TORONTO – Julian Merryweather still hadn’t officially made the Toronto Blue Jays when he showed up to Yankee Stadium for the season’s opening game on Thursday morning.
By the late afternoon, he was throwing 99 m.p.h. fastballs in on the hands of Giancarlo Stanton, spotting change-ups on the bottom edge of the strike zone and throwing sliders for called strikes. All it took was 11 pitches to strike out the middle of the Yankees’ order in quick succession and suddenly, it was easy to dream on the potential of a pitcher who was hardly heard from at all during spring training.
— Ben Nicholson-Smith (@bnicholsonsmith) April 2, 2021
“The moment itself, being in Yankee Stadium was pretty surreal,” Merryweather said afterwards. “That’s like little league dreams right there.”
For Merryweather, that first ever save represents a career milestone. For the Blue Jays, the way he got there was perhaps just as important as the end result. Few pitchers combine velocity, movement and command the way Merryweather did Thursday afternoon, and as long as he’s healthy enough to sustain this, he has the ability to contribute in high-leverage innings.
As one MLB scout said, “Just straight dominant.”
“He’s got the stuff,” manager Charlie Montoyo added. “If he stays healthy, he’s going to help us all year. We knew that’s what he can do and he did it (Thursday). It doesn’t get more high-leverage than what he did.”
While some pitchers condense their repertoires while pitching in relief, Merryweather used three pitches against the Yankees, keeping the middle of their lineup off-balance with offerings as slow as 78.7 m.p.h. and as fast as 99.1 m.p.h. Even the middle of New York’s lineup had no answer for him on a day all of his pitches were working.
Toronto Blue Jays pitcher Julian Merryweather’s statistics against New York Yankees’ Aaron Hicks, Giancarlo Stanton and Gleyber Torres on April 1, 2021.
“I came in just feeling good and feeling confident with everything,” said Merryweather, who was acquired as the player to be named for Josh Donaldson in 2018. “To be able to feel it all come together in the bullpen and have it work out in the game was great.”
That in itself is a significant development for a team looking to backfill for the loss of closer Kirby Yates to Tommy John surgery, especially since Merryweather’s status was uncertain after a spring in which back stiffness limited him to just two Grapefruit League appearances. And while it was the most significant development for the pitching staff Thursday, it wasn’t the only one.
By turning to Tyler Chatwood with a runner on in the sixth inning of a tie game, Montoyo showed he’s comfortable using the right-hander in high-leverage spots. This time the move worked, as Chatwood escaped without allowing any runs and topped out at 95.1 m.p.h. with his fastball.
Chatwood did walk a hitter before escaping trouble, but David Phelps had an ever closer call the following inning when he allowed two hits before escaping with a double play. For what it’s worth, Phelps averaged 91.5 m.p.h. with his fastball, down from 94.1 m.p.h. a year ago.
All of which to say that the Blue Jays, like all teams in baseball, will spend much of the season seeking answers in their bullpen. With that in mind, they’ve recently connected with left-hander Mike Montgomery, who became a free agent after asking for his release from the Mets late last month. A veteran of six big-league seasons, Montgomery has pitched extensively as a starter and a reliever on his way to a lifetime 3.84 ERA.
Of course the Blue Jays check on many players, and interest doesn’t always equate to deals, but it’s a possibility worth monitoring especially since the front office can open up a 40-man spot when needed simply by shifting Yates to the 60-day injured list.
That’s mostly hypothetical, though. Merryweather’s performance against the Yankees, on the other hand, was very real. There’s reason to be cautious in setting workload expectations for a pitcher who has battled injuries for much of his career, including as recently as last month. But as long as Merryweather can pitch like this, the Blue Jays have a difference maker with stuff that’s good enough to retire the game’s best hitters.
“I’ve always been open to whatever role they’re going to use me in, whether it’s an opener, long relief guy in extra innings,” he said. “It’s just about being ready for the whole game.”
CLEVELAND (AP) — Restricted free agent forward Isaac Okoro has agreed to re-sign with the Cleveland Cavaliers on a three-year contract, a person familiar with the negotiations told The Associated Press on Saturday.
