Tag: Toronto Blue Jays

The Toronto Blue Jays Marcus Semien gets the water treatment from teammates after hitting a three run home run in the bottom of the ninth inning to hand the Jays a win over the Oakland A’s at Rogers Centre in Toronto (AP News photo)

Former A’s Semien Beats Oakland 11-10

By Barbara Mason

Friday evening the Oakland A’s took on the Toronto Blue Jays in a race for the Wild Card. Both teams are in the running and so this game was equally important for both of them.

Sean Manea was on the mound for the A’s and Alek Manoah got the nod for the Blue Jays. Both of the teams were desperate for wins to keep pace in this race to October.

The A’s got right down to business in the first inning. Josh Harrison and Starling Marte both had hits. Matt Chapman doubled in the inning driving in Harrison and Marte giving the A’s an early 2-0 lead.

Things were quiet in the ensuring innings until the fourth inning. The Blue Jays would tie up the game off a home run by Teoscar Hernandez allowing Vladimir Guerrero Jr. to score. The A’s would have to get to work to take back the lead.

There were some fireworks and not the kind that produce hits and runs in the fifth inning. To be correct there were plenty of hits but not off the bat. Josh Harrison was hit and following that Starling Marte was hit in the head. So back to back hits and not the kind that we like to see. Marte would stay in the game for the inning. When Olson doubled Harrison and the speedy Marte both scored to take a 4-2 lead.

In the sixth inning Tony Kemp would have a bit of a dirt in the eye issue that brought out the medical crew. He went on to hit a home run, the eye wash doing it’s job scoring Canha and extending their lead 6-2.

There would be more scoring for Oakland in the seventh inning. Matt Chapman would single driving Matt Olson home. Tony Kemp would single in the same inning driving home Jed Lowrie. Now leading 8-2 the A’s had control of this game.

As we have seen in the A’s last two games, you cannot let your foot off the pedal. Going into the eighth inning Sean Manea had seen seven great innings.

Manea should have pitched the eighth inning. Lou Trivino came in to relieve and walked three, and walked in a run to top it off. Gurriel Jr. would come to the plate with the bases loaded and hit the home run that would tie this game 8-8. It was more of the same for the A’s. They have done this the past few games. They have a healthy lead and the relief pitching has let the team down. It would be up to the offense of Oakland to dig them out of this mess.

It was Mark Canha to the rescue hitting a desperately needed home run driving in Matt Olson and taking back the lead 10-8.

That lead did not last very long. Again the Oakland pitching undid everything that the offense worked so hard to achieve. Sergio Romo continued to throw sliders over and over and it was not working. He allowed hits by Valera and Springer followed by a home run by Marcus Semien and that was the ball game 11-10.

I don’t know what you do about some of this horrific relief pitching and the closers. There will be no post season for this team if this goes on much longer. They wouldn’t get past the Wild Card if they even get that far. What a let down after such a great offensive effort, especially the brilliant pitching by Sean Manea.

They will take another shot tomorrow taking on the Jays in Game Two. First pitch is at 12:07.

The Toronto Blue Jays Marucs Semien had himself an afternoon against his former teammates the Oakland A’s at the Oakland Coliseum on Thu May 6, 2021 (@Blue Jays photo)

Toronto 10 – 16 – 1

Oakland 4 – 6. – 2

By Lewis Rubman

May 6, 2021

OAKLAND–This pitching match up of this afternoon’s contest between the 15-14 Toronto Blue Jays and 19-13 Athletics pitted two veteran starting pitchers recently returned from the Injured List. Going for the visitors was Hyun Jin Ryu, reinstated just yesterday (?), who had compiled an impressive April earned run average of 2.60 in his 27-2/3 innings of work over five starts.

