-Game #87 New York Yankees (48-39) @ Toronto Blue Jays (49-38) - game recap

 

George Springer homered twice in an 8-5 win over the Yankees to take over sole possession of 1st in the AL East

After hanging on by the skin of their teeth for another huge win over the Yankees that pulled them even with the Bronx Bombers for 1st in the AL East, the Blue Jays were looking to extend the win streak to 5 games, complete their 6th series sweep and take sole possession of 1st in the AL East. and likely a home playoff round. Chris Bassitt got the start with Alejandro Kirk behind the plate. Nathan Lukes got the start in LF and the rest of the lineup was the same as yesterday. Could the Blue Jays extend the win streak to 5 games, complete their 6th series sweep and take sole possession of 1st place in the AL East? Here is tonight's game recap.

Game Highlights:

• The Blue Jays opened the scoring in the bottom of the 1st as Addison Barger doubled scoring George Springer
• The Yankees tied it up in the top of the 3rd as Trent Grisham hammered a solo bomb to dead center
• The Blue Jays retook the lead in the bottom half of the inning as George Springer whacked a 2-run blast to the opposite field in right-center; also scoring Nathan Lukes
• The Yankees got one back in the top of the 4th as Anthony Volpe singled scoring Jasson Dominguez
• Three batters later, Volpe scored on a wild pitch by Chris Bassitt
• Clarke Schmidt pitching line: 3IP 4H 3R (all earned) 2BB 1K 55 pitches (31 for strikes)
• The Blue Jays retook the lead in the bottom half of the inning as Lukes doubled scoring Will Wagner and Davis Schneider
• The Blue Jays added a run in the bottom of the 5th as Barger belted a solo jack to right-center
• Chris Bassitt pitching line: 5.2IP 8H 3R (all earned) 3BB 9K 113 pitches (72 for strikes)
• The Yankees got one back in the top of the 7th as Jazz Chisholm Jr. doubled scoring Aaron Judge
• Two batters later, Cody Bellinger scored on a ground out hit by Volpe
• The Blue Jays added a pair of runs in the bottom of the 8th as Springer drilled a 2-run bomb to left-center; also scoring Lukes
• Jeff Hoffman threw a scoreless 9th for his 21st save of the season
• Final score: Blue Jays 8 Yankees 5

My Take:

• Chris Bassitt battled through 5.2 innings, giving up 3 runs on 8 hits while walking 3 and striking out 9. There really was no easy inning for Bassitt, who was working into and out of jams all night long. Manager John Schneider continues to lack any real touch when it comes to knowing when to pull a pitcher. He's ended plenty of pitchers nights at the pitch count Bassitt had after 5 innings. Intead he let Bassitt throw 113 pitches. The Blue Jays can ill-afford to lose Bassitt to injury for any length of time. They simply don't have a  viable option and Max Scherzer could be done for the season at any moment with his thumb injury. Alek Manoah won't be ready to play until August if everything goes right. Same for Rickey Tiederman.
• The bullpen gave up 2 runs on 4 hits while walking 2 and sriking out 3 over the last 3.1  innings. Lefty Justin Bruihl retired every batter he faced
• The offence was led by George Springer (2HR, 3 runs scored, 4RBI), Addison Barger (solo HR, 2 RBI) and Nathan Lukes (scored twice, drove in 2 runs)
• The Blue Jays were 2-7 with runners in scoring position
• Up next, the Blue Jays try to extend the win streak to 6 games as they welcome the Angels to town. The Angels took the series in LA back at the beginning of May, outscoring the Blue Jays 18-15. Eric Lauer gets the start for the Blue Jays. The Angels haven't set their rotation for the series yet.

