Game #6 Toronto Blue Jays (3-3) @ Texas Rangers (3-3) - game recap

 

Hyun-Jin Ryu threw 7 strong innings in a losing effort as the Rangers edged the Blue Jays 2-1

After splitting the first two games of the series, the Blue Jays were looking to leave Texas and end the first road trip of the season with a second series win. Bad news before the game. George Springer tweaked his quad running the bases. Severity pending MRI results. Ace Hyun-Jin Ryu made his second start of the season. He allowed two runs and pitched into the 6th inning on opening day. Bo Bichette got the half day off, serving as the DH. Joe Panik got the start at 2B. Danny Jansen was back behind the plate after the day off yesterday. Could the Blue Jays make it two series wins in a row? Here is today's game recap.

Game Highlights:

• The Rangers opened the scoring in the bottom of the 2nd as Nick Solak lined a screamer down the left field line and into the second deck
• Four batters later, Leody Tavaras singled home Jose Trevino
• Kyle Gibson pitching line: 6IP 6H 0R 1BB 8K 82 pitches (55 for strikes)
• The Blue Jays got a run back in the top of the 8th as Marcus Semien hammered a solo bomb into the upper deck in left
• Hyun-Jin Ryu pitching line: 7IP 7H 2R (both earned) 0BB 7K 90 pitches (68 for strikes)
• Ian Kennedy struck out the side in the 9th for his second straight save
• Final score: Rangers 2 Blue Jays  1

My Take:

• Hyun-Jin Ryu did what aces are supposed to do, give his team a chance to win. Unfortunately, he got no run support. Ryu had one bad inning in the 2nd, giving up 4 hits and 2 runs. The rest of the way, Ryu gave up 3 hits and retired eight and five batters in a row. He walked none.
• Marcus Semien has been hot/cold at the top of the lineup. Today, he was 2-3 with a solo HR and a walk. With the injury setback to George Springer, Semien will continue to lead off on a mostly daily basis.
• Too many strikeouts today. The Blue Jays as a team struck out 12 times. Teoscar Hernandez struck out 3 times
• The Blue Jays were 0-4 with runners in scoring position
• Rafael Dolis, who has had a shaky start to his season, was efficient today, inducing the only batter he faced into an out on just 4 pitches
• Up next, the Blue Jays head to one of their temporary homes in Dunedin to start the home portion of their schedule. With the border still closed indefinitely and a 14-day quarantine still in effect for people entering the country, the Blue Jays will play in Dunedin this home stand and through at least the May 21-24 series vs. Tampa Bay. At this point, I think it's unlikely Canada will be vaccinated sufficiently and have COVID cases under sufficient control to reopen the border. Most of Canada is still vaccinating the older population and those with medical conditions such as cancer. Ontario reported more than 3200 new cases today. The Blue Jays will open the home portion of the schedule with a 4-game series vs. the LA Angels. The Blue Jays won just one of the 6 games vs. the Angels in 2019 and were outscored 45-27. Ross Stripling faces an important start with Robbie Ray getting close to returning from a left elbow contusion from a fall down a flight of stairs. The Angels will counter with righty Griffin Canning

Game 6 game thread - Blue Jays (3-2) at Rangers (2-3)

 

Wed, Apr 7 • 2:05 PM EDT

At Globe Life Field

Hyun Jin Ryu vs Kyle Gibson 

Game #5 Toronto Blue Jays (3-2) @ Texas Rangers (2-3) - game recap

 

Bo Bichette hit a pair of solo HRs in a losing effort as the Rangers knocked off the Blue Jays 7-4

After a solid win highlighted by a stellar start by Steven Matz, who pitched into the 7th inning and struck out nine batters, the Blue Jays were looking to extend the winning streak to three games. Tanner Roark got his first start of the season. Last season, Roark was 2-3 with a 6.80ERA in 11 starts. Vladimir Guerrero Jr. was back in the field after DH'ing last night. Alejandro Kirk got the start behind the plate after Danny Jansen left yesterday's game in the 8th after taking a deflection off his knee. Teoscar Hernandez got the start in RF and Lourdes Gurriel Jr. was in LF after a day off yesterday. Could the Blue Jays make it three wins in a row? Here is tonight's game recap.

Game Highlights:

• The Blue Jays opened the scoring in the top of the 1st as Bo Bichette cranked a solo blast to left-center 
• The Rangers took the lead in the bottom half of the inning as Nate Lowe crushed a two-run bomb to left-center and into the Blue Jays bullpen; also scoring Isiah Kiner-Falefa
• The Rangers added a run in the bottom of the 2nd as Ronald Guzman hammered a solo bomb to right
• The Rangers added a pair of runs in the bottom of the 3rd as Lowe smashed a 2-run bomb to dead center also scoring David Dahl
• Tanner Roark pitching line: 3IP 6H 5R (all earned) 0BB 2K 59 pitches (34 for strikes)
• Dane Dunning pitching line: 5IP 3H 1R (earned) 0BB 6K 70 pitches (51 for strikes)
• The Rangers added a run in the bottom of the 6th as Jonah Heim smacked a solo shot to left-center 
• The Blue Jays got a run back in the top of the 7th on a wild pitch by Taylor Hearn that scored Vladimir Guerrero Jr.
• Same batter, Randal Grichuk singled scoring Lourdes Gurriel Jr.
• The Blue Jays got one back in the top of the 8th as Bo Bichette banged a solo blast over the wall in left
• The Rangers added a run in the bottom of the 8th as Brock Holt Singled home Nick Solak
• Ian Kennedy pitched a perfect 9th for his first save of the season.
• Final score: Rangers 7 Blue Jays 4

