A can be quite a chore to keep up with a full MLB regular season, 162 games is A LOT. Not to worry because this is what I’m here for. I’ll be posting a quick recap of all the Blue Jays games throughout the week that was, so you can be up to date on Canada’s team. This past week had a back-to-back 3 game series against the Yankees in New York, and another away series against the Texas Rangers before the “home opener” against the Angels.

https://twitter.com/BlueJays/status/1377629392726327310

Game 1: Jays 3 - Yankees 2 (10 innings)

Opening day had Blue Jays ace Hyun-jin Ryu throw a solid 5 1/3 innings where his only mistake was a 2 run Home Run served up to Yankees catcher Gary Sanchez. An RBI from Lourdes Gurriel Jr and a solo shot from Teoscar Hernandez saw the game tied at 2’s going into extra innings. Randal Grichuk would smack the first pitch he saw over Aaron Judge cashing in Jonathan Davis to give the Jays a 3-2 lead. Julian Merryweather would come in for the bottom half of the inning and impressively strike out the side to shut the door and earn his first save of the season.

Game 2: Jays 3 - Yankees 5

Marcus Semien would have a great game for the Jays, going 2 for 4 with a walk, 2 RBI’s and his first Home Run as a Blue Jay. Unfortunately, that would be pretty much it for the Toronto offence, as the Jays would fall behind in the 4th inning after another Gary Sanchez HR and they never recovered.

Game 3: Jays 3 - Yankees 1

The Rubber match would see the Jays out in front early in this one, as they put up a three spot in the 2nd inning from a solo HR from Vladimir Guerrero Jr and a 2 run shot from Randal Grichuk. That would be all the runs that T.J Zeuch and the rest of the Jays bullpen would need, as they would only allow 1 run on 5 hits, with Merryweather coming to record his second straight save.

Jays Series Standout:

https://twitter.com/BlueJays/status/1378762815947870209

Randal Grichuk is my standout for this series as he knocked in the winning run in the 10th in game 1 and his HR was the difference in game 3. (honourable mention Julien Merryweather)

Game 1: Jays 6 - Rangers 2

In the first game of this series, we saw another good day at the plate from Marcus Semien which included his second HR of the year, but this game was all about Steven Matz. Matz had a rough season last year, but got off to a great start in Texas. He went 6 1/3 innings giving up 1 run on only 2 hits, while striking out 9. This one never looked in doubt for the Jays and they took the opener of the series easily.

Game 2: Jays 4 - Rangers 7

The second game was basically just a reversal of game one. Tanner Roark really struggled in his debut, only getting through 3 innings and giving up 5 runs and 3 Home Runs (two to Nate Lowe). The only bright spot of this game was Bo Bichette getting off the mark by hitting his first two Home Runs of the season — only problem, no runners on base.

Game 3: Jays 1 - Rangers 2

The series finale saw the Blue Jays waste another good outing from Ryu as he went a strong 7 innings again only allowing 2 runs while striking out 7. The only Jays run came on the 3rd Home Run of the year from Semien. Ian Kennedy struck out Rowdy Tellez with a man on to end this one and give the series win to the Rangers.

Jays Series Standout:

https://twitter.com/BlueJays/status/1379889380685406208

Marcus Semien is my standout for this series as he is really thriving in the lead off role. His 3 HR’s lead the team and when an opposing pitcher makes a mistake, he’s hitting them hard.

The season is still very young, but it’s apparent that the Jays need more runners on base. They currently sit 5th in the league in team Home Runs with 9, but the majority of them have been with nobody on base. The biggest positive from the first two series has been the pitching. Other then the disastrous start from Roark, and Rafeal Dolis looking a little shaky, every other starter and reliever has looked really good.

Next up for the Blue Birds is a 4 game series against the Angels, followed by another 3 game series against the Bronx Boomers.

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.

ICYMI PLEASE do yourself a favour and check out the interview Peeze and Terry did with former Expos VP David Samson.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nXrnAr_Rsc8&t=148s