After what was maybe the most impressive and important 7 games of the season, where the Jays swept both the Oakland A’s and the New York Yankees, the work can’t end there. The Jays had 7 games in 6 days this week with 4 games in Baltimore, before welcoming in Tampa Bay for 3 games. With less the 25 games remaining, every single win counts.
Game 1: Jays 3 – 6 Orioles
The series didn’t start off the way Toronto had hoped, and for the first time, in a long time, Robbie Ray didn’t have a good game. Ray was hit early as he allowed 3 runs in the 1st inning, and was only able to get through 4 1/3 innings. However, like they’ve been doing for the last few weeks, the Jays battled back. Bo Bichette singled in a run in the 6th, and both Randal Grichuk and Marcus Semien drove in runs in the 7th to tie the game at 3. The difference in this game came in the bottom half of the 7th. Anthony Santander hit a 3-run homer off of the returning Julian Merryweather to give the O’s the 6-3 win.
Game 2: Jays 11 – 10 Orioles (7 innings)
Another game where the Jays pitching staff got roughed up, and it was another unlikely candidate. Hyun Jin Ryu only got through 2 1/3 and allowed 7 runs. Ross Stripling came in and he allowed another 3 all before the 4 inning was over. Luckily for the Jays, the bats came to play. Home runs from Lourdes Gurriel Jr, Vladdy Guerrero Jr, and Danny Jansen cut the lead to 10-5. Jake Lamb cashed in 2 more in the top of the 5th, to make it 10-7, and in the 7th, the Jays completed the comeback. Gurriel Jr and Jake Lamb knocked in a run to trim the lead to 1, and George Springer came in clutch with a go-ahead 2-run home run! Jordan Romano closed it out to secure the dramatic win for Toronto.
Game 3: Jays 11 – 2 Orioles (7 innings)
This game was all about the 7th inning for Toronto. It’s not often you win a game, when only scoring in 1 inning, yet here we are. The Jays went down 1-0 after a Cedric Mullens solo home run. That was the only mistake that Thomas Hatch made in his 4 innings of work. It stayed that way until Toronto exploded in the 7th. It started with a 2-run HR by Bo Bichette to give the Jays the lead, but they weren’t even close to being done. Alejandro Kirk had a 2-run homer, and both Marcus Semien and Teoscar Hernandez had 3-run home runs of their own, to cap off an 11 run inning! A great Saturday for the Jays where they scored 22 runs throughout the day, and speaking of 22 runs…
Game 4: Jays 22 – 7 Orioles
Another game were the Jays’ bats came to play, and this one was over by the 3rd inning. The 1st inning saw Teo Hernandez get he by a pitch with the bases loaded, and then Lourdes Gurriel Jr hit another grand slam to make it 5-0 after 1. It was 6-3 going into the 3rd inning when Toronto let loose on the Orioles pitching for the second day in a row. The Jays put up 10 runs in the 3rd, which was highlighted by Toronto’s second grand slam of the day, this time by Teoscar Hernandez. The Jays would add on 7 more runs and easily take this game by a score of 22-7.
Jays Series Standout:
The series standout is the offense as a unit. Guys like Lourdes Gurriel Jr and Teo Hernandez stick out but the Jays offense as a team put up 47 runs in 4 games, which is just insane!
Game 1: Jays 8 – 1 Rays
The first game against the division leading Tampa Bay Rays went really well for Toronto, and a big part of that was thanks to Alek Manoah. Manoah went 8 innings of scoreless ball, while only allowing 1 hit, and striking out 10. This gave the offense the chance to take over the game, which it did, starting in the 4th. Lourdes Gurriel Jr, and Randal Grichuk both drove in runs to make it 2-0, then Breyvic Valera would cash both of them in to double the lead. The next inning, Bo Bichette would hit a solo homer, then Gurriel Jr, and Valera would cash in 2 more runs. The icing on the cake, was Vladdy Guerrero Jr’s 45th homer of the season to make it 8-0 after 6. The Rays added 1 late but it wouldn’t make a difference, as Toronto took game 1.
Game 2: Jays 0 – 2 Rays
For the first time in a while, the Jays’ bats were finally shut down. A combination of 5 Rays’ pitchers held the Jays to 3 hits and no runs. Jose Berrios was on the mound for Toronto, and his only mistake was to Ji-Man Choi in the 2nd inning. Berrios went 7 innings only allowing the 1 run. Brandon Lowe added another solo shot late, but this one was all about the Rays pitching staff.
Game 3: Jays 6 – 3 Rays
In the rubber match of this series, it was all about one guy, Bo Bichette. He got things started in the 1st with a 3-run home run to give Toronto the early lead. He then drove in Marcus Semien in the 3rd, with a sac fly, and Bichette’s final RBI came in the 5th, when he singled in George Springer. Robbie Ray had a typical Robbie Ray start. He went 7 innings only allowing 1 run, and adding 13 more strike outs to his tally for the season. Again, the Rays added runs late, but the Jays bullpen was able to close it out.
Jays Series Standout:
The series standout for this one is Bo Bichette. He had 2 HRs and 6 RBIs throughout the series, and basically won game 3 by himself.
It was another good week for the Blue Jays, and as of right now, the Jays are currently .5 games up on both the Yankees and the Red Sox in the wild card race. Toronto need to keep building on this momentum into next week. Next up is a 3 game series with the Minnesota Twins, and then 3 more games against Tampa Bay Rays.
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Here is the latest episode of the Chtib and Zhang show, where the guys have shifted from hockey to football, and are talking all things NFL.