Jays Lose a One-Run Game

Yankees 3 Blue Jays 2

Live by the one-run game, die by the one-run game.

We had several chances to score but couldn’t push across the runners. We had 9 hits, but only 2 of them were extra-base hits (doubles by Bichette and Heineman). George Springer and Bo Bichette had 2 hits each. The only Jays not reach base were Santiago Espinal and Raimel Tapia.

But we also hit into three double plays.

We scored our two runs in the fourth inning. Springer led off with a single. Bo doubled him home. Then, after a hard lineout by Vlad (with an excellent running catch by ‘center fielder’ Aaron Judge and a Lourdes Gurriel ground out, Matt Chapman singled Bo home (off the very end of the bat, how many hard-hit balls found gloves and that one falls in).

In the sixth, Vlad walked, and Bo singled to start the inning. But Lourdes hit into a double play, and Chapman struck out.

In the seventh, Alejandro Kirk led off with a walk. After two outs, Tyler Heineman doubled down the right-field line. IF Kirk had been pinch-run for by Zimmer, we would have had a run (ignoring the space-time continuum issues, i.e. had Zimmer pinch-run, odds are different pitches would have been thrown, causing different results) on the double.

Ross Stripling had a good start. Just 4 innings and 2 runs allowed, on 5 hits, no walks and 3 strikeouts. Other than the home run, he got the outs when he needed them.

David Phelps, Trevor Richards ad Adam Cimber combined for four perfect innings. Yimi Garcia wasn’t so lucky. He gave up a leadoff hit, stolen base, then got two outs. But Gleyber Torres lined a single to right-center to bring in the go-ahead run.

Jays of the Day: Bo (.126 WPA, 2 for 4), Phelps (.124), Cimber (.106), and Richards (.104).

Suckage: Garcia (-.303), Espinal (-.195, 9 for 4, 1 k), Gurriel (-.141, 1 for 4), Tapia (-.141, 0 for 4, 2 k) and Chapman (-.125, 1 for 4, and a couple of nice plays at third).