The good times came to an end on Friday evening.
Toronto played the second of four games on Friday, falling 6-2 to the Detroit Tigers to bring their record to 23-27, not great.
It wasn’t a great start for Alek Manoah and the Blue Jays, as he gave up a home run in the bottom of the second. It was Colt Keith’s first career home run.
First Major League home run for Colt Keith! 👏 pic.twitter.com/26oWLupbJG
— Detroit Tigers (@tigers) May 24, 2024
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The bottom of the fourth is when it all went sideways. Riley Green hit a lead-off double, Mark Canha singled, and Kerry Carpenter walked to load the bases with no outs. Matt Vierling hit a sac fly on an error that scored a run, before Keith drove in a run the painful way. Manoah generated a ground out that scored the fourth run of the game for the Tigers.
Zach McKinstry extends the lead! pic.twitter.com/SyeJtfQ6r5
— Detroit Tigers (@tigers) May 24, 2024
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In the fifth inning, Manoah got the first two outs, before walking Canha. Sadly, Carpenter hit his seventh home run of the season to make it a 6-0 game, knocking Manoah out of the game.
Crushed by Kerry 💪 pic.twitter.com/imVtwiS43S
— Detroit Tigers (@tigers) May 25, 2024
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The Jays made a game of it in the top of the ninth. With two outs, Ernie Clement and Isiah Kiner-Falefa singled. Davis Schneider pinch hit for Kevin Kiermaier and hit a single, before Alejandro Kirk hit another single to make it 6-2. Sadly, Danny Jansen grounded out to end the game.
Davis Schneider gets the RBI! 💪 pic.twitter.com/DCGUA7m53F
— Sportsnet (@Sportsnet) May 25, 2024
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Things worth mentioning…
Alek Manoah had two straight games with seven innings pitched coming into this game. Sadly, he struggled against the Tigers, finishing with a line of 4.2 IP, 5 H, 4 ER (6 R), 2 BB, 4 K with two home runs given up. Still, he has a season ERA of 3.97, not too shabby.
Alek Manoah, Vicious 82mph Slider. 😤 pic.twitter.com/XIj0Lxw1EL
— Rob Friedman (@PitchingNinja) May 24, 2024
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Kevin Kiermaier didn’t have a great game. The Tigers’ second run came on him trying to make a play that was obviously Daulton Varsho’s ball. To avoid a collision, the ball dropped which gave the Tigers an extra base runner.
Tigers get a run after some miscommunication between Kevin Kiermaier and Daulton Varsho pic.twitter.com/33g9vqsX0K
— Talkin’ Baseball (@TalkinBaseball_) May 24, 2024
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Speaking of Varsho, the outfielder made a terrific catch after a pretty bad read on a fly ball. How he’s yet to win a Gold Glove in his big league career is insane, but the athleticism he possesses is fantastic.
It’s shocking Daulton Varsho doesn’t have a Gold Glove in his career. pic.twitter.com/Gx9MDACZR2
— Ryley Delaney (@Ryley_L_D) May 24, 2024
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The bullpen had a good outing, finishing with a line of 3.1 IP, 2 H, 0 ER, 2 BB, 2 K. Nate Pearson had both strikeouts, while Génesis Cabrera pitched a clean inning and Erik Swanson walked a batter and allowed a hit. Good outing for them.
Vladimir Guerrero Jr. and Bo Bichette both had multi-hit games against the Tigers. Guerrero Jr. hit his ninth double of the season, while Bichette had two singles. Justin Turner, George Springer, Alejandro Kirk, Isiah Kiner-Falefa, and Davis Schneider had the other hits.
Up next: With a win on Saturday, the Blue Jays can avoid losing this series. That game will begins at 1:10 PM ET, with José Berríos getting the ball against Reese Olson.
As always, you can follow me on Twitter @Ryley_L_D.