Never mind that his won-lost record was 1-2; his WHIP was a measly 1.06. His resumé includes seven years of stardom with the Hanwha Eagles of the Korea Baseball Association, where he won 59 regular season games. That doesn’t seem so impressive until you realize that only Chan Ho Park, who won 124, had more games in his W column. Ryu, like Park, went on to pitch for the Los Angeles Dodgers Ryu seems to have a case of the seven year itch, since that’s the amount of time he stayed with the Dodgers (if you count 2015, a season he missed due to injury).

He signed with Toronto in December of 2019, in time to turn in a 5-2, 2.60 COVID shortened season mark. He finished third in the Cy Young balloting and had the third highest WAR of all players in the majors. Among pitchers, only Shane Bieber, at 3.2, did better.

This was only the second appearance of the season for the A’s Mike Fiers since coming off the Injured List on April 26., He was adequate in his first start, a week ago yesterday, giving up three runs and six hits over six innings in a losing effort against Baltimore’s Jim Means,who went on to throw a no-hitter a couple of days ago.

Fiers has tossed two of those himself, most recently on May 2, 2019 against Cincinnati. There was no question of Fiers throwing a no-hitter today; Marcus Semien and Bo Bichette opened the game with back to back singles. But Fiers recovered and retilred Vladmir Guerrero, Jr., Teoscar Hernández, and Randal Grichuk, the last on a three pitch strike out.

The Athletics started off with a bigger bang than Toronto’s. Mark Canha launched Ryu’s second offering, an 88 mph four seamer, into the left field seats for his fifth home run of the year and first lead off four bager of his career. Then Ryu set down Ramón Laueano, Matt Olson, and Sean Murphy in order.

Fiers got two quick strikes on Semien, leading off the third. But the A’s alumnus worked the count full before pulling a double down the left field line, just beyond the reach of a diving Matt Chapman. Bichette followed with a 3-2 walk, bringing Junior Guerrero to the plate.

With lthe count at 2-2, Fiers struck him out swinging, and Murphy picked Bichette off at first for an unusual double play. Toronto appealled the call at first, but a video review quickly confirmed it. Fiers seemed to have escaped the worst, but he hadn’t. Hernández walked, and Grichuk whalloped a blast that left his bat at 110 mph and landed 412 feet away, in center field, putting the Jays up, 3-1.

Oakland got a run back in the third on a one out single to right center by Tony Kemp, who advanced to second on Canha’s ground out to short, followed by a walk to Laureano and Olson’s automatic double that hopped over the low right field fence on one bounce. The A’s went ahead when the next batter, Sean Murphy, lined a double to left that brought both of them home. When Chapman struck looking to end the inning, the green and gold was back on top, 4-3.

That didn’t last long Jonathan Davis singled to open the fourth. Then Danny Jensen, htting all of .072 blasted an authorative home run to left. A fly out and an infield single leater, Fiers was gone, and Deolis Guerra was pitching for the home team. The A’s bullpen, tested and found wanting last night, was called on once more. Bichette stole second and third on Guerra, and Hernández, whom he walked, stole second, but the A’s reliever got through the frame without allowing another run.

Fiers’ line for the afternoon was five runs, all earned, one nine hits and two walks. He struck out two, and 43 of his 69 pitches were strikes. He allowed two home runs. Oh, those warm dry afternoons in the Coliseum! He eventually was charged with the loss.

There was a glimmer of hope for the A’s with two out in the bottom of the fifth. Laureano fisted a line drive single to right that got past Hernández, allowing Oakland’s fleet footed center fielder to motor to thirid. But Olson went down swinging on a change up to end the mini threat.

Things got hairy for Guerra in the sixth. With one down, Semien’s fly ball landed in front of Piscotty in right. Bichette followed with a line drive single to left that eluded Andrus’s glove. Junior Guerrero hit sharply to the mound. Guerra fielded the ball, turned, and threw low and outside to second.

The error loaded the bases. It also ended Guerra’s agony. Romo came in. Hernández’s single to center scored Bichette and Semien. Guerrero stopped at second. Grichuk then hit a double to deep right center that Laureano mishandled and which brought Guerrero home with Grichuk ending up at third when Kemp threw wildely on his relay to that base.

