Poor Start By Gausman, Jays Lose to Phillies

Phillies 9 Blue Jays 4

It isn’t often that we lose games because of poor pitching and defense, but we managed it tonight.

Kevin Gausman wasn’t sharp. The defense could have bailed him out, but he didn’t have the start we are used to seeing. He went 5.1, allowed 7 hits, 7 runs (5 earned and 2 that scored after he left the game), 3 walks with 4 strikeouts.

He gave up a run in the second and third, but things fell apart in the fifth and sixth.

• In the fifth: Kevin gave out one-out and two-out walks. Then Nick Castellanos doubled off the left field wall, bringing home one (it should have scored two, but Whit Merrifield’s throw wasn’t a good one). And then there was a fairly easy ground ball to third, but Santiago Espinal double-clutched and threw the ball just short of first. A very tough hope for Vlad, costing us two runs.
• In the sixth: Kevin gave up a double and a single to start the inning, giving the Phillies runners on the corners. The single was going straight at Paul DeJong near the bag initially, but Gausman kicked at it and deflected it away from DeJong. For reasons I can’t explain, the Phillies bunted, moving the runner from first to second. It didn’t seem like a great idea. That was it for Gausman, leaving two on base. Tim Mayza came in and gave up a sac fly and two singles, costing Kevin two more earned runs. Eric Swanson got the last out of the inning, but it was 7-4.

The Phillies got runs on solo home runs in the eighth (Jake Cage off Jay Jackson) and in the ninth (Bryce Harper, his second of the game, off Bowden Francis).

On offense, we got 4 runs off 5 hits (and 4 walks). We got:

• Two in the second: Cavan Biggio led off with a single, stole second and went to third on an Alejandro Kirk deep fly ball. Then Daulton Varsho crushed a home run to right (106.7 mph, 375 feet on a line).
• Two in the third: Belt had a one-out walk. Vlad singled. Springer hit into a force at second and then stole second. And Biggio single home both.

Biggio had 2 of the 5 hits. Vlad (with two walks), Kirk, and Varsho (with a walk).

Not reaching base: Espinal, DeJong, Springer (well, he did reach on the force) and Merrifield (who had a particularly rough time, having a bad day with the glove and the bat).

Jays of the Day: Biggio (.227 WPA) and Varsho (.142).

The Other Award: Gausman (-.471), Mayza (-.104) and Springer (-.104, he also cost us a Vlad steal by falling into the catcher after his third strike swing, turning it into a strike out/catcher interference double play).

Tomorrow is an off day. Then the Jays go to Cincinnati for a three-game series against the Reds (followed by an off day, we have a lot of them in this little stretch of the season).

Bo Bichette, Trevor Richards and Kevin Keirmaier should all be back for that series and Danny Jansen and Matt Chapman should be back in the lineup too. Chad Green should be activated too.