What a Terrible Ending

Red Sox 7 Blue Jays 6

Quick recap today. We have people over, and someone has to barbeque steaks.

So we had a shot in the ninth:

George Springer singled with one out in the ninth to bring the tying run to the plate. Then Bo Bichette hit one the opposite way, I thought it was out, but it hit near the top of the wall. Tying run at second. But Brandon Belt struck out (for the fourth time today). Making contact would have been big.

Vlad up. He was down 0-2 and then lined a single to right. I thought ‘tie game’. Nope. Bo coming from second kind of slowed, just for a moment, on the way home, and he was thrown out. Actually, Bo slowed up twice.

He, likely, would have been out anyway. Watching the replay, I don’t know if Rivera had a stop sign up or not.

What a terrible ending.

Apparently, the stop sign went up late. I don’t know. Rivera had to be more decisive.

Yusei Kikuchi didn’t have it tonight. It is too bad. He was on a run of good starts. Today he went 4.1 innings, allowing 5 runs on 7 hits, with 2 walks and 7 strikeouts. In the first couple of innings, he pitched himself into and out of trouble but then gave up two on a Rafael Devers home run in the third. And three more in the fifth on homers, on 3 hits.

Trevor Richards gave up another run in the sixth.

Nate Pearson and Yimi Garcia kept the Red Sox off the board for 2.1 innings between them.

The game started well for us. George Springer hit yet another home run to start the game for us.

We got another run in the third from a home run by Bo Bichette.

A run in the sixth made it a three-run game (we should have had more). Matt Chapman started the inning with a double. An out later, Daulton Varsho singled him to third. A Cavan Biggio ground out, moving up the runners. Red Sox reliever Josh Winchowski gave us a run by throwing a pickoff throw past the second. A walk to Kevin Kiermaier brought the tying run to the plate, but Springer struck out.

The eighth was more fun. With two outs, Vlad walked, and Chapman homered, and it was a one-run game. It was almost better. Varsho singled, and Danny Jansen walked. A double steal (Ernie Clement pinch-running for Jansen) put the tying run on third. Biggio got to a full-count pitch and lined one down the right field line, into the corner, but just foul. And then he struck out. It was maybe two feet from putting us in front.

But Justin Turner hit a solo homer off Erik Swanson to make it a two-run game again in the ninth.

Jay of the Day: Chapman (.223 WPA). Springer (.126). Bo has the number, I’m not sure if that ending should erase that.

The Other Award: Kikuchi (-.308), Biggio (-.243, that ball landing two feet to the left and he would have had a JoD), Belt (-.172) and Richards (-.095). Vlad had the number too, but much of that was because of Bo’s out, so there was no award for him. He deserves a JoD for hitting what I thought was the game-tying run.

I have alcohol to drink and steaks to barbeque. Have a good evening.