Guerra gave up three runs, two of them earned, in two innings of hard labor. He allowed two htis and a walk, threw 32 pitches, 23 for strikes. Romo faced four batters in his 2/3 of an inning. Two of them got hits, and he was charged with one run, which was earned.

Travis Bergen relieved Ryu for the Oakland sixth. Toronto’s starter pitched five innings to qualify tor the win. The four runs he allowed were earned. He gave up six hits and a walk, strikng out six. His pitch to strikes ratio was 91-58. Bergen threw two hitless innings, allowing a walk.

Reymin Guduan pitched the seventh for Oakland and surrendered the Blue Jays their tenth run on a 386 foot homer to left by Semien, who was cheered loudly by a good portion of 3,611 fans in attendance. He stayed on until Adam Kolarek assumed the unpleasant task of facing the surging Blue Jays for the final frame. In spite of singles to the first two hitters he faced, he got out of the inning unscathed.

The forelorn A’s fruitlessy faced Joel Payamps in the eighth, and he hung around to finish the job in the ninth.

24 hours before the final out was recorded at 3:48, it looked as if the A’s might sweep this four game series against the Jays. They ended up with a split.

The Jekyll and Hyde A’s take on the Tampa Bay Rays in a three game series starting at 6:40 tomorrow evening. Sean Manaea (3-1,3.48) is scheduled to face Rich Hill.

The Toronto Blue Jays Teoscar Hernandez connects for an RBI single in the first inning against Oakland A’s starter Chris Bassitt at the Oakland Coliseum on Wed May 5, 2021 (AP News photo)

Toronto 9 -10 – 0

Oakland 4 – 7 – 0

By Lewis Rubman

May 5, 2021

OAKLAND–This morning, the Blue Jays announced that on June 1 they will fly away home. The A’s opponents du jour, who have been playing their home games in their spring training facilities in Dundin, FL, will not be returning all the way to Canada but to neighboring Buffalo.

The upgrade of Salhen Field, the home park of their Triple AAA affiliate in upstate New York, is expected to have been completed by then. Ironically, the first team to visit the Jays in their northern home away from home will be the Miami Marlins. Just before game time, Toronto also announced that they had put George Springer on the IL and promoted Jonathan Davis.

The A’s also announced a move, one on a much lower scale. Aramis García, the catcher acquired along with Elvis Andrus in the Khris Davis deal, has been placed on the Injured List with viral enteritis. He was replaced by fellow backstop Austin Allen, who had been on the taxi squad and batted ninth tonight and catching.

He threw out Randal Grichuk trying to steal second in the top of the sixth, ending the inning. He ended the top of the seventh as well, this time with a nifty 2-3 put out of Joe Panik on a dribbler in front of the plate.

Seven year veteran Robbie Ray (1-1, 2.78) started for the Blue Jays. His best pitch is his fastball, which has been averaging 95 mph this season. Reasonably enough, it’s his most frequent offering, followed, in descending order, by the slider, curve, and occasional change up.

Although at game time he owned a mediocre lifetime record of 50-52, 4.22, he was tied for third place among pitchers with more than 100 innings of MLB experience for strike outs per nine innings at 11.03. Tonight was the first time he faced the A’s.

Oakland entrusted its fortunes to Chris Bassitt (2-2, 3.93). Those figures in parenthesis aren’t reassuring, but behind them are reasons to give the Athletics and their fans some confidence. Bassitt’s two loses were in his first two starts, against the Astros and Dodgers, in that order.

After his second defeat, his record stood at 0-2, 5.56 with an opponents’ batting average of .289. Between then and game time, it was 2-0, 3.13, and .221. He was 0-1, 5.25 lifetime in his meager two starts against Toronto. He pitched tonight on five days’ rest.

Toronto jumped all over him in the first inning, but the damage they inflicted on Oakland wasn’t insurmountable. That would come later.

