The Toronto Blue Jays made a frantic push to shore up their pitching on Monday by acquiring three hurlers, including left-hander Francisco Liriano from the Pittsburgh Pirates.
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McCullers missed the first six weeks of the season with right shoulder soreness, and the image of him shaking his right arm before walking off the mound was a sobering one for a club pursing a postseason berth. That might have been the first time all year that I haven’t walked anybody and if I can do that in the strike zone, I’m in for a good run here.
He had allowed 18 runs -17 earned – over his last three starts, all losses.
Dickey said he was on top of a lot of knuckleballs Tuesday night, with different movement and different speeds. “Concern? No, I believe in our guys and love our guys”. “One of the differences tonight that was fairly dramatic for me was my command with the knuckleball”.
In addition to his standing among active players, Bautista is just the 10th Dominican-born player in Major League Baseball history to reach 300 home runs, though he’ll undoubtedly be joined by long-time teammate Encarnacion soon enough, per Sportsnet Stats.
“It’s always a friendly reminder that you’ve been doing this a long time and enjoyed some success”, Bautista said about the milestone. “I’ll get to enjoy that in the offseason”. The Encarnacion homer, his 29th of the season, was a majestic thing to behold, caroming off the glass wall above the seating area in left field. Evan Gattis picked up a RBI single with a line drive back up the middle. Jose Altuve had three hits for Houston.
Lance McCullers left with right elbow discomfort, and the Houston Astros’ offence continued to sputter. The report from the Astros medical people indicated McCullers experienced discomfort in his right elbow and he will be evaluated further on Wednesday. The thumb injury hasn’t hindered his ability to play the field – so he could come off the bench in a pinch – but it has prevented him from comfortably gripping a bat. “We’re taking it step by step and see where we’re at tomorrow”, McCullers said. I felt fine when I was out there. Those eight strikeouts tied the 1986 record of the Pirates’ Barry Jones for most strikeouts by a reliever making his major-league debut. The Astros recalled IF A.J. Reed from Triple-A Fresno. He will oppose Astros right-hander Collin McHugh (7-7, 4.75 ERA), who is coming off his worst start of the season.
Finally, the last deal the Blue Jays made was when they sent Jesse Chavez to the Los Angeles Dodgers for Mike Bolsinger. The Blue Jays optioned INF Ryan Goins and RHP Bo Schultz to Buffalo. Estrada allowed four runs in his last outing Friday against Baltimore, the most runs he had allowed since May 14 when he was tagged for five runs.
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And that he did, tossing seven strong innings, muffling the Houston Astros’ offence and giving his team a chance to win.
