Offense Vanishes, Jays Lose to Yankees

Blue Jays 0 Yankees 3

Last night’s game was so much more fun. Today, if you made it to the end without falling asleep, you are a die-hard baseball fan.

My wife was out for the evening and called in the 6th inning asking if I wanted to go to the bar to watch the end of the game. Yes, alcohol could make the game better. It didn’t. Let’s blame any and all mistakes in this post on the beer I drank.

Kevin Gausman was great. 5.2 innings, 6 hits, 2 earned (really, they weren’t earned but such is the life of a pitcher, 0 walks, 9 strikeouts. The Yankees didn’t hit anything hard, but his defense didn’t do him any favours.

In the third inning, Isiah Kiner-Falefa hit a ground ball to third, but Santiago Espinal moved left when the ball went by him on the right. I don’t know why he went the wrong way, maybe the ball had spin on it and surprised him, or maybe he just totally read it wrong. A balk moved the runner to second. The next batter hit a fly ball to left that Lourdes Gurriel. Lourdes, for unknown reasons, decided to decoy that he was going to catch the ball and then had it fall at his feet. Then he booted it. He needed two steps forward, and he could have had the catch. Instead, it thought trying to fool the baserunner was the better move.

And in the fifth, Kiner-Falefa hit a ground ball that Bo Bichette dove for and deflected into left field. Bo wouldn’t have been able to make the out if he came up with it clean. But then, if he didn’t deflect it, it would have been a single. Instead, it was a double. A single scored the run.

The Yankees got their third run off Julian Merryweather in the eighth.

On offense, we only had 5 hits, 4 singles and a double. Vlad went 0 for 4 with 4 strikeouts. Alejandro Kirk was the only Jay with two hits. Cavan Biggio had 2 walks.

We did load the bases in the ninth. Biggio, Espinal and Matt Chapman all walked to load the bases with no outs. But George Springer struck out and Bo Bichette lined out to second base, and Chapman, for unknown reasons, went way too far off first and was double off. I was sure that Vlad would get one more at-bat to, hopefully, save his night and our game, but no. a lined double play ended it.

No Jays of the Day tonight. Chapman came close with a .093 WPA, but then he allowed himself to be doubled off, so no JoD for him.

Suckage goes to: Bo (-.254 WPA 1 for 5), Springer (.215, 0 for 4, 1 k), and Vlad (-.110, 0 for 4, 4 k).

The Jays were confused all night by Luis Severino’s assortment of junk. That’s not fair, he’s a good pitcher, who rarely gets through 5 innings without an injury. And the Yankees used 6 relievers.

The Jays are now 4-3 and head back to Toronto to face the A’s. Ross Stripling gets the start. Daulton Jefferies starts for Oakland.