguel Margot lined a 2-run blast to left; also scoring Joey Wendle
• The Blue Jays got one back in the top of the 8th on a sac fly by Bo Bichette that scored Rowdy Tellez
• Pete Fairbank pitched the 9th for his 1st save of the postseason
• Final score: Rays 3 Blue Jays 1

My Take:

• Matt Shoemaker did his part, firing three shutouts innings, allowing just 2 hits. He was pulled after three innings in favor of lefty Robbie Ray, who held the Rays to a run on a wild pitch, a walk and a hit over three innings. AJ Cole allowed a back-breaking 2-run home run in the 7th after the Rays escaped a Blue Jays threat in the 7th. Ryan Borucki and Thomas Hatch got the final 5 Rays in order to give the Blue Jays a fighting chance. Charlie Montoyo gambled that Shoemaker and the bullpen could hold the Rays offense enough for the Blue Jays to steal game 1, leaving ace Hyun-jin Ryu a chance to close out the series. Ultimately, the gamble could backfire because of one big mistake pitch at the wrong time
• Offensively, the Blue Jays bats were pretty quiet. Leadoff man Cavan Biggio went 1-4, but struck out 3 times. Another gamble saw rookie catcher Alejandro Kirk inserted as DH ahead of the big bat of Rowdy Tellez, who came up with a pinch hit double, albeit with nobody on base. Look for his bat in the lineup tomorrow. The Blue Jays best chances to score came in innings 7-9. They were 1-4 with runners in scoring position
• As has been a common theme this season, the bottom 4 of the lineup went a paltry 2-13 (just a 5th inning walk by Teoscar Hernandez (who later struck out looking at a clear strike 3 in the 9th), a single in the 6th by Kirk and a pinch hit double by Tellez with nobody on base in the 8th
• To be frank, the top half of the lineup didn't do much either. Vlad and Lourdes Gurriel Jr. were the only ones to get on base more than once
• Up next, the Blue Jays play their 1st elimination game. They turn to ace Hyun-jin Ryu to pitch lights out. The Rays will counter with righty Tyler Glasnow

AL Wild Card Series 2020: Blue Jays v. Tampa Bay

Ten random thoughts- September 12-27

With another off day in the schedule, comes my ever-popular random thoughts post. Today's post will look back on the season that was and look ahead to the upcoming best-of three playoff series for the Blue Jays. To say the least, the battle to make the playoffs anything but easy for the Blue Jays. First off, the Blue Jays had no home for the season. Canadian government bans them from playing regular season games in Toronto. Pittsburgh health officials also would not let them use PNC Park. That just left the options of the AAA home ballpark in Dunedin, where covid-19 was running rampant, or Buffalo, where cases were not quite as bad. In the end, the Blue Jays opted to play their home games in Buffalo. However, Buffalo needed to undergo some upgrades to meet MLB standards. The Blue Jays did not move into their temporary home ballpark until August 11th. Then the Miami Marlins had an outbreak of COVID-19 forcing the alteration of the schedules of seven different teams, including the Blue Jays, who got an unexpected four day weekend over the August long weekend. They had to play two double headers with Philadelphia and lost a scheduled off-day on August 27. Then came another double header on September 4th after the red Sox and blue Jays elected to join the NBA, NHL and several MLB teams and boycott a game in support of the black lives matter movement. Injuries were a factor and I will get into that more later. Looking at the last two weeks off the season, the Blue Jays had a rough final road trip of the season. they were swept and blown out of Yankees stadium by a combined score of 43 - 15. Ken Giles pitched what would be the final inning for the next year or more (he underwent Tommy John surgery; more on that later). Then the Blue Jays went into Philadelphia and lost 3 of 4, including both ends of the final double header of the season. the Blue Jays then came home and exacted some revenge, taking three of four from the Yankees, including two blow out wins, sandwiched by a blowout loss. the biggest win was the last one, where the Blue Jays clinched their first playoff appearance since 2016. the final weekend was all about resting key players, making sure relievers got some work so they were sharp for next week. Hyun-jin Ryu was excellent in his final start of the season, throwing 7 shutout innings against the Yankees on Thursday. Taijuan Walker, slated to start the second game of the series next week, threw 3 strong innings in his final tune up. Nate Pearson followed up with his return after missing a month, and he looked sharp with his fastball touching 101mph, a great sign for a pitcher who relies on velocity to be successful. Shun Yamaguchi had a rough showing on Friday, allowing 4 runs on 4 hits in 2/3 of an inning. On Saturday, TJ Zeuch served notice he should be considered for a spot on the playoff roster with 5 shutout innings, scattering 5 hits. on Sunday, Tanner Roark did not have the finish to the season he would have wanted, blowing a 4-1 lead in the 4th. It will be one of Roark or Shun Yamaguchi who will be the long man in the bullpen. At this point, neither pitcher inspires much confidence. Looking ahead, the Blue Jays open the playoffs against the Tampa Bay Rays in St. Petersburg. Here are ten random thoughts from the final two weeks of the season.

