The Blue Jays have played sloppy defense and their hitting has been inconsistent for the past few weeks. While I don’t get a vote for the AL Cy Young Award (it would be hard for a Canadian to vote against Happ) I believe that it will most likely come down to Happ, Kluber or Porcello (though a case could also be made for Britton, who, in a past era, might also be considered for AL MVP). It mattered. But when Jose Bautista came to the plate with one out in the top of the 9th inning and erased a 1-0 deficit with a monster blast down the left field line, the fiery slugger didn’t flip his bat a la Game 5 of the 2015 ALDS.
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The numbers would suggest that, although the Blue Jays have relied on the long ball slightly more this season compared to last, their ability to hit clutch home runs and win such games is virtually unchanged. He escaped the inning without any more damage, getting Jose Bautista to ground into an inning-ending double play thanks to a nice play by second baseman Ronald Torreyes. And to hold position, the Blue Jays need to take care of business against the Yankees Sept. 23-25 and the Red Sox Sept. 30-Oct. 2. This start, along with the 51/3 scoreless, one-hit innings he threw in the 2014 finale against the Angels, a literal must-win game, is the counter argument.
Once again, Joey Bats comes through in the clutch for the Blue Jays.
“I’m happy for him, ” Mariners manager Scott Servais said. “Especially since we’ve got a different type of crowd now”. The entire sequence of events that culminated in the loss – a stellar performance by the starting pitcher wasted by the inability to score and a fielding error that ultimately led to the winning run – serves as a ideal microcosm of the Jays’ 2016 campaign. He earned his first major league win against the Blue Jays on September 7. tossing five scoreless innings – four hits, two walks and two strikeouts – in his first start of the season.
He left the game after stifling the NY offence to just three hits over six innings while striking out six, his record now 2-2 since joining the Blue Jays in a trade from Pittsburgh on August 1. He is 1-2 with a 3.89 ERA for Toronto. “We had some chances, but the pitching on both sides was really good”. Or so it appears in what has been the least dominating season of King Felix’s career.
Although he did not get a decision, Sanchez’s 13-2 record is still the best winning percentage (.867) in the majors.
Helped by two double plays and a runner caught stealing by Toronto catcher Dioner Navarro, Stroman faced just one over the minimum 21 batters in his seven innings.
It was not necessarily about good taste in fashion, but the Blue Jays were certainly making some sort of a statement in their choice of attire heading into the start of their series against the New York Yankees at Rogers Centre on Friday night.
Francisco Liriano and three relievers combined on a three-hitter, Troy Tulowitzki had four RBIs and the Toronto Blue Jays routed the New York Yankees 9-0 on Friday to maintain a one-game lead in the AL wild card standings. Didi Gregorius has hit 148 times with 65 runs and 67 RBI. The Mariners followed an eight-game winning streak by losing four out of five. Only one of their three remaining series is against a team ahead of them (Houston) in the wild card race.
“At the end of the day it’s what it’s going to take to get ready to pitch that game”, Sanchez said of his return to normalcy. LHP James Paxton (4-7, 3.88 ERA) starts the Friday opener.
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“It’s hard to explain”, NY manager Joe Girardi said of the offensive drought. “I didn’t know the whole freakin” team was going to have baby shirts.
