Hey, a guy hit three triples in a game. That’s cool, right? You don’t see that every day.
I’m glad the season’s almost over.
Jose Berrios had an awful night, and the Marlins jumped on it right away. Connor Norby reached on a one out single in the first and came around on a Jesus Sanchez single to put Miami up 1-0, and Jonah Bride followed with a homer that extended the gap to 3.
They put him in a jam again in the second. Otto Lopez singled and Kyle Stowers walked, and then Nick Fortes sac bunted the runners over to put two in scoring position with one out. The bunt proved unnecessary, as Xavier Edwards tripled on a ground ball over the first base bag to score both runners.
It continued in the third with a lead off walk by Sanchez that came around to score on a Lopez single and a wild pitch. It initially looked like Berrios was going to come back for the fourth, but halfway through the bottom half John Schneider changed his mind and gave Jose the handshake. The final line was 6 runs (all earned) in 3.0 innings on 6 hits and 3 walks with 4 punch outs. It was Berrios’ shortest outing of the season and probably his worst all around.
Easton Lucas took over in relief. Xavier Edwards lead off with a fly ball to the right field gap that Jonatan Clase just missed, turning a fly out into a triple. That set up what ultimately became a three run inning for Miami, with Lucas both getting hit and issuing a pair of walks.
He did manage to keep the Marlins off the board in the fifth, with the help of a great throw by Lukes to get the out at second on what would have been a double off the wall, and faced the minimum in the sixth with the help of a double play.
The run of relative success ended in the seventh, with Griffin Conine going the other way for a lead off solo shot that put the fish into double digits. That knocked Lucas out in favour of Brett de Geus. In fact he lacked the juice, walking the first two batters he faced and then giving up Edwards’ third triple of the night to make it 12-5. That ties the major league record for a game, and is the first time in a decade it’s been done (Yasiel Puig back in 2014 is the most recent). Norby singled Edwards home, and Jake Burger hit a triple of his own to put the extra point on Miami’s second touchdown. Schneider challenged that Burger was out. He ended up being right, but come on man, we’ve all got things we’d rather he doing, move it along.
Ryan Burr gave up another home run, to Bride, in the eighth.
Backup catcher Tyler Heinemn pitched the ninth. He was indisputably the most effective Blue Jays pitcher of the game.
Early on, the Jays offence got some runners on Adam Oller but couldn’t do much with them. Nathan Lukes and Vladimir Guerrero jr. singled in the first, and Jonatan Clase doubled in the second (but was thrown out digging for third).
They finally got on the board in the third. Leo Jimenez singled and George Springer walked to put two on with nobody out. Nathan Lukes scored one with a line double, and one batter later Spencer Horwitz contributed a ground ball single that brought home two more, making it 6-3.
They found themselves back down six in the bottom of the fourth. Ernie Clement began the process of re-climbing the mountain with a lead off solo home run to left. That was all they got, though, and a couple of hits in the fifth wound up stranded.
Anthony Veneziano relieved Oller to begin the bottom of the sixth. Veneziano hit Clase, gave up a line single to Leo Jimenez, and walked Lukes to load the bases for Vlad with one out. Miami called on long time Oriole Mike Baumann to face him. Vlad lifted a fly ball deep to centre, but it died on the track for a sac fly, making it 9-5.
Baumann got two outs in the seventh but walked Barger, Clement, and Schneider in the process, leaving the bases loaded for Shaun Anderson. Anderson got a one pitch pop out to escape the jam. He’d return for scoreless eighth and ninth innings.
Jays of the Day: Lukes (0.125)
Not so much: Berrios (-0.361), Lucas (-0.133), de Geus doesn’t qualify because the game was basically over but boy does he deserve a nod anyway.
Two to go this season. Yariel Rodriguez (1-7, 4.41) goes tomorrow afternoon, while the Marlins haven’t yet officially announced a starter. First pitch is at 3:07pm ET.