Blue Jays 4 Rangers 0
Kevin Gausman has been so good lately. I’m not sure if it has to do with the extra days off the rotation has been given or if he’s just totally recovered from the soreness at the start of the season, but he is looking terrific.
Today, five innings of no-hit before coming out of the game with back tightness that, he says, came up on his last warmup pitch before his start. But five innings with just one baserunner, a walk and six strikeouts.
Unfortunately, the bullpen couldn’t finish the no-hitter, but they preserved the lead, a minor miracle:
- Dillon Tate just called up and threw a perfect sixth with two strikeouts.
- Génesis Cabrera gave up the Jays’ first hit in the seventh, just a single, and had a strikeout.
- Erik Swanson had a clean eighth.
- Chad Green gave up another single in the ninth and had a strikeout.
We didn’t do much on offense, just seven hits (with six walks).
Vlad had three hits, two of them home runs and a walk. That’s homers number 29 and 30 on the season and getting his average up to .322, ending a slight slump with a bang.
Spencer Horwitz had two hits. Ernie Clement (who was thrown out trying to score from first on Vlad’s fourth-inning single. He was running on the pitch but slowed rounding third and then decided to try to score).
We also scored on a Rangers error (a great tradition the Jays have; I love scoring on Ranger errors). In the third Vlad walked, Horwitz singled him to second. Two outs later, Leo Jimenez bounced one up the third base line that Elvis Andrus Ezequiel Duran had go off his glove) in the third inning.
We got our first run in the second inning. Addison Barger led off with a walk. Then Jimenez had his daily hit-by-pitch. It did look like he tried to get out of the way. Tyler Heineman walked to load the bases, and Nathan Lukes hit a fly deep enough to score Barger (it wasn’t deep; I thought it would be a close play, but it wasn’t).
The Jays did a good job of making Kumar Rocker work. He was at 71 pitches after three inning and the Rangers took him out of the game at that point.
Jays of the Day: Gausman (.288 WPA), Jimenez (.130), Vlad (.088) and Horwitz (.088).
Other Award: Loperfido (-.146 for an 0 for 3, 1 walk, 3 k).
Tomorrow the Jays are in Tampa (well, St. Petersburgh) to face the Rays. Jose Berrios (16-9, 3.44) starts for the Jays, TBD starts for the Rays.