1. Let's start with some injury news that will affect the Blue Jays, not only the rest of the season but the entire 2021 season as well. Closer Ken Giles, who missed a month with forearm tightness, which often times is a precursor to the dreaded Tommy John surgery that costs pitchers a full calendar year or more, returned to pitch two innings in low leverage situations. After the second appearance, Giles told training staff he wasn't feeling right. he consulted with renowned surgeon Dr. James Andrews, and it was decided he needs to undergo the season-ending procedure that will wipe out this season and all of next season. It's unfortunate timing for Giles, who was slated to become a free agent for the first time. As for the Blue Jays, this season they've been using a closer by committee strategy in Giles' absence. Jordan Romano (currently on the IL with a strained middle finger), Ross Stripling, Anthony Bass, Rafael Dolis, and AJ, Cole all have at least one save. For the postseason, the Blue Jays will turn to either Dolis or Bass in a save situation. As far as next season is concerned, Bass is under team control for another year, so they could bring him back in that role. Dolis has been effectively wild and may not be an ideal choice with the game on the line. The Blue Jays could also look at signing a free agent or brokering a trade in the off-season. Nonetheless, it will be an important decision with the team on the verge of being competitive again.

2. The Blue Jays made some surprising moves, letting legends Pat Hentgen and Paul Quantrill go, as well as AAA-manager Ken Huckaby. Hentgen and Quantrill had been serving as special advisors so the timing of their departure made sense (to allow them to catch on with another team). Huckaby was fired after not having managed a single game (minor league season was cancelled by the pandemic). He spent this season working with players in Rochester. Maybe there was a disagreement somewhere along the line between him and some of the splatters he worked with our Atkins decided the AAA team needed a more experience manager at the helm. Or, it could be purely a cost-cutting measure with so much uncertainty about next season, due to the pandemic and expiring CBA agreement.

3. One big advantage to the truncated season is the number of players who made their big league debuts. In a normal season, Nate Pearson would have started the year in AAA and maybe join the team a month or two into the season. Alejandro Kirk probably wouldn't have been in the majors for a year or two, but thanks to the struggles of Reese McGuire and Caleb Joseph, Kirk got his chance two weeks ago. Are these players going to start next season on the big league roster? Maybe or maybe not, but they will have a leg up on the competition next year to be sure.

4. This year, the MLB introduced several temporary rules to be able to make it through the season: the universal DH, seven-inning double headers, runner starting on second base in extra innings, lifting restrictions on position players pitching (starting next season position players can only pitch in blow outs of more than 6 runs or in extra innings). I would like to see the universal rule stay forever. This will reduce bunting to a minimum. I can see players wanting to keep seven inning games to stay fresh during a 162 game schedule. The MLB should get rid of the runner starting on second base in extra innings. All innings should start with nobody on base. Having longer games will discourage managers like Charlie Montoyo from pulling the starter after five innings night after night.

