Stalemate: Blue Jays, Pirates Tie at 11

For the second time this spring, the Blue Jays didn’t win or lose - they tied. Playing against the Pittsburgh Pirates at LECOM Park, both teams scored 11 runs to end the game as a draw.

Offense, on both sides of the diamond, struck early and often. The game saw a total of 30 hits and 10 walks over eighty at bats, compared to a median of 69 at bats in the average 2016 game. Combined with nine doubles and home runs from Ezequiel Carrera and Michael Suchy, both teams scored 11 runs.

Every Blue Jay and Pirate starter, aside from Justin Smoak, got on base at least once, including pitcher Gerrit Cole, who collected a RBI single in the bottom of the fourth.

Mike Bolsinger started today’s game, keeping the game scoreless for his 2.2 innings of work, including two hits, four strikeouts and no walks. However, he was forced to exit the game early after rolling his left ankle while covering first. Per Mike Wilner, Bolsinger is fine and “didn’t even have it wrapped.”

Lucas Harrell, following Bolsinger, allowed four earned runs and got just two outs. Joe Biagini and Dominic Leone subsequently pitched scoreless outings, but Casey Lawrence, in 2.1 innings of work, allowed four more runs. Mat Dermody failed to stop the bleeding, allowing another three, before Brett Oberholtzer closed out the game relatively unscathed (two hits and no walks in 0.2 innings).

Pirates starter Gerritt Cole had retired eight of his last nine batters prior to the top of the fourth when Ezequiel Carrera led off the inning with a home run to open scoring for the Blue Jays. The next hitter, Gregorio Petit, doubled and Steve Pearce singled, but, on his way to the plate, Petit was thrown out. The same held true with two outs in the inning, when Darrell Ceciliani singled and Pearce was thrown out at the plate.

Toronto lost their lead in the bottom of the fourth, but regained it in the top of the sixth. Until the ninth, the lead was a back and forth affair. However, in the top of the ninth, a cast of minor league Blue Jays scored four runs to take an 11-8 lead. In the bottom half of the inning, the Pirates completed the tie, scoring three for a final score of 11-11.

The game, with a total of 40 base runners, took three hours, 42 minutes to complete.

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