Jays 12 Angels 11

What a long strange ride that was. Let’s start with extras:

Extras

Top of the 10th, Biggio on second):

• Kirk bounced on to short, Biggio to third.
• Kiermaier hits a ground-rule double to right. We are winning again.
• Springer singles, we are up 12-10.
• Bo strikes out.
• Vlad singles, runners on the corners.
• Chapman strikes out.

Bottom of the 10th, Drury on second, and Trevor Richards (please, Richards, prove me wrong. This is why I rant about pulling pitchers on 7 pitches early in the game) were into the game.

• Luis Rengifo strikes outs.
• Gio Urshela singled, runners on the corners, tying run at the plate.
• O’Hoppe strikes out.
• Trevor Ward up. Trevor vs. Trevor. And Ward gets a walk.
• Trout up with the bases loaded. He popped on up behind the plate but Kirk missed it. He forgot balls popped behind the plate work their way bat towards the field. Over ran it. And a walk on a full-count pitch.
• Ohtani up, tying run at third, winning run at second. Mayza in. Tom considers alcoholism as a career path. Amazingly after two strikes, Ohtani grounds one to Vlad.

JAYS WIN!!!!

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I thought it was won when Jordan Romano came in in the ninth with a 3-run lead but:

Single, strikeout, walk, strikeout (Trout), walk (Ohtani), hit batter, double (game tied, winning run at third) and strikeout (Brandon Drury).

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Before that.....

I thought the game was over in the first inning:

Two outs, runner on first, Yusei Kikuchi gets Anthony Rendon to pop up to shallow left. Bo Bichette didn’t seem to see it (or thought it was deep enough for the outfield to take). Daulton Varsho got under it but lost it in the sun, and it missed his glove by a couple of feet. Ohtani scores from first.

The next batter, Hunter Renfroe, takes a ball and then hits a high, outside changeup (looked like it was to be low and inside) for a home run. It should have been out of the inning. Instead, A strikeout ended the inning but cost Kikuchi three runs and nine extra pitches. He should have been out of the inning on 16 pitches but ended up with 25.

Kikuchi had a nice quick second inning. But the third didn’t go well:

Mike Trout hit a hard one-out single, and Shohei Ohtani followed with a home run. 5-0. A Logan O’Hoppe homer in the fourth made it 6-0, and it looked like we had a loss.

Kikuchi went 4.1 innings, allowed 9 hits, 1 walk, 6 strikeouts and 6 “earned”. Yeah, it isn’t fair that the 3 runs in the first are earned, but who said life was fair (but still fairer than death)?

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The Jays played like they thought it was a loss until the sixth inning. But in the sixth:

• George Springer led off with a walk.
• Bo Bichette singled.
• Vladimir Guerrero was hit on the foot with a pitch. It looked bad for a few minutes (and I’m glad the Jays aren’t playing tomorrow), but Vlad stayed in the game. I wanted them to take him out, but I was wrong.
• Matt Chapman hit a grand slam. Suddenly it is 6-4.
• Daulton Varsho followed with a bunt single. Good time to do that right after a home run.
• Whit Merrifield reached on an error by pitcher Andrew Wantz.
• Cavan Biggio struck out, and Danny Jansen flew out.
• But Kevin Kiermaier tripled into the right-field corner.
• Springer popped out to end the inning, but we were tied!

And in the seventh, we scored four more:

• Bo was hit on the hand by a pitch. Again I think it is a good thing we don’t play tomorrow.
• Vlad singled. Bo to third.
• Chapman singled, and we are ahead 7-6.
• Varsho flew out, Vlad to third.
• Merrifield singled. 8-6
• Biggio struck out.
• Pinch hitter Alejandro Kirk was intentionally walked.
• Kiermaier singled to bring in two more. 10-6.
• Springer hit a flyout to end the fun.

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We ended up with 13 hits and 11 runs. Chapman drove in 5, Kiermaier 4.

Chapman had 3 hits. Merrifield and Kiermaier had 2 each.

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We ran through the relievers:

• Pop: Two outs, 8 pitches. If John with let him go longer we wouldn’t have Richards in a big spot.
• Cimber: 1 clean inning.
• Garcia: 1 clean inning, 2 strikeouts.
• Swanson: 1 inning, 1 earned on a home run.
• Romano: 1 inning, 3 earned, blown save, 2 hits, 2 walks, 2 k.
• Richards: 2 outs, 1 hit, 2 walks, 2 k, 1 earned.
• Mayza: 1 out, and a save.

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Jays of the Day: Kiermaier (.539 WPA), Mayza (.270), Chapman (.258), and Merrifield (.135).

Kirk had the number (.180) but not catching that popup was terrible.

Suckage: Romano (-.460), Kikuchi (-.307), Richards (-.181), and Jansen (-119, 0 for 3, 3 strikeouts). Biggio had the number too, but he was totally robbed on a strike-three call.

Hat tip to former Jays pitchers Loup and Tepera.

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I’m sure we’ll talk more about this tomorrow, but supper is waiting for me. I’ll fix the mistakes later.

Happy Easter.