- Game #156 - Toronto Blue Jays (77-79) @ Texas Rangers (78-78) - game recap

 

-Nathan Lukes drove in 2 runs and scored twice in a 7-2 win over the Rangers

After another loss due to a subpar start from Jose Soriano, the Blue Jay were looking to snap the 2 game skid and avoid being swept for the 4th time and 1st time in a season series. It was bullpen day (again) with Spencer Miles getting the start and Brandon Valenzuela behind the plate. Josh Smith was in LF and Ernie Clement was at 2B. Could the Blue Jays snap the 2 game skid and avoid being swept for the 4th time and 1st time in a season series? Here is today's game recap.

Game Highlights:

• The Blue Jays opened the scoring in the top of the 1st on a sac fly by Nathan Lukes that scored Brett Bateman
• The Blue Jays added a run in the top of the 3rd as Sean Keys doubled scoring Lukes
• Spencer Miles pitching line: 3IP 2H 0R 0BB 4K 46 pitches (30 for strikes)
• Vladimir Guerrero Jr. was removed from the game prior to the bottom of the 4th with left lower back tightness
• The Rangers tied it in the bottom of the 4th as Jake Burger whacked a 2-run blast to left-center; also scoring Ezequiel Duran
• The Blue Jays retook the lead in the top of the 5th as Kazuma Okamoto singled scoring Bateman
• Jacob deGrom pitching line: 4.1IP 5H 3R (all earned) 4BB 2K 82 pitches (53 for strikes)
• The Blue Jays added a run in the top of the 7th as Lukes singled scoring Bateman
• Three batters later, Charles McAdoo doubled scoring Myles Straw and Lukes
• A batter later, Andres Gimenez singled home McAdoo
• Final score: Blue Jays 7 Rangers 2

My Take:

• Spencer Miles did exactly what the Blue Jays needed him to do - make it through 3 innings. He gave up 2 hits, walked none and struck out 4. He has been the most invaluable pitcher and certainly stretching him out as a starter could be a viable option for him next season. Miles will be needed 2-3 more times in bullpen days with news that Dylan Cease will not make his scheduled start Wednesday in Baltimore with his shoulder not feeling right. Trey Yesavage will also be able to help some too, but the team won't push him either with just days left in the season.
• The rest of the bullpen gave up 2 runs on 5 hits while walking 4 and striking out 3 over the last 6 innings. The already exhausted bullpen is going to have to get a lot more outs with Cease now at least being pushed back and likely done for the year, especially if the Blue Jays are all but eliminated from the playoffs by Wednesday or Thursday. Paul Sewald retired every batter he faced
• Offensively, the Blue Jays strung together a 4-run rally in the 7th inning to put this game out of reach. Nathan Lukes (2 runs scored, 2RBI), Charles McAdoo (2 run double) and Kazuma Okamoto (knocked in the game-winning run) led the way. Depending on the health of Vlad, George Springer and Andres Gimenez - McAdoo, Davis Schneider and Straw might get some playing time in these important games this week. Obviously Vlad will want to play if at all possible.
• The Rangers were successful in their only ABS challenge and the Blue Jays were unsuccessful in their only ABS challenge.
• The Blue Jays were 4-13 with runners in scoring position
• In terms of the wild card race, the Blue Jays stayed alive with the win. They remain 3 (technically 4 since the White Sox hold the tiebreaker over the Blue Jays) games back of the 3rd WC spot since the White Sox won their game. The White Sox remain a game back of the Guardians for the AL Central division title since the Guardians won their game. The Astros (lost today) are also 3 back of the White Sox (tiebreaker still to be determined between the Astros and Blue Jays) and one game back of the Rangers for the AL West title (Astros have the tiebbreaker over the Rangers). The Orioles (currently losing) are 4.5 games back of the final WC spot for the moment and will fall back to 5 games back if the score holds or be 4 games back if they comeback and beay Milwaukee.
• Up next, the Blue Jays travel to Baltimore for the final road series of the season. Implications for the series are huge. The Blue Jays have won 6 of the first 10 games in the season series with the Orioles outscoring the Blue Jays 53-52. One win by the Blue Jays secures the season series win and the tiebreaker over the Orioles. However, if the Orioles sweep the series (and they'll have plenty of incentive to do so to either keep their slim playoff hopes alive or deal a serious blow to the chances of a fierce division rival), they could overtake the Blue Jays in the wild card race. The Astros, Rangers, Guardians and White Sox are all idle tomorrow so a win would be a free half game gain in the wild card standings. Trey Yesavage is expected to come off the IL and start for the Blue Jays. Max Scherzer starts against Orioles righty and ex-Blue Jay starter Chris Bassitt (a battle of fantasy football commissioners too!)