5. Another temporary measure is expanded playoffs with the top two teams in each division and the next two highest records making the playoffs. this has meant that more teams were within striking distance of a playoff spot and teams that already made the playoffs had a chance to move to a higher seed and potentially a more favorable opponent. MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred seems open to the idea of expanded playoffs, but not with sixteen teams. You might see top 2 in each division making the playoffs and no WC teams. You don't want to extend the playoffs much past the end of October with inclement weather more likely to play a factor.

6. Three Blue Jays who impressed this season

• Cavan Biggio - He was a jack of all trades this season, playing 2B, 3B, CF and RF this season. Biggio proved to be a patient hitter at the plate, with 41 walks (2nd in the MLB). He batted .253, but got on base .375 of the time (or an average of almost once a game). Biggio has turned into a solid leadoff hitter, a role that's been unstable until this season.
• Hyun-jin Ryu -the big off-season acquisition, Hyun-Jin Ryu has paid dividends this season with a 5-2 record with a 2.69ERA, 72 strikeouts, and just 17 walks in 12 starts. He was the only starter to pitch seven innings.
• Rafael Dolis - The 32-year old reliever quietly had himself a solid season, with a 2-2 record and 5 saves in 24 appearances. He earned the trust of Charlie Montoyo, being used in high-leverage situations. His strikeout-walk ratio wasn't great (31 strikeouts and 14 walks)

7. Three Blue Jays who disappointed this season

• Wilmer Font - In a curious move, Charlie Montoyo changed Font's role this season. Last season, Font was used in more of a long man role. This season, he started out pitching the 6th or 7th, then in lower leverage situations. Font finished the year DFA'd and with many questions about his future with the Blue Jays. Font was 1-3 with a brutal 9.92ERA. Only Trent Thornton and Hector Perez had a worse ERA this season
• Shun Yamagushi - Poor Shun Yamaguchi. His first 2 appearances came in the 10th inning with a runner on second (as per the temporary rule in place). He finished 2-3 with an ugly 7.61ERA. Either he or Tanner Roark will be on the playoff roster come Tuesday.
• Reese McGuire and Caleb Joseph (tie) - Perhaps the weakest position for the Blue Jays. Reese McGuire had the job handed to him on a platter. He had a brutal time at the plate, getting just 3 hits in 41AB. He finished with a team worst .073 average and OB%. Defensively, McGuire have 3 errors, threw out 50% of base runners (4/8) and had 2 passed balls and 2 wild pitches with him behind the plate. Joseph got into 3 games, went 1-9 when batting. Defensively, Joseph didn't throw out any of the 4 base runners that ran against him, had 2 errors, 1 passed ball and 1 wild pitch. Alejandro Kirk can be included here defensively (4 wild pitches, no base runners thrown out in 4 attempts), but he gets a pass because he wasn't even supposed to be in the bigs this season, but Joseph and McGuire were so awful that management felt he couldn't do much worse.

8. After dropping the last game of the season to the lowly Baltimore Orioles, the Blue Jays will now have to face AL-best Tampa Bay Rays in St. Petersburg. The Blue Jays were 4-6 against the Rays outscoring the Rays 48-44. Four of the losses against the Rays were by one run. The season series wrapped up a month ago. It's going to be important to get the lead early because the Rays have a good bullpen (their starters are pretty good too). It'll be good to get the young guns some valuable playoff experience a year or two earlier than expected.

9. Finally, kudos to the MLB and every team for successfully completing the season. Right off the bat, the MLB had to contend with a COVID outbreak among the Miami Marlins, affecting the schedules of seven teams. Later, the Cardinals had their own outbreak and had to make up several games. The Cleveland Indians disciplined Mike Clevenger and Adam Plesac. The MLB also cancelled a couple of other series when a couple of staff members or players tested positive. Who knows what the situation will be when spring training is supposed to begin in 6 months. Maybe there will be a vaccine by then. Maybe fans will be allowed in the ball parks again. The MLB and MLBPA need to take the lessons learned from this season and start working on a plan for next season now.

