Toronto Blue Jays salvage trip by winning a wild series finale in Baltimore
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One of the catalysts to a roughly two-month run that vaulted the Jays to the top of the MLB standings was their offence, which went missing in the Sunday's series finale in Detroit and into the first three games in Baltimore.
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In Wednesday's series finale, Toronto's gutted it out in a 9-8 hit-fest to salvage a split of a eight-game trip that could have gone pear shaped had Baltimore completed its four-game sweep.
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Mind you, the Jays nearly threw it away.
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The unlikely heroes were Myles Straw — who had a three-hit game, including a two-run homer — Nathan Lukes, whose three-run pinch-hit dinger capped off a five-run seventh inning, and rookie pitcher Braydon Fisher, who got two big outs — though the second to end a frenetic frame was a ball on a full count that would have tied the game.
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Here are three takeaways from an entertaining afternoon in which Jays manager John Schneider emptied his bench, be it positional players or pitchers — including Seranthony Dominguez, the reliever the Jays acquired from the O's in between Tuesday's double dip, for the second game in a row.
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Not much was made of Bo Bichette's game-ending strikeout in the night cap of Tuesday's split doubleheader. The truth is his at-bat was an abomination.
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The game was on the line and Bichette resorted to his old ways by chasing an elevated fastball to cap off an 0-for-5 day after he went 5-for-5 in Detroit to ignite a franchise record for consecutive hits in nine at-bats.
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In his first at-bat Wednesday, he meekly flew out to right field.
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In his second, Bichette grounded out to strand a runner at second as the Jays' inability to hit with runners in scoring position only got worse — though it did improve in the fifth inning on an RBI single by Vladimir Guerrero Jr. that tied the game.
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Then came a Bichette sac fly to ostensibly give the Jays the lead until the O's asked for a video review. The play was overturned and the game remained deadlocked.
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Another big moment arrived in the seventh inning in a 5-4 game, runners at second and third with one out and Baltimore bringing in the infield. Bichette delivered by driving in two runs as the Jays took the lead.
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2. Wild day for Jose Berrios
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He wasn't bad and neither was Jose Berrios good in his latest start.
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For those who prefer to draw conclusions strictly by the numbers, a case can be made that Berrios had an off day.
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No walks were yielded, while he looked dominant during a brief stretch. Five runs would be plated during his 4.1 outing, but only two were earned.
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What resonated were the two homers Berrios gave up against an O's team that hit three longballs way back on opening day with the righty on the mound for the Jays.
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It marked the fifth game this season Berrios had surrendered a multi-homer game, the fourth game in a row he has been susceptible and the fifth belt he yielded in his past four starts.
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3. Homer-prone and error-prone
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One of the reasons veteran reliever Chad Green was DFAed involved his penchant for giving up longballs. In fact, no bullpen arm in the bigs had surrendered more than the right-hander.
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One of the reasons why Baltimore was able to pounce on the Jays was its ability to parlay mistakes, in the strike zone and on the field, into crooked innings.
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A two-run home run would be recorded in the first inning to give the O's a 3-0 lead.
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It was all set up on an Ernie Clement throwing error at second base. Clement made his second error of the game, this time at first base, when Baltimore cut into the Jays' four-run lead.
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By no means can injuries be used as an excuse to explain why teams play poorly on the field.
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Cedric Mullins robbed the Jays of two home runs during the series at Oriole Park at Camden Yards, the latest against Ali Sanchez.
At the plate, Mullins — who is rumored to be traded before the deadline — had six hits, including a home run, in three games this series.
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He was at the plate with the bases loaded and one out in a one-run game in the seventh inning with Fisher on the mound after Yariel Rodriguez walked two and gave up three hits, recording one out. Mullins struck out swinging.
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Having completed a post all-star break stretch that saw the Jays play 14 games in 13 days, Thursday's off day will provide a much-needed respite from the grind that is baseball's marathon season … Jays will be right back at it when they play host to Kansas City on Friday night in the first game of a three-game series before heading West for six games — three in Colorado and three in L.A. against the Dodgers … The Jays have played exceedingly well at home, posting a 37-17 record.
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