Game #90 LA Angels (43-46) @ Toronto Blue Jays (52-38) - game recap

Bo Bichette scored twice, including a mammoth game-tying home run in a 3-2 come-from behind win over the Angels

After a second straight extra innings walk-off win, the Blue Jays were going for thir 7th straight win, 7th series sweep and  9th season series win. Righty Ryan Burr was reinstated from the 60-day IL. Righty Lazaro Estrada was optioned to AAA-ball. Andres Gimenez was placed on the 10-day IL (retroactive to yesterday) with a left ankle sprain. Will Robertson was DFA'd. Finally, Joey Loperfido was recalled from AAA-ball and got the start in RF. Kevin Gausman got the start with Alejandro Kirk behind the plate. Vlad was back in the field after DH'ing yesterday (George Springer DH'd today). Davis Schneider was in LF and Myles Straw was in CF. Leo Jimenez got the start at 2B. Could the Blue Jays extend the win streak to 7 games, complete their 7th series sweep and notch their 9th season series win? Here is today's game recap.

Game Highlights:

• The Angels took the lead in the top of the 1st as Mike Trout whacke a solo blast to the opposite field in right
• The Blue Jayd tied it up in the bottom of the 4th as Bo Bichette hammered a solo bomb off the basin of the 3rd deck in left
• Four batters later, Joey Loperfido singled scoring Myles Straw
• The Angels tied it in the top of the 5th as Taylor Ward singled scoring Chad Stevens
• Kevin Gausman pitching line: 5.2IP 7H 2R (both earned) 3BB 9K 107 pitches (71 for strikes)
• The Blue Jays retook the lead in the bottom of the 6th as Davis Schneider singled scoring Bichette
• Ty Anderson pitching line 5IP 8H 3R (all earmed) 2BB 2K 91 pitches (55 for strikes)
• Jeff Hoffman threw a perfect 9th for his 22nd save of the season
• Final score: Blue Jays 3 Angels 2

My Take:

• Kevin Gausman battled through 5.2 innings, giving up a pair of runs on 7 hits while walking 3 and striking out 9. He retired 6 in a row at one point. Due to Max Scherzer's thumb limiting him and injuries plus pitchers not getting deep in games lately, Gausnan was stretched to a few pitches over the 100 pitch mark. Certainly the high strikeout count and the 3 walks drove up the pitch count. Good thing the Blue Jays have an off-day mid-week and the all-star break in a week to gove everyone a much needed break.
• The bullpen threw 3.1 shutout innings, giving up 2 hits and 2 walks while striking out 5. Jeff Hoffman retited every batter he faced.
• It was Bo Bichette's turn to drove the offense, with 2 runs scored, including a mammoth game-tying home run. Joey Loperfido, freshly recalled, also joined in the fun with an RBI single. Davis Schneider drove in the other Blue Jays run
• The Blue Jays were 2-5 with runners in scoring position
• Up next, the Blue Jays hit the road starting in Chicago tomorrow night. They will be looking to extend the win streak to 9 games. The White Sox took the series in Toronto, outscoring the Blue Jays 22-20. Ace Jose Berrios starts against White Sox righty Jose Berrios

Game #90 Los Angeles Angels (43-45) v. Toronto Blue Jays (51-38)

 

Game #89 LA Angels (43-45) @ Toronto Blue Jays (51-38) - game recap

 

Addison Barger drove in a pair of runs, including the game-winner in a 4-3 walk-off, extra innings win over the Angels

After a walk-off win on a sac bunt and error, the Blue Jays were looking to extend the win streak to 7 games and notch their 15th series win of the season. Yimi Garcia was placed on the 15-day IL after a mishap with the hot tub/ice bath that sprained his right ankle. Max Scherzer got the start with Alejandro Kirk behind the plate. Vlad was back in the lineup as DH after the complete day off yesterday. George Springer was in LF and Nathan Lukes was in CF. Davis Schneider was at 2B. Could the Blue Jays extend the win streak to 6 games and notch their 15th series win of the season? Here is today's game recap.

Game Highlights:

• The Angels opened the scoring in the top of the 1st on a bases loaded walk to Jo Adell that forced in Zach Neto
• The Blue Jays tied it in the bottom half of the inning of the inning as Addison Barger singled scoring Nathan Lukes
• The Angels retook the lead in the top of the 3rd on a sac fly by Adell that scored Neto
• The Blue Jays took the lead in the bottom half of the inning as George Springer hammered a 2-run bomb to dead center; also scoring Lukes
• Max Scherzer pitching line: 4IP 5H 2R (both earned) 3BB 4K 72 pitches (46 for strikes)
• Jack Kochanowicz pitching line: 5.1IP 6H 3R (all earned) 2BB 1K 82 pitches (50 for strikes)
• The Angels tied it in the top of the 7th as Nolan Schaunel singled scoring Luis Renfigo\
• The Blue Jays walked it off in the bottom of the 11th as Barger singled scoring Myles Straw
• Final score: Blue Jays 4 Angels 3 (11 innings)

