Well, you can’t say that the Blue Jays didn’t have chances to win that game.
On Wednesday afternoon, Toronto hosted the Seattle Mariners for the final game of the series, falling 6-1 and bringing their season record to 6-7. Of course, there is more than just the scoreline as this game went to extra innings.
The Mariners scored the first run of the game, as J.P. Crawford singled in Dylan Moore to give the Northwest team a 1-0 lead. It held for quite a while, until Vladimir Guerrero Jr. hit a home run in the bottom of the seventh to tie the game up.
Vladimir Guerrero Jr. crushed this ball 459 feet! 🤯 pic.twitter.com/kZNj0mhmZ2
— MLB (@MLB) April 10, 2024
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The Blue Jays had the bases loaded in the bottom of the ninth, as Justin Turner hit a single, Cavan Biggio was hit by a pitch, and Daniel Vogelbach walked. However, Ernie Clement popped up and Jorge Polanco made a terrific catch to send us to extras.
I mean how that game ended was horrible, but Toronto was VERY close to winning that game. Great catch by Polanco. pic.twitter.com/uAyJhnEI9J
— Brennan Delaney (@Brennan_L_D) April 10, 2024
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In the first pitch in extras, Cal Raleigh hit a two-run bomb to give the Mariners a 3-1 lead, which was all they needed to salvage the series. To add more insult to injury, Mitch White gave up a double and single allowing the Mariners to score four more runs, leading to a 6-1 final.
Cal Raleigh gives the @Mariners the lead in extras! pic.twitter.com/lrJyKEhl2H
— MLB (@MLB) April 10, 2024
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Things worth mentioning…
Yusei Kikuchi dealt in this game, finishing with a line of 6 IP, 3 H, 1 ER, 2 BB, 9 K, bringing his season ERA to 2.30. This may have been Kikuchi’s best start as a Blue Jay, and it’s awful the team lost after such a good performance.
Yusei Kikuchi’s 2 Ks in the 1st. pic.twitter.com/ZbsO6hzLNO
— Rob Friedman (@PitchingNinja) April 10, 2024
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Tim Mayza allowed his second home run of the 2023 season in his final outing after 53.1 innings pitched. In just four innings, Mayza has already given up two home runs this season and now has a season ERA of 12.46 in 4.1 innings pitched. Yikes.
Yimi García is absolute nails, finishing with a line of 2 IP, 0 H, 0 ER, 0 BB, 4 K, which brings his season ERA to 1.59. You can’t say enough good things about him, especially with Jordan Romano and Erik Swanson missing.
Justin Turner continues to be one of the best Blue Jays hitters this season, finishing with two singles in four plate appearances. He now has a batting average of .342 and an OPS of 1.026. While not the big free agent signing we wanted, he has been great thus far.
The Blue Jays went 0-6 with runners in scoring position on Wednesday afternoon, not nearly good enough to win games. Year after year, this appears to be a problem and who knows if it’ll get fixed anytime soon.
Up next: The Blue Jays are off on Thursday, but return to action as they’ll host the Colorado Rockies on Friday. This season, the Rockies are 3-10 and with it being a three-game series, there should be no reason for the Jays not to be at least .500 heading into Monday.
As always, you can follow me on Twitter @Brennan_L_D.
ARTICLE PRESENTED BY BETANO
