Jays lose on a walk-off walk

Blue Jays 2 Mariners 3

Baseball is a terrible thing.

We got yet another good start from Robbie Ray. Before the game, they were talking about his Cy Young chances and this start doesn’t hurt them.

7 innings, 5 hits, 2 earned, 1 walk, and 8 strikeouts. He had a bad moment in the third inning, giving up a leadoff double and a Tom Murphy home run. Those were the only extra-base hits he’d allow.

He came out of the game at 90 pitched. Perhaps could have gone one more, but I’d have expected that he would come out with the first base runner, so it is likely best to let Trevor Richards start with a clean slate.

Richards got two ground balls hit back to him (you don’t often see back-to-back 1-3 outs) and a strikeout (on a pitch off the plate, but then he lost a pitch that was clearly a strike, called a ball, so the universe is in balance I guess).

We didn’t do a heck of a lot with the bats.

We got two in the fourth. After a Vladimir Guerrero walk, Bo Bichette doubled and Lourdes Gurriel singled them home.

Before Vlad’s walk, Marcus Semien “doubled” and was called safe at second, but his ‘popup’ slide popped him off the bag. Most players have given up on the popup slide because of replay challenges. That got us the ‘this isn’t what the replay was meant for’ rant, but players have learned not to come off the bag.

As well as driving in two runs, Lourdes made a pretty amazing play at first base too, going to his knees to grab a ground ball right down the line, tagging first and throwing from his knees to second, to get the double play. Pretty amazing play.

George Springer made a great catch at the wall in center field too.

We had a good chance at taking the lead in the top of the ninth. Alejandro Kirk started the inning with a very Kirk type single (I love his swing). Breyvic Valera went in to pinch run. Corey Dickerson, pinch-hitting for birthday boy Randal Grichuk, singled to right. Runners on first and second. Santiago Espinal up and trying to bunt for the second time tonight (the first one wasn’t successful). This one he dropped onto the plate and the high bounce gave the runners ample time to move up. George Springer, after a couple of pitches wide of the plate, was intentionally walked to load the base.

Bases loaded, one out. Marcus Semien up. On a 1-2 pitch, Marcus popped one foul, down the right-field line, beyond first. Mariners’ first baseman Ty France made an over the shoulder catch. I was yelling for Breyvic to run home and he did. It was an incredibly close play at the plate. Called safe on the first, but reversed in replay. I’ll admit, I think the replay showed him tagged out.

The bottom of the ninth was a mess.

Adam Cimber has been so good. And tonight he wasn’t. He got two quick outs and then, walk, walk and ground ball bounced over him (he jumped, managed to touch/slow the ball, and, well everyone was safe.

I’m not 100% sure that, had he not touched it, we could have turned it into an out.

Brad Hand came in, and couldn’t find the plate. He walked in the game-winning run. I swore loudly and likely woke both my wife and the neighbours.

Totally impossible to believe. I hate baseball. And I will continue to hate baseball until the Jays are leading in a baseball game.

I want to blame Cimber and Hand, but there is a ton of blame to go around.

1 for 7 with RISP. We gotta do better than that. Semien left 6 on base himself

The plate umpire had the same ability to balls and strikes as any other blind man.

Semien, if he could have hit that popup 5 feet further, or if he could have stayed on the bag at second.

The only really good news was that Vlad Guerrero looked a lot better at the plate, going 1 for 2 with 2 walks. His one-out was in the first inning, he hit a ball to the wall in right that Mitch Haniger made a leaping catch on. It might have been a home run without the catch. We had a lot of hard-hit balls caught tonight. The term ‘warning track power’ came up a lot.

Jays of the Game: Ray (.198 WPA), Guerrero (.141), Richards (.104), Dickerson (.117, all on the pinch-hit single) and Gurriel (.079, plus the play at first base).

Suckage: Semien (-.512, 1 for 5, but the 1 was the double that turned into an out), Hand (-.343), Hernandez (-.164) and I’m giving one to Cimber (-.023) because, like Hand, you got to throw strikes.

I don’t know which of you cursed the Jays, but please see a voodoo doctor or a healer or Chevy Chase and get the curse lifted. Personally, I think it is time for me to have a scotch. Don’t bother with a glass.

Tomorrow is another late-night game. If I survive the alcohol poisoning that I’m planning to put myself through tonight.

We had 494 comments in the GameThread (I’m sure 200 of them were from us pleading to Cimber/Hand to throw a strike). hawthorne timms led us to crushing defeat.