Once again, the Jays offence exploded early but then failed to build on the lead. In contrast to last night, though, the pitching was mostly up to the task. The bullpen wobbled late but didn’t collapse. It was a fun game all around.
Ryan Burs struggled through the first, giving up a single and a walk, but got it done. The Jays got greedy, asking him to start the second as well, but a Jo Adell line single knocked him out immediately. Alejandro Kirk picked his pitcher up, gunning Adell down stealing second a batter later.
Ryan Yarbrough got the other two outs in the second, and then sat the Angels down in order in the third. He hit Mickey Moniak with two outs in the fourth but K’d Adell to end it.
LA managed a couple of singles in the fifth but Yarbrough stranded them. A pop single opened the sixth, but again he got out of it with a double play and a strikeout of old friend Kevin Pillar. That was the end of Yarbrough’s night. He did a terrific job, going 5 shutout innings with just 3 hits while recording 4 strikeouts.
Brendon Little took over in the seventh. Adell reached on an error by Ernie Clement, who booted a pretty routine looking ground ball, but Little escaped with a K, a line out, and a ground out.
Tommy Nance struck out the side in the eighth. He gave up a ground ball single to Anthony Rendon leading off the ninth, but a Kevin Pillar double play ball erased the runner. Jo Adell doubled on a liner into the left field corner and Matt Thaiss walked to put Nance in a jam. Nico Kavadas homered to left field to clear that jam, cutting the Jays’ lead to 5-3. Finally, Nance got a grounder to short that Jimenez fielded for the final out.
Brock Burke, the Angels’ opener, fared better at first, working a 1-2-3 opening frame. It fell apart in the second, though. Spencer Horwitz worked a really tough 10 pitch at bat that ended with a fly ball double off to left. Kirk followed with a grounder hooked around the third base bag for a double of his own that scored Horwitz. Will Wagner then singled on a grounder up the middle to plate Kirk. Burke got the hook in favour of Mike Baumann. Ernie Clement welcomed him by taking 97mph at the eyebrows and launching it into the home dugout. I’m really not exaggerating about the “at the eyebrows” part either:
I don’t think I’ve ever seen a fastball that high hit for a home run. Anyway, Joey Loperfido followed that act with a triple on a liner to right that Adell dove for an missed, meaning the Jays had hit for the cycle in the inning before recording an out. Leo Jimenez broke the streak with a ground out. George Springer did the same, but his at least brought Loperfido home to make it 5-0. Vlad made the final out.
Griffin Canning entered to start the third and faced the minimum through the sixth. Loperfido broke that up with a line single leading of the seventh, but Canning got the next three batters to end the inning. The next hit came with two outs in the eighth. Alejandro Kirk hit a double off the top of the wall in right field. Again, though, they couldn’t capitalize.
Jays of the Day: Yarbrough (0.179), Clement (0.104)
Not so much: nobody!
We’ll do it all again tomorrow night. Chris Bassitt (9-12, 4.34) will make a more traditional start for the Jays, while Jack Kochanowicz (1-3, 6.53) attempts the same for the Halos. First pitch is set for 7:07pm ET.