My Take:

• Max Scherzer battled through 4 innings, giving up a pair of runs on 5 hits while walking 3 and striking out 4. The first inning was rough for Scherzer as he hit the first batter he faced and walked in a run after loading the bases. Addison Barger made a huge throw to gun down Mike Trout at home to escape the jam. Scherzer retired 4 in a row, including striking out the side in the 2nd inning. The Blue Jays shoul definitely look at adding another starter at the trade deadline to save the bullpen and maybe give Scherzer an extra day between starts
• The bullpen gave up a run on 2 hits while walking 2 and striking out 5 over the last 7 innings. A day after ruining Eric Lauer's start, Nick Sandlin retired every batter he faced. Making his big league debut, Lazaro gave up the game-tying run, but ate up 4 innings and struck out 4 batters. Brayden Fisher was credited with the win.
• Offensively, Addison Barger drove in a pair, including the game-winning run and George Springer went deep for the other two runs on the day. Springer deserves to be a reserve in the all-star game and should be a finalist for comeback player of the year.
• The Blue Jays were 3-17 with runners in scoring position
• The Blue Jays have an outside shot at their 1st 100 win season if they keep playing this well
• Up next, the Blue Jays try to extend the win streak to 8 games and complete their 7th series sweep of the season. Kevin Gausman starter against Angels lefty Tyler Anderson

Game #89 Los Angeles Angels (43-44) v. Toronto Blue Jays (50-38)

 

Game #88 LA Angels (43-44) @ Toronto Blue Jays (50-38) - game recap

 

Myles Straw scored the game winning run in a 4-3 extra-innings, walk-off win over the Angels

After a huge series sweep over the Yankees thanks to the bat of George Springer, the Blue Jays were looking to extend the win streak to 6 games. Lefty Justin Bruihl was optioned back to AAA-ball. Righty Lazaro Estrada had his contract selected to the MLB roster. Anthony Santander was transferred to the 60-day IL. Eric Lauer got the start with Tyler Heineman behind the plate. Bo Bichette was back in the lineup and at SS after missing a few days with a sore knee from stepping on an errant ball during warm-ups earlier this week. Vlad got the complete day off with Will Wagner at 1B. Could the Blue Jays extend the win streak to 6 games? Here is tonight's game recap.

Game Highlights:

• The Blue Jays opened the scoring in the bottom of the 6th as Andres Gimenez singled scoring Will Wagner
• A batter later, Gimenez left the game after aggravating an ankle injury 
• A batter after that Bo Bichette singled scoring Leo Jimenez
• A batter later, George Springer scored on a fielder's choice hit by Addison Barger. Angels SS Zach Neto was charged with a fielding error on the play
• Kyle Hendricks pitching line: 5.1IP 4H 3R (all earned) 0BB 2K 82 pitches (58 for strikes)
• The Angels tied it up in the top of the 7th as Jo Adell hammered a 3-run bomb to dead center; also scoring Mike Trout and Taylor Ward
• Eric Lauer pitching line: 6IP 3H 2R (both earned) 1BB 6K 94 pitches (65 for strikes)
• The Blue Jays walked it off in the bottom of the 10th on a sac bunt by Ernie Clement that scored Myles Straw. Angels pitcher Sam Bachman was charged with a throwing error on the play
• Final score: Blue Jays 4 Angels 3 (10 innings)

My Take:

• Eric Lauer was excellent again, firing 6 shutout innings before allowing a pair of hits in a 7th inning he probably never should have started given he was approaching 85 pitches and have never thrown over that limit this season. After walking Trout with 2 outs in the 1st inning, Lauer proceeded to retire 16 of the next 17 batters he faced. Lauer deserves to be in the rotation the remainder of the season
• The bullpen gave up 3 runs (2 of which were charged to starter Lauer) on 2 hits while walking 3 and striking out 5 over the last 4 innings. Nick Sandlin needs to buy Lauer a big "I'm sorry" dinner for ruining his chance at a win. Chad Green was the only reliever to retire every batter he faced and was credited with the win.
• Small ball was the name of the game offensively with Bo Bichette and Andres Gimenez both knocking in runs with clutch base hits. The Blue Jays also took advantage of some sloppy Angels defense on the other 2 runs. 
• The Blue Jays were 2-4 with runners in scoring position
• With the win, the Blue Jays reached 50 wins on the season, just 2 games earlier than a certain 1993 world series winning team reached the 50 win mark
• Up next, the Blue Jays try to stretch the win streak to 7 games and notch their 15th series win of the season. Max Scherzer starts against Angels righty Jack Kochanowicz.