10. Blue Jay of the year.Lourdes Gurriel Jr. He finished the year 1st on the team in batting average (.308), tied for 3rd in RBI (33), 3rd in HR (11), 2nd in OBP (.348). Defensively, he had 1 error, 3 assists and 100 putouts. Hard to imagine he's the same player who was demoted to Buffalo for a month last year after defensive struggles started affecting him at the plate.

Bonus thought: the home record is a big reason why the Blue Jays are in the playoffs. The Blue Jays finished 17-9 at home, outscoring opponents 154-129 and 15-19 on the road, getting outscored 176-143

Game #60 Baltimore Orioles (25-35) @ Toronto Blue Jays (32-28) - game recap

 

Lourdes Gurriel Jr. was 4-4 with 3 runs scored and 2RBI in a losing effort as the Blue Jays fell to the Orioles 7-5 in the regular season finale.

Here we are, the final game of the 2020 regular season. After today, one team (Baltimore) will be going home for the fall/winter, and one team (Toronto) will be moving on to play in the best-of-three first round of the playoffs. Tanner Roark got the start in what has not been a great season for him. He came into today's start with a 2-3 record and a dreadful 7.01ERA in 10 starts. Only Chase Anderson had a worse ERA (7.67) and he missed the first couple of weeks recovering from an oblique strain. Cavan Biggio was back in the field at the hot corner after getting the day off yesterday. Vlad got the half day off as DH with Travis Shaw at 1B. Randal Grichuk was back in the field after DH'ing yesterday. Danny Jansen was behind the plate after the day off yesterday. Teoscar Hernandez got the full day off with Jonathan Davis in RF. Could the Blue Jays make it five wins in a row? Here is today's game recap.

Game Highlights:

• The Blue Jays took the lead in the bottom of the 2nd on a sac fly by Jonathan Davis that scored Lourdes Gurriel Jr.
• The Orioles tied the game in the top of the 3rd as Renato Nunez doubled home Austin Hays
• The Blue Jays retook the lead in the bottom half of the inning as Vladimir Guerrero Jr. smashed a solo bomb to dead center
• Two batters later, Gurriel Jr. whacked a 2-run blast to left; also scoring Randal Grichuk
• The Orioles got a pair back in the top of the 4th as Cedric Mullins tripled home Hanser Alberto and Pat Valaika
• A batter later, Mullins scored on a sac fly hit by Hays 
• Keegan Akin pitching line: 3IP 5H 4R (all earned) 1BB 4K 51 pitches (35 for strikes)
• Tanner Roark pitching line: 4IP 5H 4R (2 earned) 2BB 2K 91 pitches (54 for strikes)
• The Orioles took the lead in the top of the 5th as Rio Ruiz doubled home Ryan Mountcastle 
• A batter later, Nunez scored on a ground out by Alberto
• A batter later, Valaika singled home Ruiz
• The Blue Jays got one back in the bottom of the 8th on a throwing error by Alberto that scored Gurriel Jr.
• Cesar Valdez pitched a perfect 9th for his 3rd save of the season
• Final score: Orioles 7 Blue Jays 5

My Take:

• Tanner Roark's final start (and possibly final appearance) of the season did not go according to plan. He gave up 4 runs (just 2 earned thanks to an error by Grichuk on a catch) on 5 hits while walking 2 and striking out 2. He actually lowered his ERA to 6.80.  He can thank the defense for helping him escape a 1st inning bases loaded jam, or his ERA might have ticked up a bit. He blew a 4-1 lead through 3 innings. Disappointing season to be sure 
• Cavan Biggio drew 2 more walks to finish 2nd in the MLB with 41 walks on the season
• Lourdes Gurriel Jr. had a great end to the season going 4-4 with 3 runs scored and 2RBI
• Up next, the Blue Jays head to Tampa Bay where they will begin a best of three series against the TB Rays. Hyun-jin Ryu (assuming he's feeling ok) should get the start against Rays lefty Blake Snell.