My Take:

• It was a rough start for Tanner Roark, who was hit hard by the long ball tonight. He gave up 5 runs on 6 hits (3 of those hits left the ball park) while walking none and striking out 2. Even several of the outs were loud. Bottom line, Roark needs to work on his command and not hang his off-speed stuff and not leave pitches in the middle of the plate. This was a consistent problem for Roark last season as well. He gave up 14HR in 11 starts in 2020.
• Tonight's game featured 4 starters turned relievers: David Phelps (pitched his first 4 seasons in the bigs as a spot starter/long reliever), Ryan Borucki (was supposed to be developed into a starter, but elbow issues have rendered him a reliever), Tommy Milone (has largely been a starting pitcher in the MLB over the course of his 10 year career. He'll start as a long reliever in the bullpen, but will be an option to start in the event of injuries), Ian Kennedy (he was a starting pitcher for Arizona, San Diego and Kansas City. His best season was 2011 when he went 21-4 and finished 4th in Cy Young voting. Became KC's closer in 2018 and notched 30 saves. Got his first save of the season tonight)
• Vladimir Guerrero Jr. saw his 4 game hitting streak come to an end. He did draw a walk to keep the on-base streak alive
• Bo Bichette carried the offense with a pair of home runs
• I really liked how the Blue Jays manufactured a pair of runs in the 7th inning. Home runs are great and all, but pitchers will adjust. Good teams do more than just crank home runs. 
• The top of the batting order was quiet tonight. Cavan Biggio and Marcus Semien were a combined 0-8 and both players struck out twice
• Up next, the Blue Jays wrap up the series and first road trip of the season. Ace Hyun-Jin Ryu gets his second start of the season and will be looking for his second win of the season after holding the Yankees to a pair of runs on opening day. Danny Jansen is expected to be back behind the plate after sitting this one out, possibly planned and possibly as a precaution after taking a deflected ball off his right knee. The Rangers will counter with righty Kyle Gibson  

Game 5 game thread! - Blue Jays (3-1) at Texas Rangers (1-3)

 

Tues, Apr 6  -   8:05 PM EDT

Globe Life Field
Tanner Roark vs Dane Dunning

Game #4 Toronto Blue Jays (3-1) @ Texas Rangers (1-3) - game recap

 

Steven Matz fired 6.1 strong innings in a 6-2 victory over the Rangers

After a successful series win over the Yankees, the Blue Jays moved onto Texas to take on the Rangers for the first time since August 12-14 at the Rogers Center (of course they only faced the AL East and NL East in the 60 game schedule last season). Texas took two of three at Arlington. It will be vastly different teams facing each other. One familiar face no longer on the Rangers is Elvis Andrus, who is now with Atlanta. Texas lost 2/3 in their opening series vs. Kansas City. Mike Foltynewicz got the start for Texas. He had a rough 2020 campaign, DFA'd after one start and spent most of the season at the Braves alternate training site. He was sharp during spring training, allowing 3 runs over 2 starts. Steven Matz, acquired from the Mets makes his regular season debut for the Blue Jays. Matz looked very good in spring training. Hopefully the good spring training carries over to the regular season. Vladimir Guerrero Jr. got the half day off serving as the DH, with Rowdy Tellez getting the start at 1B. Danny Jansen was back behind the plate after the day off yesterday. Jonathan Davis got the start in CF. The remainder of the lineup was the same as the first three games of the season. Could the Blue Jays make it two wins in a row? Here is today's game recap.

Game Highlights:

• The Blue Jays opened the scoring in the top of the 1st as Vladimir Guerrero Jr. singled home Cavan Biggio
• The Blue Jays added a pair of runs in the top of the 2nd as Marcus Semien smashed a 2-run blast to left, also scoring Randal Grichuk
• A batter later, Biggio whacked a solo blast to left
• The Rangers got one back in the bottom of the 4th as Nate Lowe singled scoring Isiah Kiner-Falefa
• Mike Foltynewicz pitching line: 4IP 4H 4R (all earned) 3BB 7K 95 pitches (59 for strikes)
• The Blue Jays added a run in the top of the 6th as Grichuk singled scoring Guerrero Jr.
• Steven Matz pitching line: 6.1IP 2H 1R (earned) 2BB 9K 91 pitches (62 for strikes)
• The Rangers got one back in the bottom of the 9th as Brock Holt doubled home Nick Solak
• Final score: Blue Jays 6 Rangers 2

My Take:

• Steven Matz was excellent in his first start in a Blue Jays uniform, firing 6.1 innings, allowing 1 run on 2 hits while walking 2 and striking out 9. The only inning where he really ran into trouble was the 4th where he allowed his only run on a pair of hits and a hit batter 
• Speaking of hit batters, it was a rough day for Blue Jays batters. Vladimir Guerrero Jr, Rowdy Tellez, Bo Bichette and Cavan Biggio were all plunked by pitches. All were ok to finish the game
• Danny Jansen was unable to finish the game. He took a deflected ball off his right knee. While he finished the inning, he was replaced by Alejandro Kirk to start the 7th.
• Vladimir Guerrero Jr. extended his hitting streak to 4 games
• Rafael Dolis continues to make me nervous. He hit the first batter he faced, struck out the next 2 batters, gave up a double before escaping the jam with a strikeout
• Tim Mayza had another strong outing, striking out a batter after Bichette flubbed a play he should have had 
• Texas is crazy for allowing a full stadium in the middle of a global pandemic. It'll be a miracle if this event doesn't become a super spreader 
• Up next, the Blue Jays and Rangers continue the series. Veteran Tanner Roark goes against Rangers rookie Dane Dunning.