TORONTO — The Chicago Cubs had men on the corners with two out in the second inning and Zach McKinstry was down 0-2 in the count when Toronto Blue Jays starter Mitch White wound up and Alfonso Rivas broke for second.
Here’s where everyone stood at delivery.
White’s fastball sailed in high for a ball, Alejandro Kirk popped up and fired to second without hesitation and as he did Yan Gomes, already a third of the way up the line with Matt Chapman playing off the bag, broke for home.
By the time the ball got to Bo Bichette at second base, Gomes was already more than halfway home and there was no chance to get an out at the plate, as you can see here.
Wisely, Bichette held the ball, chased Rivas, who pulled up when Kirk threw to second, and relayed to Cavan Biggio who applied the tag to end the frame. Still, Gomes touched home well before the third out, stealing the Cubs a run that opened up a 2-0 lead.
Not great, certainly, but by no means insurmountable. In isolation, not necessarily a big deal, either, because baseball happens and the other team is trying, too. Still, within the context of the current Blue Jays season, the play was emblematic of the small margins in which they’ve sometimes been too loose, making life more difficult if not costing themselves games.
In what ended as a 7-5 loss to the Cubs on Wednesday night, Gomes’ run wasn’t decisive on its own. But along with Ian Happ’s RBI single in the first on a 102.7 m.p.h. liner that faded just enough on Whit Merrifield, it made for “a couple of runs you can look back and replay in your mind a little bit,” said interim manager John Schneider.
When White surrendered a three-run third that opened up a 5-0 Cubs advantage, the clever dash by Gomes loomed even larger.
“The play, designed in a perfect world, is yeah, we’re throwing to second with the option to redirect and come back home,” Schneider said. “The catcher needs to look at third there and if you see Gomes down that far, that kind of supersedes you throwing to second, and it gives Chappy a little bit of time to get to the bag. For any catcher, although we’re throwing to second, you’ve got to check the runner and if he’s wandering like he was, you’ve got to make an adjustment.”
There wasn’t one this time and though the Blue Jays (70-59) made it interesting — getting a two-run homer from Biggio in the third and, after a Franmil Reyes solo drive in the fifth made it 6-2, and a three-run shot from Kirk in the sixth — they never got level again.
Chapman nearly tied it during the sixth when he lined a ball off the left-field wall, but after a Teoscar Hernandez walk, Biggio grounded out to end the frame.
A McKinstry RBI single in the seventh made it 7-5 and Rowan Wick of North Vancouver, B.C., the last of seven Cubs pitchers, closed the game out in the ninth before a frustrated crowd of 28,572.
The loss capped a disappointing 2-4 homestand that followed a 6-1 swing through the Bronx and Beantown and sent the Blue Jays into an off-day on a down note. At the same time, in spite of a 13-14 August, they’ll begin September in possession of the third and final wild-card spot.
“We feel pretty good,” said Biggio. “Obviously the series against Anaheim was a pretty tough one. But if you look at that road trip, kind of saw everything coming together, starting pitching, timely hitting, bullpen’s been nails. That was exciting to see. The Anaheim series and maybe today a little bit is the result of just the dog days of August. We’ve got a bunch of guys that are grinding right now and at the end of the day, that’s baseball.”
A 10-game road trip that begins Friday in Pittsburgh against the lowly Pirates looms large, as a crucial four-game set featuring a Monday doubleheader against the Orioles, two games back in the wild-card race, follows.
The Blue Jays were considering ways to reset their rotation to be at their best for that series, and three games at Texas follow, the last soft spot in a meat-grinder September schedule.
“To be in every game that matters for a playoff stretch down the last month, that’s great,” said Schneider. “With that, if you want to call it pressure, that’s awesome, that’s earned and we’ve definitely earned that. A lot of teams have earned that to this point. The group of guys that are in there are embracing the fact that every game is going to be important. It’s great for some of the young guys that we have that are doing this again like we did last year. And it’s great that we have veteran leadership on both sides of the ball. So we’re looking forward to the challenge.”
This time around the Blue Jays, of course, will be looking for a different outcome than the one they suffered through last year when they fell one game short of the playoffs. To that end, they’ll need to get White back on track as after allowing a career-high seven runs in his last start, he surrendered six more against the Cubs, despite getting 14 whiffs in 4.2 innings.
That’s an indicator that his fastball and slider can be effective, but that perhaps there are ways to better leverage them with tweaks around usage, along with the rest of his repertoire.
“These last two obviously been a little rough, so we’ve been looking into those kind of things,” said White. “Whether it’s pitch selection, pitch execution, that’s kind of where we break it down with Pete (Walker) on the video and then if there’s anything mechanical. We’re working on some small things in the ‘pen, but at this point in the season, it’s not like we’re making any big old changes mechanically.”