Okoro’s new deal is worth $38 million, according to the person who spoke to the AP on condition of anonymity because the contract has not been signed or announced by the team.
ESPN.com first reported the agreement, citing Okoro’s representation.
The fifth overall pick in the 2020 NBA draft, Okoro is Cleveland’s best perimeter defender, often drawing the assignment of guarding the opponent’s top scorer. Okoro also has worked to improve his offensive game.
The 23-year-old averaged 9.4 points and 3.0 rebounds in 69 games — 42 starts — last season for the Cavs, who beat Orlando in the opening round of the playoffs before losing to eventual champion Boston.
Okoro shot a career-best 39% on 3-pointers, forcing teams to come out and guard him.
His agreement caps an extraordinarily busy summer for the Cavs that began with coach J.B. Bickerstaff being fired and replaced by Kenny Atkinson. All-Star guard Donovan Mitchell signed a three-year, $150 million extension in July, ending months of speculation that he wanted out of Cleveland.
Also, power forward Evan Mobley signed a five-year, $224 deal and center Jarrett Allen signed a three-year, $91 million extension.
GUADALAJARA, Mexico – Canada’s Marina Stakusic fell 6-4, 6-3 to Poland’s Magdalena Frech in the quarterfinals of the Guadalajara Open tennis tournament on Friday.
The 19-year-old from Mississauga, Ont., won 61 per cent of her first-serve points and broke on just one of her six opportunities.
Stakusic had upset top-seeded Jelena Ostapenko of Latvia 6-3, 5-7, 7-6 (0) on Thursday night to advance.
In the opening round, Stakusic defeated Slovakia’s Anna Karolína Schmiedlová 6-2, 6-4 on Tuesday.
The fifth-seeded Frech won 62 per cent of her first-serve points and converted on three of her nine break point opportunities.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 13, 2024.
TORONTO – Alejandro Kirk’s long single with the bases loaded provided the Toronto Blue Jays with a walk-off 4-3 win in the 11th inning of their series opener against the St. Louis Cardinals on Friday.
With the Cardinals outfield in, Kirk drove a shot off the base of the left-field wall to give the Blue Jays (70-78) their fourth win in 11 outings and halt the Cardinals’ (74-73) two-game win streak before 30,380 at Rogers Centre.
Kirk enjoyed a two-hit, two-RBI outing.
Erik Swanson (2-2) pitched a perfect 11th inning for the win, while Cardinals reliever Ryan Fernandez (1-5) took the loss.
Blue Jays starter Kevin Gausman enjoyed a seven-inning, 104-pitch outing. He surrendered his two runs on nine hits and two walks and fanned only two Cardinals.
He gave way to reliever Genesis Cabrera, who gave up a one-out homer to Thomas Saggese, his first in 2024, that tied the game in the eighth.
The Cardinals started swiftly with four straight singles to open the game. But they exited the first inning with only two runs on an RBI single to centre from Nolan Arendao and a fielder’s choice from Saggese.
Gausman required 28 pitches to escape the first inning but settled down to allow his teammates to snatch the lead in the fourth.
He also deftly pitched out of threats from the visitors in the fifth, sixth and seventh thanks to some solid defence, including Will Wagner’s diving stop, which led to a double play to end the fifth inning.
George Springer led off with a walk and stole second base. He advanced to third on Nathan Lukes’s single and scored when Vladimir Guerrero Jr. knocked in his 95th run with a double off the left-field wall.
Lukes scored on a sacrifice fly to left field from Spencer Horwitz. Guerrero touched home on Kirk’s two-out single to right.
In the ninth, Guerrero made a critical diving catch on an Arenado grounder to throw out the Cardinals’ infielder, with reliever Tommy Nance covering first. The defensive gem ended the inning with a runner on second base.
St. Louis starter Erick Fedde faced the minimum night batters in the first three innings thanks to a pair of double plays. He lasted five innings, giving up three runs on six hits and a walk with three strikeouts.
ON DECK
Toronto ace Jose Berrios (15-9) will start the second of the three-game series on Saturday. He has a six-game win streak.
The Cardinals will counter with righty Kyle Gibson (8-6).
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 13, 2024.
