Game #28 Toronto Blue Jays (14-14) @ Oakland A's (19-12)- game recap

 

Marcus Semien drove in the Blue Jays only run on his first hit against his former team in a 4-1 loss to the A's

After a loss to Oakland in Marcus Semien's return to the Bay area after signing a one year deal with the Blue Jays in the off-season, the Blue Jays were looking to even up the series. Anthony Kay got the ball first in what's expected to be a bullpen day. Bo Bichette got the half day off as the DH. Cavan Biggio got the start at 2B with Teoscar Hernandez in RF. Santiago Espinal was at the hot corner today and Marcus Semien was at SS. Could the Blue Jays even this 4-game series? Here is tonight's game recap.

Game Highlights:

• The A's opened the scoring in the bottom of the 2nd as Jed Lowrie doubled scoring Sean Murphy and Matt Chapman
• A batter later, Mitch Moreland drove an opposite-field 2-run shot over the left-field wall; also scoring Lowrie
• Anthony Kay pitching line: 4IP 4H 4R (all earned) 2BB 4K 71 pitches (41 for strikes)
• The Blue Jays got one back in the top of the 6th as Marcus Semien doubled home Santiago Espinal
• Cole Irvin pitching line: 8IP 3H 1R (earned) 1BB 9K 102 pitches (71 for strikes)
• Yusmeiro Petit pitched a perfect 9th for his 1st save of the season
• Final score: A;s 4 Blue Jays 1

My Take:

• Anthony Kay gave up 4 runs on 4 hits while walking 2 and striking out 4 over 4 innings. He had three relatively good innings and one bad inning in the 2nd where he gave up a 4-spot on a 2-run double followed immediately by a 2-run tater. Given the thin healthy pitching available, it's likely Kay will remain in the rotation another turn
• Quirky stat of the night: Cole Irvin threw the same # of strikes as Anthony Kay threw pitches. Both starters tonight threw almost identical # of balls (Irvin threw 31 balls and Kay threw 30 balls)
• Danny Jansen is ice cold again after going 2-3 Sunday. He's 0-8, including striking out swinging his last AB Sunday
• Actually the whole team was ice cold tonight, mustering just a single run on 3 hits and a walk. They were 0-1 with runners in scoring position
• Marcus Semien got a hit against his old team after going hitless last night. The double drove in the only Blue Jays run
• Up next, the Blue Jays try to snap the 2-game skid. Robbie Ray gets the start tomorrow night. The lefty bounced back nicely after walking a career-high 6 batters 2 starts ago. The A's will counter with righty Chris Bassitt

Game #27 Toronto Blue Jays (14-13) @ Oakland A's (18-12)- game recap

 

Vladimir Guerrero Jr. was 3-4 with a run scored in a losing effort as the A's edged the Blue Jays 5-4

After sweeping the Braves over the weekend, the Blue Jays limped west to begin a 10-game in 11-day road trip. Tonight, they opened a 4-game series in Oakland. Toronto swept the season series 6-0 in 2019, outscoring the A's 36-13. The season series also included a season-ending ACL tear for ex-Jays pitcher Matt Shoemaker back on April 20, 2019 in a run down. The Blue Jays sent Steven Matz to the bump. Matz was looking to bounce back after a rough start last time out. George Springer was not in the lineup after getting pulled in the 6th inning yesterday with apparent fatigue. He appeared to be experiencing pain in the quad and did not look comfortable at the plate. Lourdes Gurriel Jr. got the half day, serving as the DH tonight. Cavan Biggio led off and got the start in RF. Randal Grichuk was in CF and Teoscar Hernandez got the start in LF. Joe Panik was at the hot corner tonight. Could the Blue Jays make it four wins in a row? Here is tonight's game recap.

Game Highlights:

• The A's opened the scoring in the bottom of the 2nd as Jed Lowrie doubled home Matt Chapman
• A batter later, Stephen Piscotty hammered a 2-run bomb to left-center; also scoring Lowrie
• The Blue Jays got one back in the top of the 3rd as Bo Bichette singled home Danny Jansen
• Two batters later, Teoscar Hernandez singled scoring Bichette and Cavan Biggio
• The A's added two runs in the bottom of the 5th as Ramon Laureno annihilated a two-run bomb to left-center; also scoring Tony Kemp
• Steven Matz pitching line: 5IP 7H 5R (all earned) 1BB 6K 92 pitches (62 for strikes)
• Frankie Montas pitching line: 6IP 7H 3R (all earned) 1BB 4K 88 pitches (62 for strikes)
• The Blue Jays got one back in the top of the 8th on a wild pitch by Lou Trivino that scored Vladimir Guerrero Jr.
• Jake Diekman pitched a perfect 9th for his 3rd save of the season
• Final score: A's 5 Blue Jays 4