Game #156 Toronto Blue Jays (76-79) @ Texas Rangers (78-77)

 

Game #155 - Toronto Blue Jays (76-79) @ Texas Rangers (78-77) - game recap

 

Davis Schneider hit a solo home run in a 6-2 loss to the Rangers

After a tough loss yesterday due to a bd start from ace Dylan Cease and an even worse effort from the offense, the Blue Jays were looking to even the series and avoid their 23rd series loss of the season. Jose Soriano got the start with Alejandro Kirk behind the plate. Andres Gimenez was back in the lineup at SS after a couple of days off to rest a sore hamstring. Could the Blue Jays even the series and avoid their 23rd series loss of the season? Here is tonight's game recap.

Game Highlights:

• The Rangers opened the scoring in the bottom of the 1st as Josh Jung whacked a solo blast to the opposite field in right
• Cal Quantrill pitching line: 1.1IP 0H 0R 0BB 0K 12 pitches (7 for strikes) (left the game injured) 
• The Rangers added a run in the bottom of the 2nd on a throwing error by Andres Gimenez on a ball hit by Danny Jansen that scored Wyatt Langford
• A batter later, Nicky Lopez scored on a wild pitch by Jose Soriano
• The Blue Jays got one back in the top of the 6th as Alejandro Kirk singled scoring Andres Gimenez
• Thc Rangers added a run in the bottom half of the inning as Langford doubled scoring Jung
• Three batters later, Brandon Nimmo was forced in after Jansen was hit by a pitch with the bases loaded
• A batter later, Langford scored on a sac fly by Evan Carter
• Jose Soriano pitching line: 5IP 4H 6R (5 earned) 1BB 8K 80 pitches (50 for strikes)
• The Blue Jays got one back in the top of the 7th as Davis Schneider whacked a solo blast to left\
• Final score: Rangers 6 Blue Jays 2

My Take:

• Jose Soriano battled through 5 innings, giving up 6 runs on 4 hits while walking 1 and striking out 8. One of the runs against was on him completely, uncorking a wild pitch to make it 3-0. Soriano must have been frustrated to be taken deep with 2 outs in the 1st inning and then to see Ernie Clement throw the ball away for the game's second run in the 2nd inning (anyone missing Bo Bichette?). He did settle down after the throwing error to retire 8 in a row. Soriano will get one more start in the final weekend of the season.
• The bullpen gave up a hit and 3 walks in 3 (mostly) scoreless innings - although Paul Sewald was on the mound when the Rangers 5th and 6th runs came across the plate, but the runs were charged to Soriano. Brendan Cellucci did well to escape a jam due to walking a pair of batters in the 9th. The rookie has looked good in the three games he's pitched. I'd keep him low leverage to let him keep building confidence.
• The bats don't look like they are good enough to carry the Blue Jays to the playoffs. Alejandro Kirk had a third of the Blue Jays hits and drove in half the runs. Davis Scheider went deep for the Blue Jays other run. At least Vlad showed some hustle running from 1st to 3rd. Bottom 4 in the lineup were a combined 1-13.
• Alejandro Kirk successfully overturned both of the Blue Jays ABS challenges. The Rangers did not attempt an ABS challenge
• The Blue Jays were 1-4 with runners in scoring position
• In terms of the wild card race, both the Guardians and White Sox won, so the Chisox remain a game back of the Guardians for the AL Central title. With the win, the Rangers took over top spot in the AL West, placing the Astros (lost today) in the wild card race and 2 games back of the White Sox for the 3rd WC spot.The Blue Jays are 3 games back (techically 4 due to the White Sox owning the tiebreaker for winning the season series. The Orioles (lost today) are 4 games back of the 3rd WC spot.
• Up next, the Blue Jays try to snap the 2-game skid and avoid being swept for the 4th time this season and first in a season series. It will be yet another bullpen day with Spencer Miles as the opener. The Rangers will counter with righty Jacob deGrom

