Jays hit four home runs, and (barely) hold on to win

A’s 8 Blue Jays 10

That was more stressful than we needed.

Another good start from Jose Berrios. 6.2 innings, 4 hits, 3 earned, 0 walks, and 7 strikeouts. He also hit a batter. Pretty bad luck to have allowed 5 baserunners but 3 earned runs when only one was a home run, a solo shot.

In the seventh, Matt Olson hit a double to the wall in center field. Corey Dickerson, playing center for the first time as a Jay, got back to the wall fine but didn’t make the best of jumps. It was a very tough play. I don’t know that Randal Grichuk would have made the catch.

Two strikeouts later, Mark Canha singled to left, and Lourdes Gurriel decided to throw home, even though there was no chance of a play at the plate. That allowed Canha to go to second. Adam Cimber came in and got a soft bouncer to second that Marcus Semien waved at as it went by him. Not called an error, but it was one. Canha scores because of two defensive misplays, but still an earned run. Baseball isn’t fair at times.

Tim Mayza threw the eighth getting two strikeouts.

Joakim Soria had troubles in the ninth. A leadoff walk and a double off the wall to start the inning and then a Canha home run, just to get our blood pressure up. Another single got Jordan Romano into the game.

Romano gives up a home run (crushed, 430 feet) and it is suddenly a two-run game. A fly out to center, a fly to deep left (Gurriel made a very nice catch), and a strikeout (on a pitch off the plate. Not a save, he came in up by four, with one on. If it was up three with one on, it would have been a save.

On offense, it was the home run show.

• Gurriel homered in the second.
• Danny Jansen homered in the third.
• Breyvic Valera had a two-run homer in the fourth. I promise to stop complaining about the guy.
• Teoscar Hernandez had a three-run shot in the seventh (needed as the A’s had made it a one-run game in the top of the inning).

Lourdes drove in 3 more with a bases-loaded double in the eighth. A line drive to center that Sky Bolt (really?) just missed making a diving attempt at.

We had 15 hits, which, with the four home runs, makes you think we should have scored more runs, but that’s nitpicking. We were 2 for 5 with RISP.

Danny, getting his BA up to .200, and Lourdes had 3 hits each. Bo had 2 hits and was hit by pitch. Everyone else in the starting lineup had a hit.

Jays of the Day: Berrios (.212 WPA), Jansen (.119), and Gurriel (.125). Gurriel made a couple o nice catches too, but also had that foolish throw home. Let’s give an honorable mention to Teoscar for his home run in the seventh. Insurance runs, but they let us breathe easy.

No one had the Suckage number, but I’m giving one to Soria, just because he made me sweat.

Tomorrow is a 1:00 start. Cole Irvin (9-12, 3.74) goes against Bob Rae (10-5, 2.71) to end the series with the A’s.

We had 389 comments in the GameThread. I led us to victory.