Jays Lose in Extras

Blue Jays 6 White Sox 7 (12 innings)

Let’s start with bad news:

George Springer left the game with ‘right elbow discomfort’. He’s been having a tough time at the plate, maybe this is the reason.

We’ve had a lot of badly umpired games lately, but this one might be the worst. Pitches inches off the outside edge of the plate were called strikes consistently. It was irritating to the point that I didn’t want to watch anymore. I’m a huge baseball fan, but it took me right out of the game.

And when the umpire is calling pitches like that strikes, batters have to swing at anything outside.

Our friend Andrew Stoeten posted this:

That was about mid-game.

Lefty batters didn’t seem to get pitches off the outside edge called strikes, but then there weren’t many lefties in the game.

Anyway.....

Kevin Gausman had a pretty good start. 6 innings, 7 hits, 2 earned, 2 walks and 7 strikeouts. He gave up some hits but he generally got the outs when he needed them. He gave up a run in the second on back-to-back doubles. And one more in the fifth on a walk, single and double. He was helped out by Alejandro Kirk picking off Tim Anderson at first base.

And in the third with runners on the corners, Matt Chapman made a nice play, getting the runner trying to score from third on a ground ball. But then, the next batter ground to Chapman again. This time he stepped on third for the force but threw wild to first. Should have been a double play, but Gausman got a fly-out to end the inning.

On the offensive side.....

Well we had our troubles with Dylan Cease (and home plate umpire Doug Eddings. We didn’t have a baserunner until Bo Bichette walked and didn’t get a hit until Lourdes Gurriel singled to lead off the sixth.

Cease went 6 allowing just 1 hit and 1 walk with 11 strikeouts (see comments on the plate umpire).

We finally scored in the seventh, when Kirk hit his seventh home run of the season.

Then 3 in the eighth. Matt Chapman walked. Gurriel singled. Raimel Tapia bunted. I’m not a fan of the bunt and Tapia has been swinging the back well. But such is life. Cavan Biggio, into the game for Springer, singled home Chapman (very lucky hit, a popup just beyond the second baseman). Bo singled (again a lucky hit), scoring another. Vlad walked, on a full-count pitch (he wasn’t sure it would be called a ball). Another walk to Kirk brought in our third run of the inning. It would have been nice to score more but Teoscar Hernandez and Santiago Epinal (with umpire assistance) both struck out.

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When Yimi Garcia threw a scoreless eighth, we thought we had the game.

But Jordan Romano just didn’t have it tonight. He started the ninth with a walk, but got a double-play ball to erase the runner. From there it went walk, double, two-run single (tying the game) and a line drive that Bradley Zimmer made a super catch on. That was the play of the day.

Off we went to extras.

We scored in the tenth: Vlad doubled (on the first pitch) bringing in Manfred Man Bo Bichette. But a fly-out (Kirk), strikeout (Zimmer, helped by some bad calls), and a Chapman strikeout (one of the pitched nearly bounced) after an Espinal walk.

Tim Mayza (a strange choice since there were a bunch of right-handed hitters) got the bottom of the tenth. He started off with a walk, putting the winning run on (where is the expanded strike zone when we needed it?). Then a strikeout (right on the inside edge, after two balls just off). A single loaded the bases. Another single (just over Bichette) tied the game (after a pitch just off the corner was not called a strike). Tim Anderson hit into a 6-2-3 double play to take us to the eleventh.

Top of the inning: Chapman is Manfred Man. Chapman goes to third on a balk, before the first pitch. The pitcher stepped off the rubber after starting to move. Lourdes got hit on the hand on a full-count pitch. Tapia singled scoring Chapman. Cavan got down our second sac bunt of the game. I am not a fan. Bo ground out to the drawn-in infield. Vlad also grounds out. We get just the one run.

Bottom of the inning: Matt Gage in. No pressure. Bunt moves the runner to third. La Russa is nothing if not predictable. A sac bunt moves the runner to third. A sac fly scores the tying run. A strikeout ends the inning.

On to the Twelveth:

Top of the inning: Vlad Manfreding. Or is that Manfredding? Kirk up. He is the only player to homer today. Kirk hit one to right but Engel made a very nice catch. Gabriel Moreno in to pinch hit for Zimmer. Who will play CF? On the full count, Moreno lines one to center, with another great catch, this time by Luis Roberts. Espinal flies out to right (ripped off on two calls). We don’t score.

Bottom of the inning: Otto Lopez goes into the game in CF. Why not right and move Tapia to center? Gage still pitching. Popup to first. Intention walk to Adam Engel brings up Reese McGuire. He drives one down the left-field line deep but foul. He strikes out on a pitch well off the plate. Josh Harrison is up and on a 1-2 pitch, he singles to center, game over.

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Not Gage’s fault. We needed to score more than a run in an extra inning. Or Jordan Romano had to do better.

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Jays of the Day: Gurriel (.306 WPA), Vlad (.173, but then he didn’t get the runner in from third in the 11th), and Kirk (.166)

Suckage: Romano (-.417) and Hernandez (-.114, 0 for 4, 3 strikeouts).