Thirty-Seven Years Ago
The Blue Jays clinched first place in the AL East by defeating the Orioles 4-3. A dramatic three-run rally in the eighth inning erased a 3-1 deficit and sealed the win.
Here was the starting lineup:
Lloyd Moseby CF
Mookie Wilson LF
Fred McGriff 1B
George Bell DH
Ernie Whitt C
Kelly Gruber 3B
Nelson Liriano 2B
Junior Felix RF
Jimmy Key started but was limited to four innings, surrendering eight hits and three earned runs, with no walks and six strikeouts. Frank Wills provided four shutout
innings of relief, giving up just one hit. Tom Henke closed out the ninth for his 20th save.
The eighth inning proved decisive. Nelson Liriano worked a walk against Dave Johnson, prompting a pitching change. Kevin Hickey entered and walked pinch-hitter Manny Lee, with Rob Ducey pinch-running. Mark Williamson then replaced Hickey. Lloyd Moseby sacrificed both runners into scoring position. Mookie Wilson singled in a run, Fred McGriff drove home the tying run, and George Bell hit a sacrifice fly to give Toronto the lead.
Tom Henke made quick work of the ninth, striking out two to secure the victory.
The Blue Jays ultimately fell to the Athletics in five games in the ALCS.
That roster featured some impressive performances:
Fred McGriff, at 25, posted a .269/.399/.525 line with 36 home runs. Critics pointed to his 92 RBIs, suggesting that with fewer walks (he drew 119), he could have reached 100 RBIs.
Tony Fernandez endured a down year, finishing at .257/.291/.389.
Kelly Gruber contributed a .290/.328/.448 line with 18 home runs.
George Bell batted .297/.330/.458, adding 18 home runs and 104 RBIs.
Dave Stieb went 17-8 with a 3.35 ERA in 33 starts, though he completed just three games.
Jimmy Key finished 13-14 with a 3.88 ERA.
John Cerutti posted an 11-11 record and a 3.07 ERA.
Mike Flanagan went 8-10 with a 3.93 ERA.
Todd Stottlemyre finished 7-7 with a 3.88 ERA.
Tom Henke recorded a 1.92 ERA and 20 saves.
Duane Ward notched a 3.77 ERA and 15 saves.
Eleven Years Ago
The Blue Jays clinched their first playoff berth since 1993 by winning the opening game of a doubleheader against the Orioles, securing the AL East crown.
I skipped a full recap in favor of celebrating:
I’m not doing a recap…you guys saw it. Marcus Stroman was unhittable. Our offence was great. And the Orioles helped out by not being able to field.
Some quick points:
8 innings of 1-run ball from Marcus Stroman…how amazing has he been? He’s gone through so much; he deserves this.
We scored 15 runs on 18 hits and 10 walks.
Ryan Goins was 5 for 5 with a double and a beauty of a bunt single.
Revere, Donaldson, and Pillar each had 2 hits.
Encarnacion hit his 37th home run, getting RBI 107 and 108.
Bautista and Smoak hit home runs in the top of the 9th.
The GameThread for game two has to go up in just a few minutes, so I’m going to end it here, and the new GameThread will go up.
Give a JoD to all the players, to Gibby and to Alex. And let’s take one each for ourselves.
We dropped the second game of the doubleheader (played in the rain), as Gibby rested the regulars. Here was our lineup:
Pompey CF
Pennington LF
Carrera RF
Colabello DH
Hague 1B
Thole C
Kawasaki 3B
Barney 2B
Diaz SS
Some of those names barely register from their time with the Jays.
R.A. Dickey tossed five scoreless innings (allowing only two hits and no walks), but the bullpen surrendered eight runs.
After a thrilling ALDS win, the Jays dropped the first two games but rebounded to take the next three (Jose Bautista starred, driving in five runs with a 0.41 WPA in the series). However, Toronto fell to the Royals in six games in the ALCS.
A few birthdays to note today, though none warrant a full post:
- Trent Thornton turns 33 today. Acquired from the Astros for Aledmys Diaz, he pitched in 108 games (36 starts, including some as an opener) over five seasons with the Jays, compiling a 7-14 record and a 4.77 ERA. He’s spent the last year and a half with the Mariners.
- Hagen Danner turns 28 today. He logged just 0.1 innings for Toronto in 2023 and spent much of this season injured. Here’s hoping he’s healthy next year and can contribute to the bullpen.
- Craig Kusick would have turned 84. He passed away in 2006 at 57. He played 23 games for the Jays in 1979—his final MLB season. Previously, he spent seven years with the Twins. The first baseman finished his career with a .235/.342/.392 line in 496 games.
- Bryan Bullington turns 46. He threw six innings for the Blue Jays in 2009, appearing in parts of five seasons and 26 games overall.
- Curtis Goodwin turns 54. His final two games of a five-year Jays career came in 1999. He played 431 games in the majors, batting .248/.307/.302.
- Brian Moran turns 38. In 2020, he pitched one inning across two games for Toronto. Over three seasons, he logged 11.1 innings—but this guy is a big fan:
