TORONTO – Down by a run, in need of a big hit with two runners on, Santiago Espinal finally delivered one for the Toronto Blue Jays, lining a ball to the centre-field wall that would have easily scored two had it been hit about 10 feet to the left.
Instead, the 385-foot drive landed on the centre-field warning track and skipped over the eight-foot wall for a ground-rule double that forced Cavan Biggio, who’d already come around from first base behind Davis Schneider, to walk back to third from home plate. The go-ahead run never came in, the Chicago Cubs eked out a run against Jordan Hicks in the ninth and the Blue Jays suffered a third straight loss, and fourth in five outings, 5-4 on Saturday.
“I mean, it is frustrating, especially at this time, where we are in the standings and all that stuff. We have a lot of teams behind us and they’re all fighting, too, for the same goal,” Espinal, who had a two-hit day at shortstop, said of his drive hopping over the wall. “We’ve just got to keep fighting, compete every day. The only thing that we can control is how we play. I feel like we’ve been doing a pretty good job, it’s just (hitting with runners in) scoring position has only been all right, but we’ll figure it out.”
Their most productive day at the plate since a 13-1 win at Boston last week buoyed the hopes of the Blue Jays (65-54) that the offence is about to pull out of the deep freeze it’s been in the past week, and the urgency is mounting with the Seattle Mariners running hot.
The Cubs (61-56), now in possession of the third wild card in the National League, rode a four-spot in the fourth off Chris Bassitt highlighted by Cody Bellinger’s RBI single off the right-field wall in “a world-class at-bat” and Dansby Swanson’s three-run shot on a middle-middle sweeper the righty said “he guessed wrong” on.
Bellinger then started the decisive ninth-inning rally, ripping a high 96.7 m.p.h. fastball from Hicks to right for a double and coming around when Christopher Morel hooked a sweeper to left for another double.
That was it before a crowd of 42,585 that witnessed Jose Bautista’s addition to the Level of Excellence before the contest.
“There’s a reason they’re a top five offence,” Bassitt said of the Cubs. “You can’t pitch around (Bellinger) because he’s got protection in the front and the back. You’ve just got to make pitches and hopefully he gets out. I thought the Hicks four-seam up was really, really good. I thought a couple of the pitches we made were really good. He’s just doing this all year and I think he’s back to who he used to be.”
The Blue Jays are still working to be at their best at the plate, opening the scoring in the second on Vladimir Guerrero Jr.’s two-out RBI single and the eking back within one on Whit Merrifield’s two-run shot off Justin Steele in the fifth.
Then came Espinal’s double in the sixth, which followed Davis Schneider’s one-out double and Biggio’s two-out walk and the mix of relief and frustration that came along with it.
Blue Jays’ Espinal makes great defensive play behind Bautista’s analysis
“Welcome to 2023, yeah,” lamented manager John Schneider. “Great at-bat from Espy and I want to point out the way he’s worked the last two weeks has been really impressive and it’s been a little bit of a tough spot for him, obviously. But you can’t say enough about the way he’s gone about it, the way he’s prepared and the way he’s gone out and executed, especially the last handful of days. That (ground-rule) really sucks. He works the 3-2 count, hits a ball on the nose and Cavan is going to score easily. Such is life with runners in scoring position for us it seems right now, but just keep doing that, things will be all right.”
To that end, John Schneider hinted that Espinal could see more regular action at shortstop with Paul DeJong, 2-for-34 with 13 strikeouts since his acquisition from the St. Louis Cardinals, slumping badly.
The Blue Jays are looking for any extra offence they can find amid the ongoing absence of Bo Bichette, who ran the bases and took grounders before the game and could soon have a rehab assignment next week if he emerges from a similar workload Sunday well. Danny Jansen will return to catch Sunday after being rested a couple of days following his most recent hit by pitch on the right arm.
Espinal also had an RBI single Thursday and feels like he’s in a good spot.
“It was kind of a relief when I got that double, it feels great and I feel, from this point on, even with Whit with his great at-bat with the homer, things are starting to show up. We’ve got to be patient and continue to grind,” he said. “There are times that it’s very hard to come off the bench and try to do the best you can. But there are also times that if you prepare yourself how you’re supposed to prepare, do the little bit extra to do everything that you can, you can only control what you do. That’s what I did today. I was trying to just go out and have a great at-bats, not worrying about the result, just go out there and do damage.”
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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