The Toronto Blue Jays’ post-season aspirations are now partly dependent on the help of others after a series-opening loss to the New York Yankees, although a Baltimore Orioles victory over the Boston Red Sox helped mitigate the damage.
Still, control over their fate was lost in a 7-2 setback to the wild-card leaders Tuesday night, when they couldn’t contain the Herculean duo of Aaron Judge and Giancarlo Stanton. The former homered in the third and brought home the go-ahead sacrifice fly in the fifth, while the latter delivered a back-breaking three-run homer in the seventh on a down and in changeup that perhaps only he is capable of launching 421 feet.
In combination with 6.2 innings of strong relief work once Jameson Taillon was forced from the game after re-aggravating the right ankle tendon injury he’d just returned from, the buzz around the first game of playoff consequence at Rogers Centre since 2016 — before a crowd of 28,769 — quickly fizzled.
The mettle and perseverance GM Ross Atkins rightly touted beforehand will now face its toughest test, with the Blue Jays (87-70) three games back of the Yankees (90-67) for the first wild card and still one game behind the Red Sox (88-69) for the second. The Seattle Mariners (88-70) are also a half-game in front, leapfrogging Toronto after a 4-2 win over Oakland.
“Just forget about tonight and be ready to play tomorrow,” manager Charlie Montoyo said of the approach his team needs to take while facing virtually no margin for error. “We’ve done it before so why not do it again.”
Pathways to the post-season remain, but to catch the Yankees, the Blue Jays must take the remaining two games of this series, win out against the Orioles to close their regular season and then count on the Tampa Bay Rays to win at least one game in New York this weekend.
The Seattle Mariners win 4-2 which means they jump ahead of the Blue Jays in the Wild Card race.
To overtake the Red Sox, who have two more dates with the Orioles before finishing at the Washington Nationals, they’ll need to win two more wins than Boston in the five remaining games both teams have.
Neither scenario is impossible, and there’s the potential for intriguing tiebreakers, but the Blue Jays can’t put themselves in a position to require an unreasonable stumble from the teams they’re chasing.
“We’ve got to come back and try to win our next games — all these games are going to be very important,” Hyun Jin Ryu said through interpreter J.S. Park after allowing three runs in 4.1 innings in his return from the injured list. “I’m just going to get ready and prepare for my last game of the season and I hope that our players are in there to compete and try to do our best to until the very end.”
The Blue Jays seemed poised to begin this pivotal stretch on the right foot as Ryu took the mound with an uptick in his velocity, and escaped a bad-BABP-luck jam in the first by striking out Stanton and popping up Joey Gallo.
George Springer then played catalyst in the bottom half, walking off Taillon, stealing second on a full-count strikeout by Marcus Semien and scoring on Bo Bichette’s single.
The problem Judge and Stanton pose in this series first revealed itself in the third, when Judge axed a 106.4-m.p.h. laser over the right-field wall on a middle-middle cookie that deserved its fate.
The Blue Jays reclaimed the lead in the fourth when Corey Dickerson golfed a double to right on a Michael King curveball to plate Bichette. But Ryu couldn’t hold that edge in the fifth, when Anthony Rizzo dunked a cutter well off the plate into left field with two on and Dickerson’s throw home hit Gio Urshela, allowing the tying run to score.
Adam Cimber took over and induced a sac fly from Judge and the score remained 3-2 until the seventh, when Stanton got to a Trevor Richards changeup headed for his ankle. Most hitters probably foul the pitch off their foot if they make contact at all. Stanton just missed the facing of the third deck.
“I don’t know how you can hit a ball like that,” said Montoyo. “You’ve got to give Stanton credit for that… The ball was almost in the dirt and he hit it out.”
Part of the explanation is that Stanton, like Judge, is on a major hot streak. During the Blue Jays’ sweep at Yankee Stadium earlier this month, the duo went a combined 8-for-31 with one run scored while hitting into two double plays. On Tuesday, they went 4-for-7 with two walks, three runs scored and five RBIs.
If the Blue Jays can’t get them under control, they’re in trouble.
Ryu has one start left — Game No. 162 against the Orioles — and depending on how things play out, the season could be riding on it. Against the Yankees, he topped out at 93.1 m.p.h. — the sixth-hardest pitch he’s thrown this season — and averaged 91.4, a notable 1.4 m.p.h. above his season average.
“He gave us a chance. He did what we wanted him to do.”
The Blue Jays expected as much, with Atkins saying before this game that Ryu’s “just in a better position physically” and “about as close to 100 per cent as he can be.” Combined with some “subtle adjustments to his delivery,” Ryu moved closer to the form he showed Sept. 6, when he threw six shutout innings in an 8-0 win at the Yankees.
“Honestly, I didn’t really feel too much of a difference,” Ryu said of the difference he saw in the batter’s box last time versus this one. “I came in and pitched according to the game plan. I gave up a home run which was hanging and just left over the plate a little too much. And even the last hitter (Rizzo), it’s not something that pitchers can really control.”
The same now applies to the Blue Jays’ pursuit of a wild-card spot, one no longer solely in their own hands.
Vancouver Canucks winger Dakota Joshua is set to make his season debut Thursday after missing time for cancer treatment.
Head coach Rick Tocchet says Joshua will slot into the lineup Thursday when Vancouver (8-3-3) hosts the New York Islanders.
The 28-year-old from Dearborn, Mich., was diagnosed with testicular cancer this summer and underwent surgery in early September.
He spoke earlier this month about his recovery, saying it had been “very hard to go through” and that he was thankful for support from his friends, family, teammates and fans.
“That was a scary time but I am very thankful and just happy to be in this position still and be able to go out there and play,,” Joshua said following Thursday’s morning skate.
The cancer diagnosis followed a career season where Joshua contributed 18 goals and 14 assists across 63 regular-season games, then added four goals and four assists in the playoffs.
Now, he’s ready to focus on contributing again.
“I expect to be good, I don’t expect a grace period. I’ve been putting the work in so I expect to come out there and make an impact as soon as possible,” he said.
“I don’t know if it’s going to be perfect right from the get-go, but it’s about putting your best foot forward and working your way to a point of perfection.”
The six-foot-three, 206-pound Joshua signed a four-year, US$13-million contract extension at the end of June.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 14, 2024.
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.