Surging Jays look to extract payback on White Sox
The surging Toronto Blue Jays have won eight straight and 11 of 13 as they begin a three-game series against the host Chicago White Sox on Monday.
The American League East leaders will aim to keep rolling and get revenge on a White Sox team that handed Toronto its most recent series defeat two weeks ago.
Bo Bichette homered Sunday to help the Blue Jays to a 3-2 win against the Los Angeles Angels to cap a sweep of a seven-game homestand that started with a four-game visit from the New York Yankees.
Left fielder Davis Schneider drove home the go-ahead run with an RBI single in the sixth.
'I feel like just the vibes in the clubhouse have been really good,' Schneider said. 'We've got a lot of good guys in there. I feel like it starts in there and we bring it out on the field together.'
Chicago fans are gearing up for the home debut of rookie shortstop Colson Montgomery, who helped the White Sox earn their ninth series victory this season during a three-game set at Colorado over the weekend. That matches the club's series victory total from the 2024 season.
Called up Friday from Triple-A Charlotte, Montgomery went 5-for-10 with a pair of RBIs as the White Sox took two of three against the Rockies. Montgomery said he 'settled in pretty quick' after his first defensive chance during Friday's victory.
Another newcomer finding his stride: Grant Taylor, who earned his third save of the season Friday on the heels of struggles against the host Los Angeles Dodgers earlier in the week.
'The phone rings, you hear your name, and it's your save opportunity -- that adrenaline rush is just insane,' Taylor said.
Fellow rookie Sean Burke (4-7, 4.03 ERA) will get the call for the White Sox on Monday as Chicago aims for another series win versus the Blue Jays. The White Sox won two of three in Toronto from June 20-22.
Burke has been especially sharp over his past three starts. Although he has just one victory to show for it, the rookie has scattered five runs -- two earned -- and 19 strikeouts in 16 1/3 innings during that span.
He took a no-decision against the Dodgers on Wednesday, spacing one run and six hits in six innings.
Toronto will counter with fellow righty Jose Berrios (4-3, 3.64). A longtime nemesis of the White Sox during his five-plus seasons with the Minnesota Twins, Berrios continued his dominance against Chicago on June 21, allowing two hits and an unearned run over 7 2/3 innings of a game Toronto won 7-1.
Berrios delivered seven shutout innings to defeat the Boston Red Sox in his next start but was roughed up in Wednesday's no-decision against the New York Yankees. He allowed six runs and nine hits in 4 1/3 innings.
Berrios is 15-6 with a 3.01 ERA in 26 career starts versus the White Sox with 162 strikeouts over 161 1/3 innings.
--Field Level Media
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
National Post
18 minutes ago
- National Post
Back-to-back Stanley Cup champion announces his retirement from the NHL
Tyler Johnson has announced his retirement after playing 13 NHL seasons and winning the Stanley Cup twice with the Tampa Bay Lightning. Article content Johnson called it a career in a lengthy message posted on social media Monday. Johnson had battled injuries in recent years and is set to turn 35 on July 29. Article content 'As a short kid from a small town, I saw my chances of playing in the NHL as very slim,' Johnson wrote on Instagram. 'But my family — my parents, Ken and Debbie, and my grandparents — believed in me when doubt clouded my mind. Their unwavering faith turned that dream into reality.' Article content Article content View this post on Instagram A post shared by Tyler Johnson (@tjohnny09) Article content Listed at 5-foot-8 and 191 pounds, Johnson won at just about ever level, capturing the Western Hockey League and Memorial Cup championships in 2008 with his hometown Spokane Chiefs and the Calder Cup championship with Norfolk of the American Hockey League in 2012. Article content The NHL brought more success, as he skated in 863 regular-season and playoff games since debuting in the league in 2013, putting up 498 points. Johnson was part of the Lightning's core when they reached the final in 2015 and helped them hoist the Cup back to back in 2020 and '21. Article content Johnson finished with Chicago, playing three seasons with the Blackhawks, and Boston, signing with the Bruins early last season following his training camp tryout. Article content
CTV News
an hour ago
- CTV News
Springer named AL player of the week after Blue Jays sweep seven-game homestand
Toronto Blue Jays' George Springer (4) celebrates in the dug out after hitting a two run home run off Los Angeles Angels pitcher Jack Kochanowicz (41) during third inning MLB baseball action in Toronto, Saturday, July 5, 2025. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Chris Young NEW YORK — Toronto outfielder/designated hitter George Springer has been named the American League player of the week after his dominant stretch at the plate helped the Blue Jays complete a perfect seven-game homestand. The 35-year-old hit .429 (12-for-28) with five homers, 13 runs batted in, four walks, nine runs scored, a stolen base, a .964 slugging percentage and a .500 on-base percentage. He proved instrumental as the Blue Jays swept a four-game series with the New York Yankees at home for the first time in franchise history and moved into first place in the American League East. The Jays followed that by taking all three games against the visiting Los Angeles Angels on the weekend. Springer was named player of the week for the sixth time in his career and first since 2021, when he earned the honour three times with the Blue Jays. His previous two awards came with the Houston Astros. Toronto was on an eight-game winning streak overall heading into a game against the White Sox in Chicago on Monday. Chicago Cubs first baseman Michael Busch won the National League player of the week award. This report by The Canadian Press was first published July 7, 2025.
Edmonton Journal
an hour ago
- Edmonton Journal
WORST TO FIRST: How the Blue Jays changed the narrative and are reaping the results
The numbers drive the narrative so deeply in modern baseball that sometimes they take away from the more important story itself. Article content Most assuredly, more than other major professional team sport, advanced analytics rule the game and those teams that find a blend to translating the numbers into an on-field performance edge can certainly reap the rewards. Article content But what happens when a motivated group of players worries less about the numbers and more about winning as a team? Perhaps the surging, scintillating Toronto Blue Jays are the latest to hit upon the ultimate winning formula that goes above and beyond the fancy stats. Article content Article content 'It's a bunch of brothers,' said George Springer, in some ways the leading man in terms of much of what is going right for this team, topping the squad in home runs with 16 and seemingly in big-game moments as well. Article content 'It's guys who are pulling for one another. No one is above the team. It's about (the name) on the front and not the back. Article content 'Any time you have everybody going in the same direction like that, it's something special. Obviously there's still a long way to go, but to have that amongst us is an awesome feeling.' Article content Article content The numbers that matter the most now are bordering on staggering and, in the past week especially, have vaulted the Jays into the biggest story in baseball. Article content That all-for-one mindset has paid massive dividends for the Jays through 91 games. The 53 wins through that portion of the season are their most in more than 30 years through that many games and have them on pace for 94. Article content Article content In the moment, the sizzling play has given the Jays a 3.5-game lead over the New York Yankees in the American League East heading into Tuesday's action. Article content Article content It has galvanized and inspired a group that frankly had been frustrated both with management and their own performance over the past couple of years. It has enraptured a strong and loyal coast-to-coast fan base. Article content Consider that, at their core, players aren't in love with all that goes with the modern approach. Most will understand the value of analytics, but if it sometimes bogs down the ultimate goal — winning games and chasing a World Series — it can become a burden. Article content Cleaner lines of communication and a more pragmatic approach by manager John Schneider has helped build a foundation of trust in a clubhouse that didn't always have it. Article content 'I would say it's the culture we've been able to build here,' starting pitcher Chris Bassitt said when asked to describe what is going on with a group that has skyrocket from last place in October to first the following July. 'It's taken a while.'