After Marcus Semien went down swinging to open the game, Bo Bichette rapped a single to left and moved on to second when Vladimir Guerrero, Jr., sent a line drive up the middle into center for another base hit. Teoscar Hernández banged a single to right, driving Bichette across home for Toronto’s first tally. Guerrero scored their second on Randal Grichuk’s single to center. Then Bassitt settled down to get the two outs he needed to get out of the inning.

Ramón Laureano reduced the gap by blasting one of Ray’s 95 mph fast balls an estimated 395 feet, leaving the park over the State Farm sign in right center, with one out in the home first. That made it seven home runs and 15 RBI for the A’s centerfielder.

Matt Chapman, who seems well on the way to putting his hitting woes behind him, closed the gap completely in the bottom of the fourth. His 396 foot smash to left came on an 87 mph slider Ray threw on a 1-2 count . The brought his totals to five dingers and fourteen runs driven in. Not bad for a guy who’d just crawled over the Mendoza line.

The A’s pulled ahead in their half of the sixth. Laureano doubled to deep left center to lead off. He moved up 90 feet on Olson’s ground out to short into the shift and scored on DH Sean Murphy’s pop fly single to center over a drawn in infield. Jed Lowrie’s fly that Grichuk corralled at the right center wall looked like it might widen the margin, but, of course, it didn’t.

That was the last out that Ray would record. In his six innings on the mound, he threw 95 pitches, 68 for strikes. The three runs he yielded were earned and came on six hits, two of which went the distance. He didn’t walk anybody and, running true to form, struck out nine.. Jordan Romano, his replacement, amused the crowd with his habit of squatting between each pitch, but still managed to set down the bottom of the Athletics’ order in order.

Bob Melvin also called on a reliever, Lou Trivino, to open the next inning. Bassitt left after throwing 90 pitches (63 strikes) over seven innings. The two earned runs he allowed in the first were the only ones scord against hm. Four of the six hits gave up also came in the initial frame. Like Ray, he gave up no free transportation. He struck out seven Blue Jays.

Lou Trivino, however, wasn’t as effective and Romano. He walked the number nine hitter, McGwire, who promptly was replaced by the newly arrived pinch runner Jonathan Davis, and the wheels came off. Semien singled Davis to second.

Bichette forced Semien out at second but beat Andrus’s relay to first, putting runners on the corners with one out. Trivino unleached a wild pitch to Guerrero, allowing Davis to score the tying run and Bichette to take second. He then stole third.

Trivino gave an intentional pass to Junior. Hernández singled to left, scoring Bichette and moving Junior to second. Grichuk´s single to left plated Guerrero and moved Hernández to third and Trivino to the showers. Adam Kolarek, now pitching, fielded Biggio’s bunt to the mound and threw late to home. Credit Biggio with a sacrifice and an RBI, and charge another run to Trivino.

Kolarek heaved a wild pitch that moved both runners up a base. Gurriel grounded out to Andrus, Grichuk scored, and Biggio moved to third. Santiago Espinal, hitting for Reese McGuir lined out to Laureano to end the inning. Toronto now led 7-3.

With David Phelps pitching in the bottom of the eighth, the A’s managed to sneak a little closer on a walk to Olson and an RBI double by Murphy.

Toronto punished that meek uprising with a two run double by Guerrero in the top of the ninth that ended the scoring for both teams, leaving the A’s looking up at a 9-4 defeat.

The responsiblity for Oakland’s loss can be hinted at by the numbers of their relief pitchers.

Pitcher. IP. H. R. ER. BB. K PC (strikes)

Trivino. 1/3. 3. 5. 5. 2. 0. 19 (9) Kolarek. 2/3. 0. 0. 0. 0. 0. 9 (7) Weems. 1. 1. 2. 2. 2. 1. 27 (13)

WP: Trivino, Kolarek

Toronto used a total of five moundsmen, Ray, Romano, Phelps, Tyler Chatwood, and Ryan Borucki. Romano got the win. The loss, and concommitant blown save, went to Lou Trivino, who now is 1-1, 4:15.

