The Blue Jays were coming off a very solid week, going 5-1 over the past 6 games, and they were hoping to continue to build off this momentum. We’ve seen multiple times this year, the Jays have good weeks, followed by bad weeks, and the deeper we get into the season, that’s not going to get them to the playoffs. The Jays continued their 4 game series against the Orioles, and then they welcomed the Seattle Mariners for a 3 game series.
Game 2: Jays 5 – 6 Orioles (10 Innings)
Trying to continue their current win streak which sat at 5 games, the Jays and Alek Manoah were taking on a struggling Baltimore team. Toronto would get Manoah some run support, putting up 1 run in the 2nd, 3rd, and 4th innings curtesy solo home runs from George Springer and Vladdy Guerrero, and an RBI infield single by Lourdes Gurriel Jr. Manoah went a solid 6 inning, allowing 0 earned runs, on 4 hits, and left the game being up 3-1. Marcus Semien would add to the Jays lead in the 7th with a 2 RBI double to make it 5-1. Unfortunately, the Toronto bullpen would let them down again, as Tyler Chatwood and Taylor Saucedo would allow the Orioles to tie the game at 5. This game needed extra innings, and in the 10th, Trent Thornton would walk in the eventual winning run. Another tough loss for the Jays where the bullpen couldn’t shut the door.
Game 3: Jays 12 – 4 Orioles
Toronto would bounce back quickly, with help from the offence and a good outing from their ace. The Jays would go up 4-0 in the 3rd in thanks to a Bo Bichette RBI double, and back-to-back home runs from Vladdy and Teoscar Hernandez. Toronto would add 4 more runs in the 5th, when George Springer would hit an RBI bloop single, and Randal Grichuk would cap off the inning with a 3-run HR. The Blue Jays would another 4 runs in the next inning with RBI’s from Hernandez, Springer, and Grichuk to make it 12-0 Toronto. All 12 of the Jays’ runs came with 2 outs! Hyun Jin Ryu was flawless through 6 innings, and though he had trouble in the 7th, giving up 4 runs of his own, the Jays would hold on for the 12-4 win.
Game 4: Jays 5 – 2 Orioles
The Orioles would get out in front early when Ryan Mountcastle hit a solo home run off of Jays starter Ross Stripling in the 1st. Toronto would get that run back in the 2nd inning, and a 2 RBI double by Guerrero Jr in the 3rd, gave Toronto the 3-1 lead. Baltimore would get a run in the top half of the 5th, closing the gap to 3-2, but Cavan Biggio would answer that with another 2-run double for Toronto. 5-2 is how this one would end, as the Blue Jays’ bullpen had a much better game.
Jays Series Standout:
Vladimir Guerrero Jr is the standout in this series, and it’s an easy choice. He is crushing baseballs for fun right now, and is a threat to cause damage everytime he steps up to the plate.
Game 1: Jays 9 – 3 Mariners
The Jays would get out in front early, when Marcus Semien would double in a pair in the 2nd inning, and Cavan Biggio would make it 3-0 in the 5th with a sac fly. Robbie Ray was cruising along in this game racking up 10 Ks in 6 innings, but did surrender a game tying 3-run HR to Ty France in the 6th inning. The Blue Jays would have an answer in their half of the 6th, when Bo Bichette would get those 3 runs back right away with a 3-run homer of his own. As it turns out, 3-run home runs were the theme of the night, because Marcus Semien would hit 3-run shot of his own in the 7th inning making it 9-3. The Mariners couldn’t recover, and that’s how this one ended.
Game 2: Jays 7 – 9 Mariners (10 innings)
Toronto would load the bases with nobody out in the 2nd inning, but all they could manage to do was score 1 run on a Gurriel Jr sac fly. Seattle would make the Jays pay for that, as the next inning they would put up 4 runs, capped by Kyle Seager 2-run HR. Toronto would get 2 back when Randal Grichuk hit a 2-run double to make it 4-3. Marcus Semien would tie the game in the 4th with a RBI double of his own. The game wasn’t tied long, as in the 5th inning Mitch Haniger hit a 2-run home run to put the Mariners back on top 6-4. Lourdes Gurriel Jr did his best to keep his club in this one, he singled in a run in the 5th, and tied the game in the 8th with a solo home run, sending this game to extra innings. This is as close as the Jays would get, as the Mariners put up 3 runs on Patrick Murphy in the 10th. Toronto would get 1 in the bottoms half of the 10th but it wasn’t enough, and they’d drop game 2.
Game 3: Jays 2 – 7 Mariners
Seattle would get to Jays starter Hyun Jin Ryu early and often in this game. The Mariners had 5 runs in the first 3 innings, highlighted by home runs from Jake Fraley and Shed Long Jr, and chased the Toronto ace after only 4 innings. Marcus Semien stayed hot, hitting a lead off home run against Seattle started Yusei Kikuchi, but after that, Kikuchi was lights out. He went 7 innings, and the Jays did very little against him the rest of the way. Bo Bichette added an RBI in the 8th inning, but Seattle took control early and never let it go, and they took the deciding game 7-2.
Jays Series Standout:
Again, a very easy choice here as Marcus Semien was on fire against Seattle. He had a couple of home runs, and 7 RBIs in total.
It’s unfortunate that the Blue Jays couldn’t keep the momentum going, and posted yet another .500 week. They’re sitting 8.5 games back of division leading Boston Red Sox, and 3.5 games back of Tampa for that second wild card spot. They can make some of that ground up right away, as they’ll be taking on the Rays in a 3 game series over the weekend, and then they’ll be taking on Baltimore once again, in a 3 game series as well.
You can catch every inning of Toronto Blue Jays baseball on Rogers Sportsnet, and check in here weekly at Hot Sauce Sports for the breakdown.
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Here is the latest episode of the Chtib and Zhang show, where the boys will be previewing the Stanley Cup Finals.