The Toronto Blue Jays are coming off one of their best weeks of the season were they won 6 of 7 games. Toronto look to build off this as they start getting closer to the top of the A.L East. This week, they had a massive 4 game series against the Red Sox, and another 4 game series against the Angels.
Game 1: Toronto 12 – 4 Red Sox
Alek Manoah was on the mound for the Jays to open the series, and he had a good game. Only going 5 innings, but he would limit the damage allowed to only 2 runs. It was 2-0 Red Sox in the bottom of the 5th, when the Blue Jays offense would explode. Toronto would put up 9 runs in a wild 5th inning to really put the momentum in their favour. The jays went through the order a time and a half in the inning that was capped off by a Lourdes Gurriel Jr 2-run home run and a George Springer 2-run double. The teams traded runs a few innings later but it was all over after the 5th. The Jays would take the first game 12-4.
Game 2: Jays 1 – 0 Red Sox (7 innings)
This game would be incredibly quick. To start off with, it was only a 7 inning game because it was the first half of a double header, but also because it only had 4 total hits in the game. Both starting pitchers had great games. Both Robbie Ray and Nick Pivetta went 6 scoreless innings, allowing a combined 3 hits. The difference came from the closers. Jordan Romano was able to pitch a scoreless 7th inning, while Matt Barnes wasn’t. Barnes’ first pitch he threw in the 7th was to Marcus Semien, and the Jays’ second baseman would hit a walk-off solo home run to win the game.
Game 3: Jays 1 – 2 Red Sox (8 innings)
The second game of the double header was also a low scoring game. Breyvic Valera would get the lone Jays run in this game with an RBI single in the 4th. Jose Berrios was making his second start for Toronto, and had another good outing. His only mistake in his 6 innings of work, was giving up a solo home run to Alex Verdugo in the 6th inning. Berrios would leave the game tied at 1-1 and a no decision. This game needed extras, and in the 8th inning, Jonathan Arauz would single in the winning run off of Adam Cimber.
Game 4: Jays 9 – 8 Red Sox
The final game of the series didn’t start well for Toronto. Hyun Jin Ryu didn’t have his best stuff, and was pulled from the game in the 4th after allowing 7 runs. With the score 7-2 Red Sox in the 5th, the Jays started a comeback. Vladdy Guerrero Jr hit a 2-run home run to cut the lead to 7-4, and in the 7th, RBI’s from Marcus Semien and Teo Hernandez would make it 8-6. This was all setting the stage for the man of the hour, George Springer to be the hero again. Springer would hit a 3-run homer in the bottom of the 8th inning to give the Jays the 9-8 lead, and Jordan Romano would shut the door to give the Jays the win.
Jays Series Standout:
It’s almost like a broken record at this point, but the standout for me again is George Springer. He has a hand in everything at the moment, and his huge 3-run shot in game 4 earns him the title.
Game 1: Jays 3 – 6 Angels (7 innings)
Justin upton would open the scoring in this game with a 2-run single off of Steven Matz in the 3rd inning. Marcus Semien would get 1 run back right away in the bottom half with an RBI double. In the 5th inning, the Angels would get 2 more runs on a uncharacteristic error by Vladdy when miss judged an easy pop out because he was fighting the sun. Each team would plate 2 more runs and this one ended 6-3 Angels. This was a strange game, as even though it was played in California, the Jays were the home team because of a rainout earlier this year.
Game 2: Jays 4 – 0 Angels (7 innings)
The Jays would have a rotation game from their bullpen, where no pitcher went more then 2 innings. The strategy works as Stripling, Richards, Cimber, and Romano threw a combined 3 hit shutout over the 7 inning game. The offense in this game came from RBIs from Vladdy and Teo Hernandez in the 1st inning to make it 2-0. Lourdes Gurriel Jr would add some extra insurance in the 6th, when he’d single with the bases loaded to score 2 more runs. The series now tied at 1.
Game 3: Jays 10 – 2 Angels
In the 3rd game of this series, Toronto would give the ball to Alek Manoah, and he was solid again. He’d go 6 2/3 innings only allowing 2 runs while striking out 11. The scoring opened in the 3rd, when Gurriel Jr, and George Springer both hit solo home runs to make it 2-0. Shohei Ohtani got those 2 runs back in the bottom half of the inning with a 2-run shot. The Jays would blow this game up in the 5th inning, when they scored 5 runs highlighted by a Teoscar Hernandez grand slam. The Jays would tack on a few more runs in the later innings and take it 10-2.
Game 4: Jays 3 – 6 Angels
The Angels got out in front early in this game, and never really looked back. This was a mouthwatering pitching matchup with Jose Berrios vs Shohei Ohtani, but Berrios Struggled. He wouldn’t be able to get through the 5th inning with most of the damage coming in the 2nd inning when the Angels would score 4 of their 6 runs. Ohtani wasn’t untouchable, but he was the better pitcher on this night. He went 6 innings only allowing 2 runs. The Jays would add 1 run late but would fall 6-3, leaving California with a series split.
Jays Series Standout:
This one will go to Teoscar Hernandez who had that big grand slam in game 3, and had 7 RBIs over the 4 game series.
The Jays now sit 10 games over .500 with a record of 62-52, but they’re still 7.5 games back of the division lead. Next up for the Blue Birds is a short 5 game week. They have 3 against the Seattle Mariners and 2 game series against the Washington Nationals.
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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