OOTP Season Sim Game 52: Jays win in extras

All-Star voting has started (in the sim world) and no Blue Jays hitters are in the top 3 of voting at their positions. I thought Bo Bichette and Vladimir Guerrero would be in the top 3 of the voting. Maybe they will catch as time goes on. The game lists the top 5 pitchers in voting and we have a starting pitcher and a relief pitcher in the top 5 of voting.

Orioles 5 Blue Jays 6 (12 innings)

We won by walk-off walk.

In the 12th inning, with Isaac Mattson pitching for the Orioles, Lourdes Gurriel led off with a walk. Joe Panik fallowed with a single, but Bo Bichette and Rowdy Tellez each struck out. Mattson came out of the game for Carlos Alejandro Ramirez. You might remember that Ramirez was a Jays prospect and made it up to the Jays in 2017, pitching in 12 games, with a 2.70 ERA. He started 2018 with us but was put on waivers and picked up by the A’s. He was with the Cubs last year and the sim Orioles signed him to a minor league deal at the start of the season. He’s been doing well for the Orioles, until today.

Ramirez walked Randal Grichuk, to load the bases, and then walked Travis Shaw, to give us the win.

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We went into the ninth with a 5-3 lead. Tanner Roark pitched 8 innings, allowed 7 hits, 3 earned, 2 walks with 5 strikeouts. He had a very nice start.

Then Ken Giles took the ball in the ninth. with a 2-run lead. Giles has not been great in our sim season. Giles started things off with a strikeout. Then Hanser Alberto singled and DJ Stewart tied things up with a home run, giving Giles his 4th blown save (with 9 saves). Giles got another strikeout and then gave up a single and sim Charlie took Giles out and brought Rafael Dolis in. Dolis got Trey Mancini to fly out, ending the inning.

We loaded the bases in the bottom of the ninth but didn’t get the winning run in.

Dolis pitched a 3-up, 3-down tenth, but Paul Fry did the same for the Orioles.

So Dolis did the same again in the eleventh. Cavan Biggio got a single in the bottom of the inning, but didn’t advance from first.

Dany Jimenez allowed a walk and single in the twelfth but kept the O’s off the scoreboard allowing the Jays to win it in the bottom of the inning.

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Before the extras we scored:

3 in the second inning: Bichette singled and Tellez walked before Grichuk homered.

2 in the fourth: Grichuk led off with a walk. An out later Reese McGuire hit his 3rd home run of the season, making it 5-1 Jays, which should have been enough for the win.

We had 14 hits and 6 walks. Anthony Alford and Bichette had 3 hits each.

Alford came into the game after Derek Fisher was tossed after arguing a third strike call in the Jays first at bat of the game. After the game, Fisher was suspended for four games for his confrontation with the umpire.

McGuire and Biggio (who came into the game in the ninth inning) had 2 hits each.

The only Jays to play the full game and not get a hit were Gurriel and Tellez who were each 0 for 5 with a walk.

Jays of the Day: Grichuk, Shaw, Roark, McGuire and Dolis.

Suckage: Giles and Tellez.

The Orioles ran through 9 pitchers today.

There were 30,703 sim Jays fans at the game, sitting in a closed dome Rogers Centre.

Jays are now 30-22.

Sunday’s game will have Matt Shoemaker (1-6, 8.32 in 10 games) going against John Means (1-3, 4.07 in 10 starts).