Vlad hits 2 home runs, Jays win

Orioles 3 Blue Jays 7

We had 3 hits with RISP. I’m not going to check, but I’d say that we haven’t had 3 hits with RISP all month long. Ok, exaggeration for effect, but that’s the way it has felt.

Robbie Ray was, once again, just terrific. 7 innings, just 4 hits, 2 earned, 1 walk, and 10 strikeouts. He gave up a home run, in the first, to Ryan Mountcastle, and then a run in the sixth on a walk and two singles. Every time out there he looks more like a Cy Young candidate.

And our offense got 4 runs, which seemed like a dozen. It is only the second time in the last 10 games where we’ve scored as many as 4 runs.

We scored:

• One in the fourth: Vlad crushed a home run (423 feet). It was a very Vlad-like moment, first-pitch slider and Vlad took it and kind of nodded. The next pitch was a fastball and he hit all of it.
• Three in the sixth: George Springer (isn’t it great having him back) led off with a single. Marcus Semien walk. Vlad ground out, moving up the runners. Bo Bichette singled, bringing in one. And Teoscar Hernandez doubled, bringing home two more. Bichette ran through Luis Rivera’s stop sign to score. The throw home was just a little off-line. If it had been on target, it would have been a very close play. We almost got another run. Teoscar on third went on contact on an Alejandro Kirk ground ball. The play at the plate was very close. Called out on the field, I thought he was barely safe, but the challenge didn’t go our way.
• Three in the seventh: Kevin Smith started the inning with a walk. Jarrod Dyson ground out moving up Smith. Springer walked (his third time on base). And, an out later, Vlad hits his second home run of the game. This one only 408 feet, but hit at 112.1 MPH.

It was a much better game for the offense:

• Springer was hit by pitch, singled, and walked. And he stole a base, the back end of a double steal.
• Vlad had the 2 home runs.
• Bichette was 1 for 4.
• Teoscar had the big double, hopefully, that will get his bat going.
• Dyson singled, walked, stole bases (he was picked off first once).

Joakim Soria pitched a very quick eighth. And Trent Thornton started. He gave up a leadoff walk. Then a deep fly out. After that he got a popup short of the mound, all the infielders came in, but Bo tripped over the mound and no one took charge. Usually, Vlad takes charge, but he didn’t this time. A ground ball single-ended his day. He was pretty unlucky, I saw the ground ball and thought double play but it missed the infielders.

Jordan Romano got the last two outs for his 14th save, throwing 10 pitches.

Jays of the Day: Vlad (.211 WPA), Ray (.157), and Teoscar (.159).

No Jays got the Suckage number.

Tomorrow we have Hyun Jin Ryu (12-7, 3.88) vs. Keegan Akin (1-8, 7.26).

We had 483 comments in the GameThread. It was a lot of fun to watch a, maybe not blowout, but a game we had well in hand. DangYouToHeck led us to a fun win.