Tomorrow afternoon’s game is scheduled for 12:37. Hyun Jin Ryu (1-2, 2.60) will start for the Jays and Mike Fiers (0-1, 4.50) will toe the rubber for the Athletics.

Oakland A’s left fielder and later second baseman Tony Kemp seen during batting practice at the Oakland Coliseum contributed with a run scored and a walk on Mon May 3, 2021 against the visiting Toronto Blue Jays (@Athletics photo)

Toronto 4 – 9 – 0

Oakland 5 – 9 – 0

By Lewis Rubman

May 3, 2021

OAKLAND–On Sunday, the A’s announced that they had put Jesús Luzardo on the Injured List for a fracture of the little finger on his pitching hand and recalled Adam Kolarek from their alternate site. Luzardo’s record was a disappointing 1-3, 5.79 over 28 innings, with 30 strikeouts and 12 walks. He had three no decisions, and opposing batters hit a shudder inducing .289 against him. How did the A’s promising and struggling youngster injure his hand? Apparently, he bumped his pinkie against the desk at which he was sitting while playing a video game before his last, disastrous outing.

Oakland also placed J.B. Wendelken on the IL. The cause was a strained left oblique muscle; they chose Jordan Weems to take his spot on the roster. Wendelken was leading the league in pitching appearances with 15 at the time of the move. Although he was 0-0, 4.38, with an and an opponents’ batting average of .283, his season’s statistics are misleading. Over his first 13 games, his ERA had been 2.61, and opposing batters had hit for only .220 against him, which makes it likely that his bloated numbers were the result of the injury.

Luzardo’s self-inflicted injury was unusual, but the A’s in recent years haven’t been strangers to injuries, including serious ones that have hurt the team. A quick glance at their Injured Lists over the last few years shows, among others, Khris Davis, who never recovered from running into a wall while playing left field in an interleague game; A.J. Puk, who, along with Luzardo, has for the past few years been seen as a future ace; Chad Pinder, a top notch utility man who still is recovering from a strained right knee; and Matt Chapman, who recently began to overcome the damage caused by a torn hip labrum and his attempts to play through the pain it caused him.

Not to mention Matt Olson, whose black eye didn’t put him on the IL, but did keep him out of action until his marvelous return yesterday, when he went three for five, including a double and a homer and bringing his OPS to 1.003.

Frankie Montás, who started for Oakland, has experienced the consequences of self-destructive, or at least careless, behavior. Last year, he spent June 21 through September 24 on the restricted list for violations of MLB’s drug protocol.

Luzardo is only 23 years old. He’s young. Montás is 28, still young but old enough to be entering his prime. His opponent on the mound for Toronto, Steve Matz, is just one year older and already is a seasoned, if not a particularly accomplished veteran.

He has a more responsible off field record than Luzardo or Montás, but that hasn’t prevented him from suffering the slings and arrows of outrageous fortune. A second round pick in the 2009 draft, he was unable to pitch the following two seasons, thanks to Tommy John surgery, and he’s been on the disabled or injured lists seven times with different types of arm trouble since the beginning of his professional career in 2012.. He pitched for the Mets from 2015 through the end of last season, during which time his ERA was below 4.00 only twice, 2.27 over 36-2/3 innings in ’15 and 3.97 during his 5-11 2018 season.

Last year he went 0-5, 9.68 in 30-2 /3 innings of arduous labor. The Mets thought enough of him in 2015 to have him start one game each of the NLDS, NLCS, and World Series in his rookie year. He performed well in two of the three starts (the Championship and World Series), but didn’t last more than five innings in any of them. He was the Mets’ choice for the Roberto Clemente Award three times, most recently last year. He came to the Jays this past January in exchange for three right handed pitchers, Yennsy Díaz, Sean Reid-Foley, and Josh Winckowski.

