TORONTO – The hardest thing to do as opportunity slowly slips away and a season’s work gets pushed closer to the brink the way it is for the Toronto Blue Jays right now is to trust in process over outcomes.
Through five fruitless innings against all-star Lance Lynn on Monday night, for example, they had managed only two baserunners, one on a Santiago Espinal single, one when Yoan Moncada booted a routine Teoscar Hernandez grounder at third.
The logical conclusion would be that Lynn was dicing them up, sending them deeper into their recent offensive funk. Yet within those five frames, the Blue Jays hit seven balls with an expected batting average ranging from .500-.750 — only one of them resulting in a knock. Factor in another liner to left field from Hernandez that carried a .410 xBA, and rather than scrambling to figure out what was wrong, there was a case to be made that they should stay right there.
Carrying the cumulative frustration of seven losses in nine outings, however, that’s easier said than done, which is why Vladimir Guerrero Jr., pumped his fist three times when he reached second base after a line-drive single to centre in the sixth tied the game at 1-1.
The moment of catharsis didn’t open the floodgates, but it did help set the stage for the Blue Jays to score the go-ahead run on a Craig Kimbrel wild pitch in the eighth inning of a 2-1 victory over the Chicago White Sox. Given the club’s recent run of gut-punch losses, pinch-runner Breyvic Valera’s dash home, sneaking in his left hand as he absorbed the spikes of a sliding Kimbrel applying a tag, made you believe that baseball karma does, eventually, balance all.
“We were backing up each other in the dugout, it was unbelievable,” Guerrero, speaking through interpreter Hector Lebron, said of having faith that some offence would come. “We just kept telling everyone to just keep swinging, keep swinging, they’re going to fall, they’re going to fall, continue taking good at-bats. And finally it did, and it was great the way we were backing up each other.”
That’s no matter of small import, as the impact of empty results easily compounds at this point of the summer. But their steadfastness allowed them to capitalize on six strong innings from Alek Manoah, who returned from the bereavement list after his grandfather’s death last week to work around five hits and three walks, allowing just one run on 108 pitches.
And then three clean innings of relief from their bullpen followed, Adam Cimber working around a Reese McGuire catcher’s interference in the seventh, Tim Mayza mowing through the eighth and Jordan Romano locking matters down in the ninth.
The Blue Jays’ determination was embodied by Guerrero, who aside from ripping the key RBI single, also made a nice scoop on a Marcus Semien relay to complete a tough 6-4-3 double play on a Jose Abreu grounder to end the seventh.
“It’s a combination of a couple things,” Guerrero said of the emotional displays, “the heat of the moment and I’ve been going through rough times lately and on top of that, I came through with the base hit, the double play there, you got the feeling that finally I can help the team the way I want. And then we ended up getting the win. It was great.”
McGuire started the pivotal rally in the eighth with a hustle single, diving into first base, and was replaced by Valera, who took second when Bo Bichette struck out on a wild pitch and third on a Semien groundout. Every step of his leadoff from third mattered on his pivotal dash home and he just tucked in his hand ahead of a crashing Kimbrel, who had to reach left to corral Seby Zavala’s relay and awkwardly slid into Valera.
“We were just hoping he didn’t get kicked in the face by Kimbrel’s cleats,” said Manoah. “Once we got past that, I was just real excited he got that hand in there.”
The gift run was perhaps some payback for the extended frustration over the past two weeks, amplified by a 1-4 stretch against the Washington Nationals and Detroit Tigers. Facing a stiffer test against the 100-per-cent-playoff-probability White Sox, the Blue Jays again found themselves in a slim-margin contest and Manoah battled imprecise command to keep the game in check.
Two of his walks came in the third and he ran the count full on Abreu before inducing a grounder to second, and despite not being able to hit his spots, still kept the ball away from the happy zones.
“Just continue to attack, man,” said Manoah. “Every pitch is huge, especially when you’re facing an offence like that. You can’t throw any cookies to any of those guys. I’d much rather throw a guy on first base than give up a home run or a double. I was able to battle once they did get on base and continue to give that offence a chance.”
Manoah described his late grandfather as a “huge influence” on both his baseball career and his life and thanked the Blue Jays for allowing him to “be there for my mom and to be there for my family and to just get some closure, be able to celebrate his life a little bit.”
His grandfather loved to watch Manoah pitch and would have been thrilled to see how he kept a lid on the game in the sixth, when two seeing-eye base hits by Brian Goodwin and Andrew Vaughn cashed in a Moncada base hit and opened up a 1-0 White Sox lead. Manoah quickly rallied to get both Danny Mendick and Zavala to end the frame.
“I tell you what, this guy’s got big cojones,” Montoyo said of the rookie. “That’s why it’s so easy to send him back out with 95 pitches. He’s going to give you all he’s got and right there at the end, he got back-to-back double-play balls that found holes, so he’s not doing anything wrong. He gave up one run on balls that should have been double plays, but of course a (defensive) shift here and there, and then he got the next two guys. That was the game, that this guy doesn’t crumble.”
The same went for the Blue Jays, who kept grinding as the BABIP gods kept sending them ill fates until Guerrero ripped a liner to centre that touched green in the sixth and allowed Bichette to scoot home with the tying run. It turned out to be a meaningful contribution, the type he’d struggled to make during his team’s slide.
“I felt a little bit frustrated because, I mean, it wasn’t me for the last couple of weeks,” said Guerrero. “Like I always say, I don’t take it that way, if the team wins, I feel great. Like I always do, I come here every day, get my work in, keep trying until finally a night like tonight, I could help the team a lot. And it felt great. But I’m going to keep working hard, just taking it day by day, and trying to help the team win.”
