Hard math: 1 disappointing team playing out the string + 1 disappointing team playing out the string = 1 dreadful game
Blue Jays 8 at Rangers 13
The world will note nor long remember what happened when two also-ran teams finishing up disappointing seasons met in mid-September. It’s an unequivocal positive that, except in the dusty corners of the servers where box scores are stored for posterity, it will be forgotten what happened here tonight. That is, sloppy pitching and a concomitant plodding pace that made for an agonizing and abysmal game of baseball.
It actually started out promisingly for the Blue Jays. They didn’t exactly torch Nathan Eovaldi, but after a couple of well placed singles in the first, Alejandro Kirk’s two out double brought home the first run followed by a second on an infield chopper by Ernie Clement. Alas, they couldn’t land a real knockout shot and left the bases loaded. With two on on the second, Vladimir Guerrero Jr. dumped a blooper down the line to make it 3-0, though another two were stranded.
That was the highwater mark, and it was all downhill from there. Other than a double to Waytt Langford, Chris Bassitt was solid the first time though the order, and had two out with none on in the 3rd. Cue the wheels falling off. Langford followed a two out single with another double to break the goose egg, and came around as Bassitt misplayed a grounder.
If that was bad, the fourth was a complete mess. Walk-single-error-HBP-sac fly-walk-single-single and Bassitt was done with 7 runs on the board and the game. But far from much of any relief, each successive arsonist from beyond the outfield walls only had more gas for the fire. I’ll outline that in a moment, but it’s worth first interjecting why it even mattered a little.
While it looked Eovaldi had pulled back from the abyss just in time, with back-to-back scoreless innings (to trigger a $20-million player option for 2025) and the Jays might just go quietly into the night, it turned out they still had a little fight. Vladdy’s third single of the night led off the 5th as they loaded the bases with another single and walk, before Clement seemingly punctured the balloon with a double play. But Nathan Lukes followed with a single to make it 7-5, and then Davis Schneider whacked a home run to tie the game.
With newfound life, that’s when the bullpen went to work:
- Ryan Burr got the last out of the 4th with no further damage, but allowed the first two in the 5th to reach
- Zach Pop prevented those runners from scoring, though it took what felt like 25 pitches to three batters to do so, but was apparently only 15. Perhaps it’s unfair to lump him in with the others. but so it goes.
- Tommy Nance allowed three straight singles to start the 6th, the last scoring the first two to make it 9-7 and a great catch in deepest left-centre by Schenider to end the inning the only thing preventing another
- Brendon Little got rocked by Langford for a solo home run in the 7th
- And to save the best for last, Luis Frias first got torched for a double and home run to give the Rangers insurance, then with two out and the bases clear and everyone just wanting this to end lost the strike zone, walked three with a dropped third strike mixed in to drive his pitching count north of 40 and necessitate a switch to Erik Swanson. Cue he DFA countdown.
And then for good measure Kirby Yates felt it necessary to drag pout the top of the 9th until mercifully, some three-and-half-hours after it begin, the game was finally over.
Jays of the Day: A bunch of hitters. Schneider (+.195 WPA, and the great catch to keep it close) and Kirk (+.111) by the numbers, with multi-hit nights for Springer, Bichette and Vladdy at the top of the lineup.
Suckage: All the pitchers. Every. Single. Pitcher.
For masochists, tomorrow is is round two at the same 8:05 start time with Cody Bradford scheduled against Bowden Francis. Can he make another run at a no-hitter? Will tomorrow maybe is someday to be perfect? At any rate, it can’t go worse than tonight.*
*Like 99% sure, he writes trepidatiously, knowing he has tomorrow’s recap too and having emptied the reserves of caustic indignation, will be utterly bereft of material if there’s a repeat.