The Blue Jays were held to one run and three hits in a 6-1 loss to the Guardians, and the story was Gavin Williams. Toronto never found a real answer for him. Williams worked seven innings, gave up just two hits and a walk, and piled up 13 strikeouts.
Toronto’s lone run came in the fourth, and it took a strange chain of events to get there. Kazuma Okamoto opened the inning with a single.
After Andrés Giménez struck out, Ernie Clement ran the count full, and the Jays sent Okamoto - “surprising me, Oka is not fast and the Jays were striking out a lot” - before Clement drew ball four. The Guardians still threw to second anyway, but the throw sailed wide and Okamoto moved to third.
Then Myles Straw struck out, and Williams followed with a wild pitch to Brett Bateman, which let Okamoto score. Oka going first to home without the help of a hit wasn’t on my bingo card.
That was as good as it got. Hunter Gaddis and Matt Festa shut the door out of the Guardians bullpen, and Toronto never mounted anything else.
The Jays also tried a bullpen day, and the early innings were mostly fine before things unraveled. Spencer Miles opened with a scoreless inning aside from a two-out single.
Ricky Tiedemann worked an inning with two walks but no damage. Spencer Arrighetti was sharp through his first two innings, setting down the side in order both times, but his third trip through ended with a walk and a home run.
He finished with 3.2 innings and two earned runs.
Joe Mantiply recorded the final out of the sixth, then ran into trouble in the seventh, allowing a single and a home run to open the frame. He was charged with two earned runs on three hits over 1.1 innings. Michael Lorenzen gave up two more in the eighth on another homer, which, as the broadcast noted, let the Guardians keep their closer on the bench.
Kirk, Guerrero, and Okamoto had Toronto’s three hits. The other award line went to Arrighetti (-0.12), Mantiply (-0.11), Straw (-0.12, 0 for 2, k), Bateman (-0.10, 0 for 4, 2 k) and Lukes (-0.09, 0 for 4, 2 k).
The Jays weren’t expecting a sweep, but now they need the next two. Tomorrow brings Dylan Cease (9-5, 2.33) and Joey Cantillo (9-7, 3.70). Go Jays.
In Other News...
Blue Jays Roster Shift Puts September Upgrades In Focus
The Blue Jays made a quiet roster move before September, optioning pitcher CJ Van Eyk to Triple-A Buffalo without announcing a corresponding move. Van Eyks minor league season had been solid, but his brief major league looks never really translated into much impact, and the decision opens the door for Toronto to start reshaping its roster as the calendar turns.
September is when the depth chart gets interesting, and the Blue Jays are expected to add three players to their 28-man group. Ricky Tiedemann and prospect Sean Keys are among the names in the conversation, giving the club a chance to reward development while also adding some late-season energy to a roster still sorting out its priorities. [Read more 🡒]
Blue Jays Suddenly Have A Bigger Spencer Arrighetti Problem
Spencer Arrighetti looked like he might be settling in after a strong opening run with the Astros, but the right-handers season has taken a sharp turn since late May. The home runs have piled up, the fastball has lost some of its edge, and the result has been a pitcher who is no longer giving Houston the kind of stability it expected when he first flashed promise earlier in the year.
For the Blue Jays, the concern is less about one bad outing than a growing pattern that has made Arrighetti a tougher assignment than he seemed a few weeks ago. Most of the damage has come against his fastball, which puts the focus on how effectively he can make the pitch work again, and whether Houston can help him get back to the version of himself that looked so much more dependable before the slide. [Read more 🡒]
Blue Jays Make A Telling Pitching Change Before Guardians Series
Toronto is leaning on a familiar modern pitching wrinkle as it opens its series against Cleveland, handing the first-inning assignment to Spencer Miles and planning for Spencer Arrighetti to cover the bulk of the game behind him. Miles has been one of the more dependable arms in the bullpen this season, giving the Blue Jays steady innings in 42 appearances with a 5-2 record and a 2.92 ERA, the kind of profile that makes him a natural fit for a short opening role.
The move is also a clear attempt to simplify things for Arrighetti after a difficult start to his Toronto tenure. Acquired in a trade, he has yet to settle in, and the club is hoping the opener setup can ease some of the pressure and help him find a better rhythm while giving the Blue Jays a cleaner path through a lineup that will be tested early. [Read more 🡒]