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Instant Reaction: Blue Jays suffer a walk-off loss as their losing streak continued

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The losing streak has hit seven games.

Coming into Monday’s game, the Blue Jays were on a six-game losing streak, dropping them to seven games below .500.  Although they were close to breaking the losing streak, it hit seven games thanks to a 7-6 walk-off loss.

The Blue Jays opened the scoring in the top of the fourth, as Justin Turner drove in Isiah Kiner-Falefa to give Toronto the lead. Turner has been great since May 28, slashing .300/.440/.417 with a homer in 75 plate appearances for a 156 wRC+ heading into this game.

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However, the Blue Jays lost their lead in the next half-inning, as Jarren Duran singled to lead off the bottom of the four, and after Chris Bassitt got two outs, Rafael Devers hit his 15th homer of the season to give Boston a 2-1 lead.

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It stayed that way until the top of the seventh. Addison Barger reached thanks to a catcher’s interference thanks to former Jay Reese McGuire, and after two outs, Kevin Kiermaier lined one to centre field to tie the game at two.

After Tanner Houck was replaced by Isiah Campbell, fellow Isiah (Kiner-Falefa) hit a single, followed by Spencer Horwitz driving in the go-ahead run to make it 3-2. Still with two outs, Vladimir Guerrero Jr. hit his 10th home run of the season, a three-run bomb, to give Toronto a 6-2 lead.

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That lead didn’t last though, as David Hamilton hit his fifth home run in the bottom of the eighth to make it a 6-4 game for the Jays. After the bases were loaded with two outs, Romy González hit a single to tie the game at six.

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Alejandro Kirk singled on a line drive to lead off the top of the ninth, but Kevin Kiermaier struck out, pinch runner Steward Berroa was caught stealing, and Isiah Kiner-Falefa grounded out to end the threat. In Boston’s half of the ninth, Ceddanne Rafael reached on a Spencer Horwitz error, Zach Pop balked, and Jarren Duran walked off the Jays.

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Things worth mentioning…

Vladimir Guerrero Jr.’s home run went an insane 471 feet, the longest of his career. On top of that, he’s now hit three home runs in his last four games. He also finished with three hits, including a double and a single. Hopefully, he can continue to lift the ball.

Toronto haven’t won the first game of the series since May 31, when they defeated the Pittsburgh Pirates in 14 innings thanks to a Davis Schneider walk-off home run. That’s less than ideal.

Chris Bassitt had another strong start, finishing with a line of 7 IP, 5 H, 2 ER, 1 BB, 2 K to bring his season ERA to 3.45. Good stuff from him, and he absolutely deserved the win.

Sadly, the bullpen had a rough one. Nate Pearson gave up two earned runs in two thirds of an inning pitched, Tim Mayza gave up two earned runs in 0.0 innings pitched. Zach Pop was tagged with the loss and blown save. Simply put, the bullpen is a disaster. 

Up next: The Blue Jays will look to end the streak on Tuesday, as they’ll play the second of three against the Red Sox. That game will start at 7:10 PM ET, and Kevin Guasman will start against Brayan Bello of the Red Sox.

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