INSTANT REACTION: BLUE JAYS’ BULLPEN MELTDOWN LED TO A 9-2 DEFEAT AT THE HANDS OF THE ASTROS
The Toronto Blue Jays played on Wednesday against the Houston Astros. They lost.
Coming into this game, the series was tied at one, as the Jays had a chance to finish the series with a split at worst. While they may still get that chance on Thursday, their 9-2 loss wasn’t encouraging. Toronto is now 39-47 for the year.
The Jays scored another run in the first inning and even got a hit off Ronel Blanco, who no-hit the team in the early portion of the season. It was a sacrifice fly off the bat of Bo Bichette to give Toronto a 1-0 lead.
Yordan Álvarez hit a double to score Chas McCormick in the top of the third, before hitting his 19th home run of the season and his third home run of the series to give the Astros a 2-1 lead in the top of the sixth. Maybe don’t pitch to Álvarez?
Kikuchi was unable to get out of the inning after a Jeremy Peña double, but was tagged with a no decision as Bo Bichette hit a two-out double, before Daulton Varsho drove him in with a single to tie the game in the bottom of the sixth.
And then the typical bullpen meltdown happened. Zach Pop fumbled the ball leading to an error, Jon Singleton hit a double, and José Altuve hit a single to knock in the game-winning run. After a lineout, the Blue Jays turned to José Cuas, which was a disaster as he threw three pitchers to three batters, giving the Astros a 6-2 lead.
Álvarez would drive in another run, as the Astros had a three-run eighth inning, making the game 9-2 for the loss. Not great.
Things worth mentioning…
Yusei Kikuchi was not at fault for this game, as he pitched a strong game, finishing with a line of 5.2 IP, 5 H, 2 ER, 2 BB, 5 K with a home run given up to bring his season ERA to 4.12. At least he wasn’t tagged with a loss.
José Cuas made history tonight. After an intentional walk to Yordan Álvarez, he allowed a two-run single to Yainer Díaz on the first pitch, before hitting each of the next two batters with the first pitch. He is the first pitcher in the modern era to hit two batters on three pitches.
Daulton Varsho had a multi-hit game, hitting his 15th double and an RBI with a single. Bo Bichette had the other double, also his 15th, while Vladimir Guerrero Jr. and Brian Serven each had a single.
Bo Bichette struck out while being hit by a pitch in the arm in his final at-bat of the game. He slammed down some equipment in the dugout, while Guerrero Jr. slammed down a bat. It’s a pretty good indication of team morale at the moment.
Up next: Blue Jays look to avoid the series loss tomorrow, as they’ll play the Astros for the final time this season. It’s a getaway day, meaning the game starts in the afternoon, with Chris Bassitt on the mound for the Jays.
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2024-07-04T02:52:40Z dg43tfdfdgfd