LOS ANGELES – For the Blue Jays, Tuesday night’s game was about as pleasant as sitting in L.A. traffic for three-plus hours only to realize you’ve been going the wrong way the whole time. Wednesday afternoon, on the other hand, was more like a day at the beach: a little too hot, maybe, but still a pleasant reprieve from stress.
And for a Blue Jays team that’s lost more than its share of heartbreakers in recent weeks, a nice easy win over the Dodgers was the perfect way to wrap up their west coast road trip. With Wednesday’s 8-1 win at Dodger Stadium, the Blue Jays keep pressure on the teams chasing them in the Wild Card race and return home for a series against Shohei Ohtani and the Angels with a 57-46 record.
Granted, many more challenges await this team even after a 3-3 trip through Seattle and Los Angeles. Ahead of Tuesday’s trade deadline, they must augment their position player core and pitching staff while also competing against a hot Angels team and the AL East-leading Baltimore Orioles.
But thanks to Yusei Kikuchi and some powerful swings from Whit Merrifield and Danny Jansen, the Blue Jays rebounded nicely from a frustrating Tuesday night loss in which they blew a four-run lead with suspect pitching and defence.
“What happened yesterday can only affect us negatively today,” said Merrifield. “We did a great job of showing up today ready to play and salvaged the road trip.”
Making his 21st start of the season on a day that temperatures sat around 33° Celsius, Kikuchi pitched six innings of one-run ball, walking two while striking out eight. He lowered his season ERA to 3.79 – and remember, he was facing the National League’s most prolific offence
“We’re in a good spot,” Kikuchi said through interpreter Yusuke Oshima. “We still have a few games to catch up if we want to win the East, but the clubhouse atmosphere is fine right now and we have the goal of winning a championship.”
As the afternoon wore on, Kikuchi displayed progressively more emotion on the mound, finishing his follow through with a high leg kick at times and entering a celebratory crouch of sorts after getting Miguel Rojas to end the sixth.
“His year as a whole, he’s been really consistent,” said manager John Schneider. “Without him, we wouldn’t be here.”
After watching Erik Swanson and Mitch White let a four-run lead disappear late Tuesday night, the Blue Jays turned to a new set of relievers. On Wednesday, Jay Jackson, Tim Mayza and Trevor Richards combined to pitch the final three innings without incident.
With the trade deadline just days away, the Blue Jays are at a point in the season where players on the edges of the roster could soon be shuffled off of it. Case in point, Trent Thornton, who was dealt to the Mariners for minor-league infielder Mason McCoy before the game.
For every player the Blue Jays add in the next week, someone will have to come off of the big-league roster, too. With a 7.11 ERA and seven walks in just 12.2 innings, White hasn’t pitched well enough to earn much job security beyond the deadline.
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On the position player side, Jordan Luplow’s grasp on a roster spot might be considered weakest, but Santiago Espinal’s name could also surface in trade talks as the Blue Jays seek upgrades. As GM Ross Atkins said last week, at a certain point the Blue Jays would have to consider moving players off their active roster.
Regardless of who they add at the deadline, most of the improvement the Blue Jays seek will have to come from within and in that respect Wednesday’s eight run outburst was encouraging. Merrifield continued his power barrage with his 5th home run in his last 17 games, a three-run shot in the fifth.
Merrifield belts towering three-run bomb to extend Blue Jays’ lead over Dodgers
The following inning it was Jansen who connected for his 13th homer, a drive he sent over the left field wall in characteristic fashion. Considering he left Sunday’s game after taking a 95 m.p.h. fastball to his forearm, it was a welcome development for the Blue Jays.
That power’s especially important at a time that Daulton Varsho, George Springer and Alejandro Kirk aren’t clearing many fences, though some help could be on the way. Ideally, a right-handed hitter would give the Blue Jays a legitimate threat against left-handed pitching while deepening their overall position player core.
While many with the Blue Jays will spend the next few days obsessing over potential moves, Merrifield is not among them. In fact, he’s relieved not to have to worry about being dealt after rumours surrounded him leading up to his trade to Toronto a year ago.
“That’s not my job,” he said. “I spent too many years being involved around trade talks at the trade deadline. I’m excited about not having any sort of thought when it comes to the trades this year. Whatever Ross and those guys do, they’ll do it for the best of the club. Whoever comes, if anybody comes, we’ll welcome them and try to make them feel at home as quickly as we can so they help us win.”
In the coming days, those discussions will reach a conclusion and the Blue Jays will know what their roster looks like for the stretch run. In the meantime, a convincing series win over one of the NL’s best team is a good place to start.
DETROIT (AP) — The Detroit Red Wings made another investment this week in a young standout, signing Moritz Seider to a seven-year contract worth nearly $60 million.
The Red Wings announced the move with the 23-year-old German defenseman on Thursday, three days after keeping 22-year-old forward Lucas Raymond with a $64.6 million, eight-year deal.
Detroit drafted Seider with the No. 6 pick overall eight years ago and he has proven to be a great pick. He has 134 career points, the most by a defenseman drafted in 2019.
He was the NHL’s only player to have at least 200 hits and block 200-plus shots last season, when he scored a career-high nine goals and had 42 points for the second straight year.
Seider won the Calder Trophy as the league’s top rookie in 2022 after he had a career-high 50 points.
Red Wings general manager Steve Yzerman is banking on Seider, whose contract will count $8.55 million annually against the cap, and Raymond to turn a rebuilding team into a winner.
Detroit has failed to make the playoffs in eight straight seasons, the longest postseason drought in franchise history.
The Red Wings, who won four Stanley Cups from 1997 to 2008, have been reeling since their run of 25 straight postseasons ended in 2016.
Detroit was 41-32-9 last season and finished with a winning record for the first time since its last playoff appearance.
Yzerman re-signed Patrick Kane last summer and signed some free agents, including Vladimir Tarasenko to a two-year contract worth $9.5 million after he helped the Florida Panthers hoist the Cup.
PENTICTON, B.C. – Vancouver Canucks goalie Thatcher Demko says he’s been working his way back from a rare lower-body muscle injury since being sidelined in last season’s playoffs.
The 28-year-old all star says the rehabilitation process has been frustrating, but he has made good progress in recent weeks and is confident he’ll be able to return to playing.
He says he and his medical team have spent the last few months talking to specialists around the world, and have not found a single other hockey player who has dealt with the same injury.
Demko missed several weeks of the last season with a knee ailment and played just one game in Vancouver’s playoff run last spring before going down with the current injury.
He was not on the ice with his teammates as the Canucks started training camp in Penticton, B.C., on Thursday, but skated on his own before the sessions began.
Demko posted a 35-14-2 record with a .918 percentage, a 2.45 goals-against average and five shutouts for Vancouver last season.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 19, 2024.
AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — No. 1 Texas will start Arch Manning at quarterback Saturday against Louisiana-Monroe while regular starter Quinn Ewers continues to recover from a strained muscle in his abdomen, coach Steve Sarkisian said Thursday.
It will be the first career start for Manning, a second year freshman. He relieved Ewers in the second quarter last week against UTSA, and passed for four touchdowns and ran for another in a 56-7 Texas victory.
Manning is the son of Cooper Manning, the grandson of former NFL quarterback Archie Manning, and the nephew of Super Bowl-winning QBs Peyton and Eli Manning.
Ewers missed several games over the previous two seasons with shoulder and sternum injuries.
The Longhorns are No. 1 for the first time since 2008 and Saturday’s matchup with the Warhawks is Texas’ last game before the program starts its first SEC schedule against Mississippi State on Sept. 28.
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