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Instant Reaction: Blue Jays give up seven runs in second inning to lose the series opener against the Guardians

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There’s ugly games, and then there’s whatever the heck that was.

On Friday, the Toronto Blue Jays fell 7-1 to the Cleveland Guardians, bringing their season record to 35-40, worst in the American League East.

The first inning and a half saw nine up and nine down, before the Guardians put up a seven spot in the inning that the Blue Jays usually dominate. Canadian Josh Naylor led off the inning with a double, and it spiraled from there. Yariel Rodríguez would walk the next three batters before getting the first out of the inning.

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Catcher Austin Hedges would single to score two more, making it a 3-0 game and chasing Rodríguez from the game. Next in was Bowden Francis, who got an out against hit first batter, before an error from Orelvis Martinez and two more singles. The team finally got out of the inning, giving up seven runs.

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Toronto’s only run came on Vladimir Guerrero Jr.’s eighth home run of the season. The pitch was way inside, but Guerrero Jr. was able to get enough wood on it to pull it 407 feet. Good things happen when you pull it.

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The Blue Jays threatened to score more in the top of the ninth, as Guerrero Jr. singled while Daulton Varsho and Danny Jansen walked to load the bases with one out. However, George Springer grounded into a double play, ending the game.

Things worth mentioning…

Toronto now sits five games below .500 and is in the midst of a four-game losing streak with a tough schedule ahead. It’s been very obvious to us fans that the clear move at the deadline is to sell. Hopefully, management is starting to see that as well.

Orelvis Martinez hit his first big league hit, a line single that came 86.6 mph off the bat. It was a mixed bag for Martinez though, as he also committed an error at second base.

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Bowden Francis pitched in the second inning, but finished with a line of 3.2 IP, 2 H, 0 ER (2 R), 2 BB, 4 K to bring his season ERA to 5.28. Not a great outing, but the Martinez error didn’t help.

Yariel Rodríguez had a rough start, pitching an inning and a third and giving up four earned runs and three walks. The start looked promising after a 12 pitch-first inning, but things unraveled in the second.

Speaking of the second inning, Toronto still leads all teams with the most runs in the second inning at 55. However, with seven runs, Cleveland has now moved to second with 52 runs in the inning.

It took 70 pitches for Blue Jays pitchers to get out of the second inning. That is the most since the 2014 Detroit Tigers on August 22, 2014. Funnily enough, Robbie Ray was tagged for the loss in a 20-6 loss. Difference is, the 2014 Tigers won their division, while the 2024 Blue Jays will not.

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Up next: Blue Jays play again on Saturday, as they’ll look to avoid losing their second-consecutive series, as well as look to avoid going down to six games below .500, the most they’ve been this season. José Berríos will get the ball when that game starts at 4:10 PM ET. 

As always, you can follow me on Twitter @Ryley_L_D.