My Take:

• Steven Matz threw 5 innings, giving up 5 runs on 7 hits, while walking one and striking out 6. Two mistake pitches cost him four runs. He was pitching in and out of trouble all night and A's batters were forcing him into deep counts. Perhaps Matz should review video from his first three starts and see where he was successful
• Marcus Semien made his return to Oakland. He was 1-3 against his former team and drew a walk and struck out once
• After snapping a 16-game hitless streak yesterday, Danny Jansen went 0-4 tonight, but did reach base on a fielder's choice in the 3rd inning and scored on Bichette's RBI single
• The Blue Jays had a great chance to tie the game with Randal Grichuk on 2B with 1 out in the 8th. Unfortunately Semien struck out swinging and Joe Panik lined out to center field 
• The Blue Jays were 4-9 with runners in scoring position
• Up next, the Blue Jays look to even up the 4-game series. It will be a battle of the southpaws tomorrow night with Anthony Kay going up against A's lefty Cole Irvin

Game #25 Atlanta Braves (12-16) @ Toronto Blue Jays (14-12) - game recap

 

Danny Jansen snapped a 13-game hitless streak in a 7-2 victory over the Braves

 It was both potential sweep day and getaway day. The Blue Jays wrapped up a week long homestand and were looking to sweep the Braves after a nice rout on Friday and a come from behind extra innings walk-off Saturday. There was both good and bad news injury wise. On the good news front, Ross Stripling was activated from the 10-day IL after missing a couple of weeks with a forearm strain. Onto the bad news. Alejandro Kirk (left flexor strain), Tommy Milone (left shoulder inflammation) and Anthony Castro (right forearm strain) were all added to the 10 day IL. Catcher Riley Adams and lefty Anthony Kay were added to the roster from the alt squad to fill the necessary roster spots. Danny Jansen got the start behind the plate. George Springer continues to DH as he works his way to full health from a nagging quad strain. Could the Blue Jays make it three wins in a row? Here is today's game recap.

Game Highlights:

• The Braves opened the scoring in the top of the 2nd as William Contreras singled scoring Ozzie Albies
• The Blue Jays tied the game in the bottom half of the inning as Danny Jansen singled home Randal Grichuk
• The Blue Jays added a pair of runs in the bottom of the 3rd as Marcus Semien doubled scoring Bo Bichette and Vladimir Guerrero Jr.
• The Blue Jays added a run in the bottom of the 4th as Bichette doubled home Jansen
• The Braves got one back in the top of the 5th on a sac fly by Ronald Acuna that scored Austin Riley
• Ross Stripling pitching line: 4.1IP 5H 2R (both earned) 1BB 4K 70 pitches (44 for strikes)
• Ian Anderson pitching line: 4IP 6H 4R (all earned) 2BB 5K 89 pitches (56 for strikes)
• George Springer left the game in the 6th as he appeared to tweak his quad again. Joe Panik pinch hit for him
• The Blue Jays added a pair of runs in the bottom of the 8th as Semien cranked a 2-run blast to left-center; also scoring Grichuk
• Four batters later, Panik doubled scoring Lourdes Gurriel Jr.
• Final score: Blue Jays 7 Braves 2

My Take:

•  Ross Stripling pitched into the 5th inning, but could not get out of it to make him eligible for the win today. It was his first start since straining his right forearm April 15. He gave up a pair of runs on 5 hits while walking 1 and striking out 4 over 4.1 innings. He had clean 1-2-3 innings in the 1st 3rd, and 4th and had to work out of jams in the 2nd and 5th. He retired 7 in a row at one point.
•  Danny Jansen finally broke an 0-34 slump with an RBI single in the 2nd. Jansen was 2-3 with a run scored and an RBI. He also drew a walk
• There has to be concern with George Springer on the limp again. He was pinch hit for in the 6th and was grabbing at his leg yesterday too. The best thing is to shut him down, get him 100% and that includes being able to play in the field. Now that the minor league season has begun, Springer can be sent on a rehab assignment when he's physically ready
• Every Blue Jays starter except Springer, Cavan Biggio and Vladimir Guerrero Jr. had at least one hit. All but Springer got on base at least once
• Up next, the Blue Jays begin a 10-game, 11-day road swing that begins tomorrow in Oakland and ends May 13 in Atlanta. The Blue Jays swept the season series against Oakland in 2019 6-0, including a season ending ACL tear to Matt Shoemaker April 20 in a run down. The Blue Jays outscored the A's 36-13. Tomorrow's pitching matchup will be lefty Steven Matz going up against an unannounced Oakland pitcher.

Game 25! Atlanta Braves @ The Toronto BP Days

 

Game #24: Braves @ Jays | Dunedin, 7:30 PM