Game #125 - New York Yankees (68-55) @ Toronto Blue Jays (61-64) - game recap

 

Charles McAdoo drove in a pair of runs in a 4-1 comeback win over the Yankees

After a huge comeback win over the Yankees, the Blue Jays were looking to extend the win streak to 2 games and notch their 16th series win of the season. Rickey Tiedemann was recalled from AAA-ball and Chase Lee was optioned to AAA-ball. Lazaro Estrada was DFA'd. Vladimir Guerrero Jr. was placed on the 7-day concussion IL. OF Daz Cameron was selected to the MLB roster. Brayden Fisher got the start with Brandon Valenzuela behind the plate. Josh Smith was at 2B and Charles McAdoo was at 1B. Alejandro Kirk served as DH. Could the Blue Jays make it 2 straight wins and notch their 16th series win of the season? Here is today's game recap.

Game Highlights:

• Brayden Fisher pitching line: 1IP 0H 0R 1BB 0K 12 pitches (6 for strikes)
• The Yankees opened the scoring in the top of the 2nd as George Lombard Jr. singled scoring Spencer Jones
• The Blue Jays tied it in the bottom of the 3rd as Alejandro Kirk sungled scoring Brett Batemam
• Cam Schlittler pitching line: 5.1IP 4H 1R (earned) 3BB 7K  97 pitches (56 for strikes)
• The Blue Jays took the lead in the bottom of the 7th as Charles McAdoo singled scoring Ernie Clement
• The Blue Jays added a run in the bottom of the 8th as McAdoo singled home Andres Gimenez
• Two batters later, Brandon Valenzuela scored on a ground out hit by Nathan Lukes
• Louis Varland threw a perfect 9th for his 28th save of the season
• Final score: Blue Jays 4 Yankees 1

My Take:

• Brayden Fisher faced an all too familiar position: first man out of the bullpen aka the opener of a bullpen day. It seems the baseball gods want the Blue Jays to have a bullpen day. With a full rotation on the IL (Jose Berrios, Cody Ponce, Trey Yesavage, Bowden Francis and Spencer Arrighetti) the Blue Jays were forced to piece it together to get 27 outs. Fisher got the first three on an efficient 12 pitches, walking 1 batter.
• The rest of the bullpen held the Yankees to a run on 4 hits while walking 1 and striking out 7 over the last 8 innings. Rickey Tiedemann, after years of fighting his own body with injuries, finally made his MLB and rewarded the Blue Jays for their patience in his arrival. Tiedeman gave up a run on 2 hits, but recorded 5 outs, including his first two career strikeouts and his velocity was in the upper 90s. Mason Fluharty and Varland both retired every batter they faced. Thank goodness there is just one day left before a badly needed day off for the bullpen that is absolutely running on fumes after 17 straight days with games and 30 in 31. Spencer Miles, who has been great out of the bullpen, was credired with the win.
• The offense keeps finding ways to caa in runs when they need them. While they are still not exactly tearing the cover off the baseball consistentl, the Blue Jays are getting things done through classic small ball - sac bunts to be exact. Charles McAdoo is taking full advantage of his second stint with the Blue Jays, driving in a pair today. Alejandro Kirk knotted the game at one with a clutch RBI single. This team is getting back to what made them successful last year - comeback wins - never being out of a game.
• Tomorrow could be wi;d - pending the results of the rest of today's games. Detroit has already lost to the White Sox. At the moment, there is a 4-way tie for the 3rd and final WC spot. If the Twins and Rangers lose their games tonight, the Blue Jays will wake up only tied with the Twins for the 3rd WC spot. If the Twins and Rangers both win, the Blue Jays and Tigers would be a half game back of the Twins and Rangers for the 3rd WC spot. The Orioles are also within striking distance. 
• Austin Wells was unsuccessful on the game's only ABS challange
• The Blue Jays were 4-15 with runners in scoring position
• Up next, the Blue Jays try to extend the win streak to 3 and complete their second sweep of the season. Ace Dylan Cease starts against Yankees lefty Ryan Weathers

Game #125 New York Yankees (68-54) @ Toronto Blue Jays (60-64)

Game #124 New York Yankees (68-53) @ Toronto Blue Jays (59-64) AppleTV+ Exclusive

 

Game #123 - Boston Red Sox (65-56) @ Toronto Blue Jays (59-64) - game recap

 

Blue Jays reliever Brayden Fisher retired every batter he faced in a 7-0 shutout loss to the Red Sox

After pulling out another win thanks to a 5-run 8th inning rally and Louis Varland bailing out knuckleballer Matt Waldron, the Blue Jays were looking to extend the win streak to 4 games, complete their 2nd sweep of the season and improve their record on my birthday to 22-23 and extend the winning streak on my birthday to 2 games. Brendon Little was put on the paternity list and Lazaro Estrada was recalled from AAA-ball. Max Scherzer got the start with Brandon Valenzuela behind the plate. Kazuma Okamoto was back in the field after DH'ing yesterday. Charles McAdoo was in LF and Nathan Lukes was in RF. Could the Blue Jays extend the win streak to 4 games, complete their 2nd sweep of the season and improve their record on my birthday to 22-23 and extend the winning streak on my birthday to 2 games? Here is today's game recap.

Game Highlights:

• The Red Sox opened the scoring in the top of the 1st as Willson Contreras doubled scoring Wilyer Abreu
• Max Scherzer pitching line: 5IP 3H 1R (earned) 2BB 4K 92 pitches (61 for strikes)
• The Red Sox added 4 runs in the top of the 8th on a grand slam to left-center by Caleb Durbin that also scored Ceddanne Rafaela, Abreu and Masataka Yoshida
• The Red Sox added a run in the top of the 9th on a sac fly by Yoshida that scored Nick Sogard
• A batter later, Durbin singled scoring Rafaela
• Payton Tolle pitching line: 8IP 2H 0R 2BB 4K 91 pitches (61 for strikes)
• Final score: Red Sox 7 Blue Jays 0

My Take:

• Max Scherzer battled through 5 innings, giving up a run on 3 hits while walking 2 and striking out 4. Not the most efficient game, needing close to 100 pitches to get 15 outs when the bullpen is running on fumes. The veteran righty was able to pitch his way out of most of the jame he got into, keeping the Blue Jays within striking distance.
• Then there was the bullpen. Interestingly, John Schneider had Tyler Rogers warming up when the deficit was still one run and opted to go with the other sidewinder Chase Lee, who proceeded to give up a grand slam. Maybe Rogers was only available if the Blue Jays had a lead? Lazaro Estrada coughed up another couple of runs in the 9th inning. Certainly there are a couple of candidates to be demoted or DFA'd when Brendon Little returns from the paternity list and Paul Seward is activated tomorrow after being claimed off waivers yesterday.
• The offense was non-existent with some terrible AB's today. Charles McAdoo watched a middle-middle putch go by him for a strike and they did not work the count at all. Payton Tolle was averaging less than 10 pitches an inning most of the day.
• The Blue Jays squandered a great chance to gain a half game in the wild card standings with most of the teams in the race idle today. Instead, the Blue Jays fell back a half game.
• Brandon Valenzuela was 1-1 on ABS challenges. The Red Sox didn't atempt an ABS challenge today.
• The Blue Jays were 0-2 with runners in scoring position.
• Up next, the Blue Jays take on the Yankees as the home stand continues. The Yankees have won 4 of the first 7 games in the season series, outscoring the Blue Jays 29-26. Shane Bieber starts against Yankees righty Gerritt Cole

Game #123 Boston Red Sox (64-56) @ Toronto Blue Jays (59-63)