Then, of course, there’s playing tighter, as mistakes can at times be overcome against teams like the Cubs, but are even more troublesome against the tougher competition looming later this month.
“That’s a tricky play,” Biggio said of Gomes’ run in the second. “The first and third play that we put on was throw through, but if you see him break and you have a chance at home, try to turn it around and throw it home. But left-handed hitter was up, Chappy was a little bit off third, which allowed the baserunner to get a little bit bigger of a lead, so as soon as he threw the ball, he got a huge jump and there was no chance we were going to get him. Just a good baseball play by them executed pretty well.”
The kind of small play that can make a big difference.
TORONTO – Reigning PWHL MVP and scoring champ Natalie Spooner will miss the start of the regular season for the Toronto Sceptres, general manager Gina Kingsbury announced Tuesday on the first day of training camp.
The 33-year-old Spooner had knee surgery on her left anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) after she was checked into the boards by Minnesota’s Grace Zumwinkle in Game 3 of their best-of-five semifinal series on May 13.
She had a goal and an assist in three playoff games but did not finish the series. Toronto was up 2-1 in the semifinal at that time and eventually fell 3-2 in the series.
Spooner led the PWHL with 27 points in 24 games. Her 20 goals, including five game-winners, were nine more than the closest skater.
Kingsbury said there is no timeline, as the team wants the Toronto native at 100 per cent, but added that “she is doing really well” in her recovery.
The Sceptres open the PWHL season on Nov. 30 when they host the Boston Fleet.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 12, 2024.
LAHORE, Pakistan (AP) — A top official of the Pakistan Cricket Board declined Friday to confirm media reports that India has decided against playing any games in host Pakistan during next year’s Champions Trophy.
“My view is if there’s any problems, they (India) should tell us in writing,” PCB chairman Mohsin Naqvi told reporters in Lahore. “I’ll share that with the media as well as with the government as soon as I get such a letter.”
Indian media reported Friday that the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has communicated its concerns to all the Champions Trophy stakeholders, including the PCB, over the Feb. 19-March 9 tournament and would not play in arch-rival Pakistan.
The Times of India said that “Dubai is a strong candidate to host the fixtures involving the Men in Blue” for the 50-over tournament.
Such a solution would see Pakistan having to travel to a neutral venue to play India in a group match, with another potential meeting later in the tournament if both teams advanced from their group. The final is scheduled for March 9 in Pakistan with the specific venue not yet decided.
“Our stance is clear,” Naqvi said. “They need to give us in writing any objections they may have. Until now, no discussion of the hybrid model has happened, nor are we prepared to accept one.”
Political tensions have stopped bilateral cricket between the two nations since 2008 and they have competed in only multi-nation tournaments, including ICC World Cups.
“Cricket should be free of politics,” Naqvi said. “Any sport should not be entangled with politics. Our preparations for the Champions Trophy will continue unabated, and this will be a successful event.”
The PCB has already spent millions of dollars on the upgrade of stadiums in Karachi, Lahore and Rawalpindi which are due to host 15 Champions Trophy games. Naqvi hoped all the three stadiums will be ready over the next two months.
“Almost every country wants the Champions Trophy to be played here (in Pakistan),” Naqvi said. “I don’t think anyone should make this a political matter, and I don’t expect they will. I expect the tournament will be held at the home of the official hosts.”
Eight countries – Pakistan, India, Bangladesh, England, Australia, South Africa, New Zealand and Afghanistan – are due to compete in the tournament, the schedule of which is yet to be announced by the International Cricket Council.
“Normally the ICC announces the schedule of any major tournament 100 days before the event, and I hope they will announce it very soon,” Naqvi said.
RIYADH, Saudi Arabia – Ottawa‘s Gabriela Dabrowski and Erin Routliffe of New Zealand are through to the doubles final at the WTA Finals after a 7-6 (7), 6-1 victory over Nicole Melichar-Martinez of the United States and Australia’s Ellen Perez in semifinal action Friday.
Dabrowski and Routliffe won a hard-fought first set against serve when Routliffe’s quick reaction at the net to defend a Perez shot gave the duo set point, causing Perez to throw down her racket in frustration.
The second seeds then cruised through the second set, winning match point on serve when Melichar-Martinez couldn’t handle Routliffe’s shot.
The showdown was a rematch of last year’s semifinal, which Melichar-Martinez and Perez won in a super tiebreak.
Dabrowski and Routliffe will face the winner of a match between Katerina Siniakova and Taylor Townsend, and Hao-Ching Chan and Veronika Kudermetova in the final on Saturday.
Dabrowski is aiming to become the first Canadian to win a WTA Finals title.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 8, 2024.