Game #87 New York Yankees (48-38) v. Toronto Blue Jays (48-38)

 

Game #86 New York Yankees (48-37) v. Toronto Blue Jays (47-38)

 

Game #85 New York Yankees (48-37) @ Toronto Blue Jays (47-38) - game recap

 

George Springer drove in 7 runs, including a grand slam, in a mammoth 12-5 comeback win over the Yankees

After a huge comback win over the Yankees thanks to a 4-run 6th inning, the Blue Jays were looking to extend the win streak to 3 games on the annual Canada Day game. The Blue Jays were looking to improve on a dubious 16-29 Canada Day record. They did not play on Canada day in 1981 (strike), 1993 (off-day) and 2020 (pandemic; season didn't start until July 24th. Jonatan Clase was optioned to AAA-ball and Leo Jimenez was recalled from AAA-ball and started at SS. Kevin Gausman got the start with Tyler Heineman behind the plate. Alejandro Kirk was DH today. George Springer was in the lineup in RF despite leaving yesterday's game after slamming throat-first into the knee of Jazz Chisholm Jr. Davis Schneider was in LF and Andre Gimenez was at 2B. Could the Blue Jays extend the win streak to 3 games and snap the 2-game Canada Day losing streak? Here is today's game recap.

Game Highlights:

• The Yankees opened the scoring in the top of the 1st as Jasson Dominguez singled scoring Paul Goldschmidt and Aaron Judge
• The Blue Jays got one back in the bottom of the 4th as George Springer whacked a solo blast to left-center
• Five batters later,  Andre Gimenez hammered a 3-run bomb to dead center; also scoring Davis Schneider and Myles Straw 
• Kevin Gausman pitching line: 5IP 6H 2R (both earned) 4BB 3K 99 pitches (62 for strikes)
• The Yankees got one back in the top of the 7th on a fielding error by Ernie Clement on a ball hit by Giancarlo Stanton that scored Cody Bellinger
• A batter later, Jazz Chisholm Jr scored on a fielder's choice hit by Dominguez. Vladimir Guerrero Jr was charged with a fielding error on the play 
• Max Fried pitching line: 6IP 3H 4R (all earned) 2BB 2K 99 pitches (62 for strikes)
• The Blue Jays retook the lead in the bottom half of the inning as Clement singled scoring Gimenez
• A batter later,  Springer drilled a grand slam to left-center; also scoring Gimenez, Tyler Heineman and Addison Barger 
• The Blue Jays added a run in the bottom of the 8th on a bases loaded walk to Clement that forced in Nathan Lukes
• A batter later, Springer singled scoring Gimenez and Barger
• The Yankees got one back in the top of the 9th on a fielder's choice hit by Dominguez that scored Aaron Judge
• Final score: Blue Jays 12 Yankees 5

My Take: 

• Kevin Gausman battled through 5 innings, giving up a pair of runs on 6 hits while walking 4 and striking out 3. Gausman gave up a pair in the first, retired 5 in a row then worked his way out of a couple of jams. He kept the big bats of Aaron Judge and Giancarlo Stanton largely in check and more importantly in the ballpark
• The bullpen gave up three runs on 3 hits, a pair of fielding errors, 3 walks while striking out 2 over the last 4 innings. Which lefty reliever will last longer: Mason Fluharty or Justin Bruihl, who had 2 of the runs charged to him and retired just one batter? Brayden Fisher, who got the Blue Jays out of the mess Bruihl created, was credited with the win
• George Springer was excellent this afternoon. Less than 24 hours after leaving yesterday's game after slamming throat first into Jazz Chisholm Jr, Springer drove in 7 runs, including a grand slam, and led the Blue Jays to victory. To the players and managers picking the reserves for the all-star game, pick Springer, arguably the comeback player of the year, and dialling the clock back at least 5 years.
• Andres Gimenez also loomed large in this game, scoring three times and driving in 3 runs
• The Blue Jays were an impressive 5-7 with runners in scoring position
• Up next, the Blue Jays go for their 4th straight win, 15th series win and a chance to draw even with the Yankees for 1st place in the AL East. Ace Jose Berrios starts against Yankees righty Will Warner

Game #85 New York Yankees (48-36) v. Toronto Blue Jays (46-38)