The Blue Jays keep finding different ways to win, and this one came with a little bit of everything: a bullpen game, a debut, a tight run of offense, and a 4-1 win over the Yankees.
On a night when Toronto used seven pitchers, the staff held up just fine against one of baseball’s best arms. Braydon Fisher opened with a scoreless inning, allowing only a walk.
Ricky Tiedeman followed with the next five outs and, in his first major league appearance, gave up two hits and a run while striking out two. Simeon Woods Richardson then worked the next seven outs, giving up just one walk and striking out two.
From there, Mason Fluharty breezed through a clean sixth. Spencer Miles handled the seventh, allowing a hit and striking out one while earning the win.
Tyler Rogers gave up a single in the eighth and punched out one. Then Louis Varland shut the door in the ninth, striking out one and picking up save No.
- That ties him with Randy Myers’ 1998 season for the 22nd most saves in a season for the Jays.
Toronto’s offense didn’t need a ton of help, but it gave the pitching staff enough breathing room anyway. The Jays scored first in the third when Charles McAdoo lined out hard to the first baseman, Brett Bateman walked, Nathan Lukes singled him to second, and Alejandro Kirk brought him home with a single. Jesús Sánchez and Kazuma Okamoto both popped out after that, but Toronto had the early edge.
The seventh brought another burst. Ernie Clement, pinch hitting, singled, and McAdoo followed with a double that missed being a home run by just a couple of feet.
Clement also turned in an excellent read and run on the play. After another single and a Lukes sacrifice bunt, the Yankees brought in lefty Brent Headrick.
Kirk was intentionally walked, and Myles Straw, who had entered as a pinch runner in the sixth, struck out and beat his helmet into the helmet rack afterward. Okamoto then lined out at 98.6 mph.
Toronto kept stacking runs in the eighth. Andrés Giménez led off with a single, Brandon Valenzuela was hit by a pitch, and the Yankees challenged but replay showed it clipped his forearm.
Clement singled to load the bases, and McAdoo knocked in another run with a single. Bateman flew out, then Lukes dropped a very soft grounder down the first-base line that forced the pitcher to just grab the ball and tag him, allowing Toronto’s fourth run to score.
The Yankees intentionally walked Kirk again, and Straw grounded out to end it.
The Jays finished with 10 hits and four walks. The Yankees managed four hits and two walks.
Bateman, Clement and McAdoo each had two hits. Lukes, Kirk, Okamoto and Giménez all finished with one. Kirk also drew two walks, and Sánchez had two walks as well.
Sánchez also had a rough moment in the field. With a runner on second and George Lombard at the plate, Lombard singled and the runner scored easily.
Sánchez still threw home, though, which let Lombard take second. The better play would have been to throw to the cutoff man, but it didn’t end up hurting Toronto.
Valenzuela also threw out Luis García trying to steal second. García appeared to get a good jump, but Valenzuela delivered a strong throw and Giménez applied a sharp tag.
In Other News...
Blue Jays Suddenly Have A Tough Shane Bieber Decision
Shane Biebers return has given the Blue Jays exactly the kind of late-season boost they were hoping for when they brought him into the picture. After working back from injury, the pending free-agent right-hander has settled in well enough over 11 starts to help keep Toronto in the playoff mix, and there are real signs he is edging closer to the version of himself that once made him one of the most reliable starters in the game.
That makes the next step more complicated than it looked a few weeks ago. Biebers injury history will always be part of the conversation, but so will the possibility that Toronto could try to keep him around on a short-term extension if it believes the recent uptick is real. The Blue Jays are no longer just evaluating a rental arm, they are weighing whether a pitcher who has begun to find his form again is worth a longer look beyond this stretch run. [Read more 🡒]
Blue Jays Need Answers As Max Scherzers Struggles Keep Getting Worse
Max Scherzers season has become one of the stranger storylines around the Blue Jays, because the veteran right-hander still carries the reputation of a front-line arm even as the results keep drifting the other way. The home run problem has been impossible to miss, and the bigger concern is that the numbers are pointing to a broader decline rather than a temporary blip. For a pitcher whose slider used to be a true separator, the pitch has not been missing bats the way it once did, and hitters have started doing more damage when they get a look at it.
Toronto did get a brief stretch that suggested Scherzer might be turning a corner, which only made the recent rough patch feel more frustrating. His latest start against the Tampa Bay Rays brought the inconsistency right back to the surface, and it left the Blue Jays facing the kind of uncomfortable question contenders always try to avoid: how much longer can they count on one of their most recognizable arms if the effectiveness keeps slipping? [Read more 🡒]
Blue Jays Bats Are Heating Up At Every Level Right Now
The Blue Jays have seen the bats pick up in a way that stretches well beyond one hot stretch at the major league level. Since late July, Alejandro Kirk, Andrs Gimnez and Brett Bateman have each given the lineup a jolt, and the encouraging part for Toronto is that the trend is showing up all over the organization rather than in just one pocket of the roster.
There has been a similar uptick in the minors, where seven prospects have posted clear offensive gains over the past month and added to the sense that the system is generating some real momentum. For a club looking for more consistent run production down the road, the timing matters, and the question now is how much of this wave becomes more than a short-lived heater as the season moves into its next phase. [Read more 🡒]