The Glendale Desert Dogs’ losing streak has now reached seven games.
On Saturday, the Toronto Blue Jays prospects participating in the Arizona Fall League were back in action, as the Desert Dogs fell 11-2 to the Peoria Javelinas. Three Blue Jays prospects played in this game.
Josh Kasevich batted fourth and was off his feet, filling in as the Desert Dogs’ designated hitter. Shortly after the Desert Dogs opened the scoring, Kasevich grounded out on a fielder’s choice, reaching first base as the throw went to home to get the runner trying to score. Kasevich was eventually forced out at second base.
The next time the shortstop was up was in the bottom of the third. With two outs and a runner on first, Kasevich hit a hard lineout, which unfortunately found a glove for the third out of the inning.
By the time Kasevich came up to bat for a third time, the Javelinas exploded for 11 runs, putting the game out of reach. That didn’t stop Kasevich from having a strong plate appearance, walking on seven pitches after falling to 0-2 in the count. He was left stranded at first.
Kasevich’s final plate appearance came in the bottom of the eighth. With runners on first and second, the shortstop flew out to centre field on a 3-2 count to give the Desert Dogs their second out. Both runners were stranded, and the Desert Dogs only had one more baserunner in the game.
Two pitchers had an impact in this game. Before the Javelinas exploded for five runs in both the fifth and sixth innings, they tied the game in the top of the fourth. On the mound at the time was Blue Jays’ prospect Kelena Sauer, who made his AFL debut. He struck out a batter, allowed two hits, gave up a walk, and an earned run in his inning of work.
In the top of the ninth, Kai Peterson made an appearance. He allowed a single and a walk, but struck out a batter and got Cam Collier to ground out to end the inning unscathed.
Diving deeper into the stats, Kasevich continued what he started on Thursday: He hit the ball harder. His lineout in the third inning had a 103.4 mph exit velocity. The ball in play in the first inning fell just short of being considered hard hit, coming off the bat with an exit velocity of 93.9 mph. Kasevich’s other ball in play had an exit velocity of 85.8 mph.
Sauer, who spent the entire season on the shelf, threw 22 pitches, 11 of which were four-seam fastballs. His heater maxed out at 94.1 mph, and sat in the low-90s. The Jays’ 15th-rounder in the 2023 draft also generated four whiffs on eight total swings for a 50 whiff%
Peterson maxed out at 91.9 mph with the fastball, but sat around 90.7 mph with his heater. The left-handed reliever threw 23 pitches, 17 of which were fastballs. Overall, Peterson generated three whiffs on eight total swings for a 38 whiff%.
The Desert Dogs will look to snap their seven-game losing skid on Sunday evening, as they host the Salt River Rafters at 8:00 PM ET.
Ryley Delaney is a Nation Network writer for Blue Jays Nation, Oilersnation, and FlamesNation. She can be followed on Twitter @Ryley__Delaney.