Blue Jays 3 Angels 8
That was up there with the worst games of this season, and there have been a lot of bad games.
Let’s start with the pitching.
I thought we got the best we could have hoped for from José Ureña. There was a home run against in the first. And he gave up a few fly balls to the track. But if you told me he would allow 2 runs in 4.1 innings, I’d have been very happy.
Chad Green came in with one out and one on in the fifth. A caught stealing and a strikeout got him out of the inning. Green got two outs in the sixth, and then gave up a walk and a single and that was his night. Green has been giving up many home runs this year, so I was ok with him coming out there.
Mason Fluharty got the last out of the inning and the first two outs of the seventh. I didn’t understand taking him out there. He was at 13 pitches, and he’s been good against lefties and righties.
But Dillon Tate got the last out of the inning.
Yimi Garcia came in for the eighth. I thought he’d likely get another day off, after throwing a few two days ago, but a one-run lead (mostly because our offense can’t get out of its own way). Garcia walked Zach Neto on nine pitches. Of the five strikes, four were fouled off (all in the zone), and the four balls were well off the plate (well, one was close).
Neto stole second.
This is where it started getting weird. Nolan Schanuel dropped a bunt, just a few feet in front of the plate. Aleandro Kirk jumped on it and made a good throw to third. Ernie Clement missed it. Clement was in a tough spot as he moved up towards the bunt. He backed up and looked a little off-balance, missing the throw. Tying run scored.
The error was called on Kirk, but was changed to Clements after the game. If they had gotten that out, it would have been a different game, one out, and runner on first. After a strikeout, Garcia got a soft grounder to the hole at short. Bo got to the ball, but he didn’t have a chance at the out at first. I thought he had a play at third. Or at least a better shot at a play at third. Anyway, runners on first and third, one out and
Jeff Hoffman in the game. He didn’t look right. Maybe he wasn’t fully warmed up, thinking he wasn’t going in until the ninth. Perhaps he’s thrown too much (though he’s had a couple of days off). Maybe it was one of those nights. First batter singled, and we were down 4-3. Next batter homered, and it is 7-3. I wanted Hoffman out there. Down by four, we weren’t going to win, save the best arm.
Hoffman stayed in and got a ground out. Then he gave up his second home run of the game (third of the season). 8-3 and now he’s out of the game. He threw nine pitches, so he should be able to pitch tomorrow.
Eric Lauer is in, throws one pitch and gets out of the inning. I’m good with Lauer in. Being honest, he’s not an arm I care about; he can pitch again tomorrow if we are out of that game, too.
Most of the pitching decisions I was good with. I would have been ok with giving Garcia another day off, but in a one-run game, you want to go with the best. He really wasn’t bad. The walk wasn’t great, but other than that, he should have had the out at third. The ground ball to Bo was softly hit, just to the right spot. Good pitch, bad result.
But then I would have been ok with letting Tate have the eighth, with someone like Little warming behind him.
On the offensive side
WE SHOULD HAVE SCORED MORE.
We had nine hits and two home runs. How does that add up to three runs?
We got two runs in the first. Vlad singled and Springer homered.
And one more in the eighth, Anthony Santander homered, which gave us a one-run lead.
WE SHOULD HAVE SCORED MORE.
The one that got mentioned the most was in the seventh. Ernie Clement doubled to lead off the inning. Myles Straw was up next. Straw last played long enough in the majors to know that his job was to hit behind the runner. When you are a career .245 hitter, with no power, this is something you have to do. But he ground out to third. Clements couldn’t move up. This should be baseball 101.
Anyway, Andrés Giménez ground out, and Bo struck out.
Giménez hit a one-out double in the fifth, but Bo ground out. Vlad was intentionally walked, and Santander struck out.
Springer and Kirk had two hits. All the other starters had a hit except for Bo and Daulton Varsho.
Bo had a particularly bad day, three strikeouts and a ground out. He’s supposed to be able to hit lefties. Varsho also had three strikeouts. We had 11 strikeouts.
Jays of the Day: Santander (.167 WPA), Springer (.162) and Fluharty (.132).
The Other Award: Garcia (-.444, slightly unfair, his defense didn’t do him any favours), Hoffman (-.244), Bo (-.174) and Varsho (-.124). And I’m giving one to Straw (-.078, but not moving up the runner should be worth an extra few points).
Tomorrow we have Jose Berrios (1-1, 3.98), who will have to give us nine innings (at least). Yusei Kikuchi (0-4, 4.21) starts for the Angels.