Game #155 Toronto Blue Jays (76-78) @ Texas Rangers (77-77)

 

Game #154 - Toronto Blue Jays (76-78) @ Texas Rangers (77-77) - game recap

 

Myles Straw drove in the only Blue Jays run in a 7-1 loss to the Texas Rangers

After an off-day/travel day yesterday, the Blue Jays began the final road trip of the season in Arlington Texas agaiinst the Rangers, who swept the series in Toronto at the end of June, outscoring the Blue Jays 21-15. Michael Lorenzen was DFA's and righty Jose Rodriguez was selected to the MLB roster. Ace Dylan Cease got the start with Alejandro Kirk behind the plate. The rest of the lineup was the same as Wednesday's win over the Tigers. Could the Blue Jays make it 2 straight wins and start the final road trip of the regular season with a win? Here is tonight's game recap.

Game Highlights:

• The Rangers opened the scoring in the bottom of the 2nd on a throwing error by Ernie Clement on a ball hit by Evan Carter that scored Jake Burger and Wyatt Langford
• A batter later, Nicky Lopez scored on a sac fly by Ezequiel Duran
• A batter after that, Corey Seager doubled scoring Carter
• Dylan Cease pitching line: 2.2IP 3H 4R (1 earned) 6BB 3K 74 pitches (36 for strikes)
• The Blue Jays got one back in the top of the 5th as Myles Straw doubled scoring Josh Smith
• Kumar Rocker pitching line: 4.1IP 3H 1R (earned) 2BB 2K 76 pitches (48 for strikes)
• The Rangers added a run in the bottom half of the inning on a sac fly by Burger that scored Brandon Nimmo
• The Rangers added a run in the bottom of the 6th on a bases loaded walk to Langford that forced in Duran
• The Rangers added a run in the bottom of the 8th as Burger doubled scoring Langford
• Final score: Rangers 7 Blue Jays 1

My Take:

• Dylan Cease is quickly running out of gas. He was knocked around for 4 runs (1 earned) on 3 hits while walking 6 and striking out 3. Like the last game, Cease got super fortunate to escape the 1st inning unscathed when his 3rd pitch was accidentslly swung at by Ezequiel Duran for a pop out. He then got a double play ball to get out of the inning. Ten of the first twelve pitches he threw were balls - and not close either. Cease wasn't as fortunate in the 2nd inning, allowing 4 runs (only one earned thanks to a horrible throwing error by Ernie Clement; is anyone missing Bo Bichette?) on 2 hits, 2 walks, the throwing error and a sac fly. It took Cease 74 pitches to record 8 outs. If the Blue Jays are eliminated by his next start Wednesday in Baltimore, I would shut him down to start healing up his body. If they are still alive, push him back to Friday against Cincinnatti. It's no wonder that Cease is showing signs of fatigue, given he threw over 100 pitches in 16 of 29 starts this season. The clear overuse was necessitated by the Blue Jays basically having 3 starters that could reliably and consistently pitch deep in games due to injury and poor performance.
• The bullpen gave up a further 3 runs on 5 hits, while walking 4 and striking out 6 over the last 6.1 innings. The best relievers on the night were rookies Brendan Cellucci (he still hasn't allowed a base runner) and Jose Rodriguez, who retired 5 of the 6 batters he faced, including 2 strikeouts in his big league debut.
• Myles Straw was the best player offensively by far, 2 base hits and drove in the only run of the game on a sac fly. The Blue Jays need to keep the home run jacket hung up and get serious in the next 8 games, which they pretty much have to win out, if they want to sneak into the playoffs. 
• The Blue Jays were 1-1 on ABS challenges and Rangers catcher Elias Diaz successfully overturned both Rangers ABS challenges
• The Blue Jays were 1-6 with runners in scoring position
• In terms of the wild card race, the Blue Jays are 2 games back of the White Sox (lost today) and one game back of the Rangers, who are 1 game back of the White Sox for the 3rd WC spot (the Rangers and White Siox both hold the tiebreaker over the Blue Jays after securing season series wins). The Orioles (lost today) are 3 games back of the 3rd WC spot. The Blue Jays best hope might be the White Sox and Rangers securing division titles.
• Up next, the Blue Jays try to even the series and avoid their 24th series loss of the season. Jose Soriano starts against Rangers righty Cal Quantrill