OOTP Season Sim Game 7: McGuire Hits Walk-Off Home Run

Minor bits of (sim) MLB news:

• Former Blue Jay Dwight Smith Jr. hit for the cycle against the Red Sox. He scored 2 runs and had 2 RBI in the Orioles 7-6 win. The Orioles are 3-3 in a 3-way tie for second in the AL East. The Red Sox are 2-5, in last place.
• Zach Plesac, starting pitcher for Cleveland, will miss 4-5 months after surgery to remove bone spurs.

Reds 2 Blue Jays 4 (12 innings)

The Jays win their first extra innings game of the season.

The fun part was Reese McGuire’s walk-off homer in the 12th inning. Michael Lorenzen came in to pitch for the Reds at the start of the inning. He walked Drury and gave up walk-off home run to Reese McGuire. Reese didn’t start the game. Danny Jansen started behind the plate and came out of the game in the 10th, when Derek Fisher pinch hit for him to lead off the inning (Fisher struck out). Jansen is hitting .077/.200/.154 to start the season, so it is understandable that Montoyo would pinch hit for him.

Nate Pearson made his second start of the season. He went 6 innings, gave up just 1 hit (a Mark Payton solo homer, in the 6th inning), 1 walk and 5 strikeouts. Unfortunately we only scored 1 run for him.

We tied the game in the bottom of the 6th. Reds starter Sonny Gray walked Bo Bichette and Teoscar Hernandez to start the inning. They moved up on Vladimir Guerrero’s ground out. Randal Grichuk walked to load the bases. A Travis Shaw sac fly scored Bichette. Lourdes Gurriel struck out to end the threat.

The Reds went ahead in the top of the 7th. Brian Moran took over for Pearson. He gave up a solo homer to Eugenio Suarez.

We tied it again in the bottom of the inning. Brandon Drury (making his first start of the season, at DH) hit a solo homer.

That would be all the scoring until the bottom of the 12th. Michael Lorenzen was in to pitch for the Reds. He walked Drury and gave up walk-off home run to Reese McGuire.

The Jays only had 5 hits on the day, but took 8 walks. But we only gave up 4 hits and 1 walk with 11 strikeouts. We pretty much emptied the bullpen, using Moran (1.1 innings, 1 run), Rafael Dolis (1.2 innings), Ken Giles (1 inning), Gaviglio (0.2 innings) and Jordan Romano (1.1 innings). Moran (2) and Dolis (1) were the only relievers to give up hits.

Let’s give JODs to: McGuire (1 for 1, home run), Drury (1 for 4, home run, walk), Pearson, Dolis, Giles and Romano. Romano got the win.

The Blue Jays are now 6-1 to start the season. And they have a bit of a lead in the AL East.

There were 21,639 sim fans at Rogers with the roof closed (to keep out COVID). The Jays swept the three game series with the Reds.

Tomorrow they play their first road game, traveling to the Bronx to play the Yankees, a three game series (with a day off after the first game. Matt Shoemaker makes his second start (he went 6 innings allowing 3 earned in his first start). The Yankees start Masahiro Tanaka making his second start (he went 7.2 innings, allowed 8 hits, 4 earned in his first start). The Yankees have James Paxton, Luis Severino, Aaron Hicks and Aaron Judge on the DL and Domingo German suspended.