Jays Win Seventh In A Row

Angels 3 Blue Jays 4 (11 innings)

Seven wins in a row. And every day it seems there is a new hero. Today, it was Addison Barger’s turn.

In the 11th inning, after neither team could score in the 10th, Myles Straw had the Manfred Man job. Nathan Lukes put down a bunt and beat it out. That’s the kind of sac bunt I like. George Springer lined out to second. I thought, and I think he thought, that he had won the game, but Angels second baseman Kevin Newman made a nice jumping catch. The Angels decided to walk Vladimir Guerrero intentionally (I wasn’t sure it was the right move, but Vlad had hit the ball hard today). Bo Bichette, when we needed him to hit a fly ball, struck out chasing strike three well outside the zone.

But Addison Barger, ground one through the right side of the infield (he hit it 110.6 mph) Before that, the Jays scored:

• One in the first: Lukes started the game with a single, and went to second on Vlad’s one-out single (speaking of crushing one, 114 mph). And, with two out Barger had his first RBI single of the game,
• Two in the third: Lukes walked to start things off and George Springer homered.

And that would be all the scoring until the 11th.

We had 13 hits, Springer’s homer was out only extra base hit. Vlad had three hits. Lukes, Springer, Barger and Clement each had two. Starters having 0 for: Alejandro Kirk (0 for 3), Will Wagner (0 for 3) and Davis Schneider (0 for 3).

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Max Scherzer didn’t have the greatest start. He went four innings, allowing five hits, two earned, three walks and four strikeouts. He gave up a run in the first, then struck out the side on 10 pitches in the second. Then he gave up another run in the third on a single, two walks and a sac fly. He allowed two more hits in the fourth but got out of the inning with the help of a Kirk caught stealing.

Scherzer came out of the game after that inning, after 72 pitches. He had some inflammation in his thumb after his last start.

The bullpen did some good work:

• Nick Sandlin pitched a perfect sixth.
• The Lazaro Estrada pitched four innings, allowing two hits and a run, with four strikeouts. He was very impressive. And John Schneider let him pitch four innings! We’ve been wanting a long reliever, and we may have found one.
• Braydon Fisher pitched the 10th and 11th, doing the near impossible each time, keeping the runner on second from scoring. Great job Fisher (who got his third win). He had two walks (one intentional to Mike Trout).

Jays of the Day: Fisher (.618 WPA), Estrada (.210) and Barger (.369, for a 2 for 5, walk and 2 RBI). Vlad gets an honourable mention for a 3 for 5, with a walk. And let’s give one to Nathan Lukes (2 for 5, 1 walk).

The Other Award: Bichette (-.311, 1 for 6, 2 k), Kirk (-.215, 0 for 3, 2 walks) and Leo Jimenez (-.153, 0 for 2, 2 k, after coming in as a pinch hitter).

Tomorrow is a 1:30 game time. Tyler Anderson (2-5, 4.12) vs Kevin Gausman (6-6, 4.18). And it is also our anniversary. Therefore, the recap might end up being late, brief, or nonexistent.

And, we got info on Yimi Garcia’s injury: