OOTP Season Sim: Game 127

This is the game from August 18th. After an off-day, this is the first of two against St. Louis.

Cardinals 5 Blue Jays 7

Three wins in a row. And 19 runs scored in those 3 games. The offense has returned.

The game was won on a walk-off homer by Randal Grichuk.

This one was back and forth:

• Jays scored 1 in the first: Rowdy Tellez (batting second for unknown reasons, sim Charlie is nuts) homers. 1-0 Jays.
• Jays scored 1 in the second: Derek Fisher hits a home run. 2-0 Jays.
• Jays scored 1 in the fourth: Vladimir Guerrero Jr. hits our third solo homer. 3-0 Jays.
• Cardinals scored 4 in the fifth: Aaron Sanchez was cruising until the fifth, allowing just 1 hit, 1 walk and 1 hit batter, going into the inning. The inning started off with 4 straight singles. Then, after a strikeout, Max Kepler doubled. Then Sanchez got out of the inning. There may have been a reason for the crappy inning, After the inning Aaron came out of the game with, you guessed it, a blister. Sometimes OOTP is scary realistic. He’s listed as day-to-day for four days, so should make his next start. 4-3 Cardinals
• Cardinals scored 1 in the sixth: Eduardo Jimenez came in to pitch. He gave up a solo homer to Rangel Ravelo. 5-3 Cardinals.
• Jays scored 2 in the seventh: With Cards starter Jack Flaherty still in the game, the inning started with back-to-back singles from Fisher and Lourdes Gurriel. After a Travis Shaw strikeout, Flaherty was pulled and lefty Andrew Miller came in to face Reese McGuire. The move didn’t work, Reese doubled home both runners. 5-5
• Jays scored 2 in the ninth: With Giovanny Gallegos pitching, the Jays got a 2-out single from McGuire and Randal Grichuk hit a walk-off home run.

We have been getting good work from no-name brand relievers. Eduardo Jimenez went 1.2 innings, allowing the 1 run on the home run. Kyle Crockett threw 2 innings, allowing just 1 hit with 2 strikeouts. But sim-Charlie took Crochett out of the game with 2-outs in the ninth, after Crockett gave up a single to Brian Dozer. Giles struck out Kepler, which earned him the win.

Crockett was a waiver pickup in July.

Aaron had the Sanchez trifecta: walk (2 actually), hit batter and wild pitch. Leaving with a blister made it the quintessential Sanchez start.

If you were wondering about Max Kepler playing for the Cards, he was part of a sim trade, in mid-July. The Cards sent Lawson OF McArthur and 2B Tommy Edman to the Twins for him.

In off the field news, the Jays released pitcher Matt Shoemaker. Shoemaker had a 7.12 ERA in 20 starts for the sim-Jays. They put him on waiver, but no one bit.

The Jays are now 74-56. Tomorrow Hyun-Jin Ryu (10-5, 3.50 ERA in 22 starts) tries for the 2-game sweep. The Cards have Adam Wainwright (9-8, 4.28 in 22 starts) scheduled.

I’m going to put up minor league player stats for the next few days.

The Fisher Cats are 62-58, sitting third in the Eastern League Eastern Division (yeah that’s not confusing). Unfortunately they are 16 games back as the Hartford Yard Goats are 78-42. They are the Rockies Double-A team.

No one on the team is hitting all that well. Kevin Smith is having an awful time of it.

They are getting some good pitching. Yennsy Diaz, Justin Dillon and T.J. Zeuch all are doing great. And several of the guys in the pen have been very good, including Dakota Mekkes, who has 17 saves and a 1.55 ERA out of the closer’s spot.