The Toronto Blue Jays blew away a totally winnable series over the weekend.
They hosted the Cleveland Guardians for a three-game series starting last Friday. With a 5-3 win in that one, they extended their win streak to three games, as George Springer hit his third home run of the season. Their hitting with runners in scoring position wasn’t great, going 3-12 and leaving seven runners on, but they got the win nonetheless.
Saturday’s game was completely winnable, as they carried a 3-1 lead into the top of the ninth. Sadly, Yimi García had a rough outing, giving up a grand slam to Daniel Schneemann in an eventual 5-3 loss. While there were positives to take away from this game, including Bo Bichette’s first home run of the season, it was a game they should’ve won. Overall, they were 1-10 with RISP and left nine men on.
Still, they had a chance to at least win the series in Sunday’s rubber match (they did not). After the top of the fourth, the Jays were down 4-0, but fought back with a three-run inning in the bottom of the fourth. The two teams exchanged runs in the ninth, as the Jays fell 5-4 to lose their fourth series in their last five. Once again, the Jays left nine on base and went 4-11 with RISP.
Surprisingly, the bats were okay in this series. Nathan Lukes slashed .400/.625/.600 in his plate appearances, giving him a series-high 261 wRC+ for any Blue Jays batter. George Springer also had a 255 wRC+, while Alejandro Kirk, Andrés Giménez, and Bo Bichette had a wRC+ above 130. Even Vladimir Guerrero Jr. and Anthony Santander were okay in this series, finishing with a 98 and 97 wRC+, respectively.
Their starters didn’t have the same success, though. Chris Bassitt started Friday’s game and struck out four in five and one-third innings pitched, giving up three earned runs in the process.. Kevin Gausman had a strong start, pitching six innings of scoreless baseball with 10 strikeouts. Bowden Francis only pitched four and one-third innings with four earned runs allowed.
García, Yariel Rodríguez, and Chad Green all gave up at least a run out of the pen, while Jeff Hoffman, Dillon Tate, Brendon Little, Josh Walker, and Mason Fluharty pitched scoreless outings.
Their next series is against the Los Angeles Angels in L.A. for a three-game set. Hopefully, they can continue their winning ways against one of the worst teams in baseball.
Ryley Delaney is a Nation Network writer for Blue Jays Nation, Oilersnation, and FlamesNation. They can be followed on Twitter @Ryley__Delaney.