Tonight’s contest afforded us a chance to see the resurgent Matts try to put Matz to the mat (and vice versa). That is, with a little help from their friends.

Those friends of Matz included a couple of Bay Area favorites. Marcus Semien played … second base, and Joe Panik played … third. (The former A’s short stop received a warm ovation when he first came to the plate). Playing out of position, the two infielders are a microcosm of the Toronto team, which played its 2020 h0me games in Buffalo and this year will play them, at least through late this month, in their spring training facility in Dundin, FL.

It was Matt Chapman who first reached scoring position for either team. He took a 2-2 sinker from Matz in the bottom of the second frame and drove it on a line into the left field corner for a double. Moments later he scored on Jed Lowries’ double off the fence in right field, just to the right of the Southwest Airlines purple advertisement. Stephen Piscotty, up next, made it 3-0 with his third home run of the season, a 391 foot blast to left on an 85 mph change up.

The A’s advantage was short lived. Lourdes Gurriel, Jr., led off the third with a single to left and was forced out at second on a ground ball by Danny Jensen that, if Lowrie hadn’t bobbled it, would have resulted in a double play. In short order, BoBiggio singled to left, moving Jansen up a base; Vlad Guerrero, Jr., singled to right, loading the bases because Jansen held up at third when Piscotty unleased a strong throw home; and Teoscar Hernández doubled to left, driving in Biggio and Bichette. Montás retired Randal Grichuk and his old teammate Semien to escape further damage.

Oakland almost took back the lead in the fourth. With Lowrie on first and one out, Piscotty hit a drive that landed at the base of the right field wall. Lowrie motored to third, but Piscotty was cut down at second on a beautiful throw by Biggio to Bichette. Then Elvis Andrus hit a nubber in front of the plate, and catcher Jansen’s throw to first hit him in the back. But home plate umpire Bill Miller ruled that Andrus had been running out of the lane and called him out to end the inning.

The Athletics were not to be denied in the fifth. Tony Kemp began it with a walk and advanced to second on Canha’s grounder to third. Then Laureano, like Piscotty before him, took a mid-80s change up deep, driving this one 432 feet to left center and putting Oakland up, 5-3.

That was the last inning that Matz would pitch. In his six innings of toil, he surrended five runs, all of them earned. He gave up seven hits, including four round trippers, and a walk as well as hitting one batter. He threw 92 pitches, 62 for strikes. His succesor in the sixth was Travis Bergen.

After Bergen had retired the A’s in the sixth, Sergio Romo relieved Montás, who, with three runs in six innings had achieved what is considered a quality start. Those three talllies, all earned, had come on seven hits and a walk. 62 of his 88 pitches were counted as strkes. His replacement, Sergio Ramos, set the Jays down. 1,2,3, with two strike outs.

Toronto used their third straight southpaw hurler when they brought Tim Mayza to face Matt Olson with Laureano on first and two down in the bottom of the seventh.

Lou Trivino was Bob Melvin’s choice to face the Blue Jays in the eighth. Guerrero greeted him rudely with a lead off double to right. One strike out later, Grichuk moved him to third on a broken bat single to right. Then, on a 2-2 count to Semien, Trivino uncorked a wild pitch, allowing Guerrero to score and Grichuk to get to second.

All of a sudden, it was a one run game with a dangerous batter at the plate and a runner in scoring position. But Trivino got Semien to swing and miss on a 96 mph four seam fast ball for the second out, and Panik flew out to center, which preserved the home team’s razor thin margin.

Jake Diekman was called on to continue preserving it in the ninth. He did, earning his third save in as many opportunities.

Montás was the winning pitcher. He’s now 3-2, 5.87. Matz was tagged with the loss. His record stands at 4-2, 4.78)

Tomorrow’s 6:40 game will feature Cole Irvin (2-3, 3.67) pitching for Oakland and Anthony Kay (0-1,10.80) on the mound for Toronto,