Blue Jays 3 Red Sox 0
It seems weird to get a shutout in a game that the Jays pitchers really didn’t look great
An impromptu bullpen day, with Max Scherzer scratched with back tightness (landing him on the IL), Jays pitchers walked seven and allowed seven hits. You’d imagine one of those baserunners would have come around to score. The Red Sox were 0 for 12 with RISP.
We did get some good defense. Kazuma Okamoto made a couple of terrific plays (two in the eighth in particular) and Vladimir Guerrero
had just an excellent night with the glove. Davis Schneider also made an excellent catch in left field.
On the pitching side:
- Braydon Fisher got the first four outs, giving up two walks in the process.
- Simeon Woods Richardson, the forgotten man in the pen, played bulk guy, going three innings, with three hits and three walks with one strikeout. He was helped by the spectacular catch in left field by Schneider. SWR was awarded the win.
- Mason Fluharty only got one out, with one walk, one his and one strikeout.
- Spencer Miles came in with Fluharty’s two runners on base and left them there, getting four outs, with one hit and one walk, with a strikeout.
- Jeff Hoffman pitched the seventh and was the first Jays pitcher not to walk someone. He gave up a one-out single, but got out of the inning with three ground outs. It took him 25 pitches to throw that scoreless inning, but put up a zero.
- Tyler Rogers had his usual inning, giving up a single, but getting three ground outs.
- And Louis Varland was untouchable in the ninth, three strikeouts on ten pitches. He was amazing. Save number 14.
We only got three runs, but it was enough:
- Two in the third: Davis Schneider hit a double off the left field wall. After Myles Straw (one of Spencer Miles or Myles Straw has to change the spelling of their name, I keep forgetting which is which. Add in all the variations on Brandon on the team and it is too much for a bear of very little brain) struck out, Andrés Giménez singled Davis in. Giménez then stole second. George Springer was hit by pitch (it looked like he got it off the foot again). The pair pulled off a double steal and Andrés scored on a Guerrero ground out. I thought IKF could have come home on the play, but I’m not going to complain.
- One in the eighth: Giménez singled and stole second. Springer flied out, moving up the runner. and Vlad popped one up just out of the reach of the Red Sox second baseman Andruw Monasterio.
We had eight hits (but no walks) on the day. Vlad and Andrés had two each. Springer (with a hit by pitch), Okamoto (2 k), Kirk (2 k) and Clement (2 k) had 0 fors. We were 2 for 9 with RISP, infinitely better than the Red Sox.
Giménez had 3 steals and Springer had 2 which set a new Jays single game record with 5 steals in a game.
Beyond that, the English soccer fans gave a bit of atmosphere to the game. They had fun. I’ve been to a few soccer games in England and the fans are half the fun of the game.
Jays of the Day: Spencer Miles (0.18 WPA), Giménez (0.17), Woods Richardson (0.15) and Hoffman (0.09). I’d give honorable mention to Davis, Kazuma and Vlad for their defense.
No one gets the number for the Other Award. Straw had the low mark at -0.08 but he did make a nice catch too.
Tomorrow is a day game. 1:30 Eastern, which messes with my day. Trey Yesavage (3-3, 3.78) and Sonny Gray (8-1, 3.03) are the starters. I’d say runs will be hard to get, but I said that you should take the ‘over’ on runs scored today and only three runs were scored.
Sportsnet says we are 7-1 on bullpen days. Of course, we were over-using the arms in the pen.
And Tyler Heineman was traded to the Angels for the ever famous ‘cash considerations’. No word on what uniform number cash will be wearing with the Jays. Yeah, bad joke.