An avalanche of offence it wasn’t, but for a change, the Blue Jays scored just enough to eke out a win against two all-star pitchers on a playoff-bound club, and that’s a start.
TORONTO – Singles star Leylah Fernandez and doubles specialist Gabriela Dabrowski will anchor Canada’s five-player lineup when the team tries to defend its Billie Jean King Cup title in mid-November.
The 26th-ranked Fernandez, the 2021 U.S. Open finalist from Laval, Que., is the lone Canadian in the top 100 of the WTA Tour’s singles rankings.
Dabrowski, from Ottawa, is ranked fourth on the doubles list. The 2023 U.S. Open women’s doubles champion won mixed doubles bronze with Felix Auger-Aliassime at the recent Paris Olympics.
Marina Stakusic of Mississauga, Ont., returns after a breakout performance last year, capped by her singles win in Canada’s 2-0 victory over Italy in the final. Vancouver’s Rebecca Marino is also back and Bianca Andreescu, the 2019 U.S. Open champion from Mississauga, Ont., returns to the squad for the first time since 2022.
“Winning the Billie Jean King Cup in 2023 was a dream come true for us, and not only that, but I feel like we made a statement to the world about the strength of this nation when it comes to tennis,” Canada captain Heidi El Tabakh said Monday in a release. “Once again, we have a very strong team this year with Bianca joining Leylah, Gaby, Rebecca and Marina, making it an extremely powerful team that is more than capable of going all the way.
“At the end of the day, our goal is to make Canada proud, and we’ll do our best to bring the same level of effort and excitement that we had in last year’s finals.”
Fernandez, who beat Jasmine Paolini to clinch Canada’s first-ever title at the competition, is ranked No. 42 in doubles.
Canada, which received an automatic berth as defending champion, will play the winner of the first-round tie between Great Britain and Germany on Nov. 17 at Malaga’s Martin Carpena Arena.
Australia, Italy and wild-card entry Czechia also received first-round byes. The tournament, which continues through Nov. 20, also includes host Spain, Slovakia, the United States, Poland, Japan and Romania.
Stakusic is up 27 spots to No. 128 in the latest world singles rankings. Marino is at No. 134 and Andreescu, the 2019 U.S. Open champion, is ranked 167th.
Canada will look to become the first team since Czechia in 2016 to successfully defend its Billie Jean King Cup title.
Malaga will also host the Nov. 19-24 Davis Cup Final 8. The Canadian men qualified over the weekend with a 2-1 victory over Great Britain in Manchester.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 16, 2024.
PITTSBURGH – Sidney Crosby plans to remain a Pittsburgh Penguin for at least three more years.
The Penguins announced on Monday that they re-signed the 37-year-old from Cole Harbour, N.S., to a two-year contract extension that has an average annual value of US$8.7 million. The deal runs through the 2026-27 season.
Crosby was eligible to sign an extension on July 1 with him entering the final season of a 12-year, $104.4-million deal that carries an $8.7-million salary cap hit.
At the NHL/NHLPA player media tour in Las Vegas last Monday, he said things were positive and he was optimistic about a deal getting done.
The three-time Stanley Cup champion is coming off a 42-goal, 94-point campaign that saw him finish tied for 12th in the league scoring race.
Crosby has spent all 19 of his NHL seasons in Pittsburgh, amassing 592 goals and 1,004 assists in 1,272 career games.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 16, 2024.
MONTREAL – Tadej Pogacar was so dominant on Sunday, Canada’s Michael Woods called it a race for second.
Pogacar, a three-time Tour de France champion from Slovenia, pedalled to a resounding victory at the Grand Prix Cycliste de Montreal.
The UAE Team Emirates leader crossed the finish line 24 seconds ahead of Spain’s Pello Bilbao of Bahrain — Victorious to win the demanding 209.1-kilometre race on a sunny, 28 C day in Montreal. France’s Julian Alaphilippe of Soudal Quick-Step was third.
“He’s the greatest rider of all time, he’s a formidable opponent,” said Woods, who finished 45 seconds behind the leader in eighth. “If you’re not at your very, very best, then you can forget racing with him, and today was kind of representative of that.
“He’s at such a different level that if you follow him, it can be lights out.”
Pogacar slowed down before the last turn to celebrate with the crowd, high-five fans on Avenue du Parc and cruise past the finish line with his arms in the air after more than five hours on the bike.
The 25-year-old joined Belgium’s Greg Van Avermaet as the only multi-time winners in Montreal after claiming the race in 2022. He also redeemed a seventh-place finish at the Quebec City Grand Prix on Friday.
“I was disappointed, because I had such good legs that I didn’t do better than seventh,” Pogacar said. “To bounce back after seventh to victory here, it’s just an incredible feeling.”
It’s Pogacar’s latest win in a dominant year that includes victories at the Tour de France and Giro d’Italia.
Ottawa’s Woods (Israel Premier-Tech) tied a career-best in front of the home crowd in Montreal, but hoped for more after claiming a stage at the Spanish Vuelta two weeks ago.
“I wanted a better result,” the 37-year-old rider said. “My goal was a podium, but at the same time I’m happy with the performance. In bike racing, you can’t always get the result you want and I felt like I raced really well, I animated the race, I felt like I was up there.”
Pogacar completed the 17 climbs up and down Mount Royal near downtown in five hours 28 minutes 15 seconds.
He made his move with 23.3 kilometres to go, leaving the peloton in his dust as he pedalled into the lead — one he never relinquished.
Bilbao, Alaphilippe, Alex Aranburu (Movistar Team) and Bart Lemmen (Visma–Lease) chased in a group behind him, with Bilbao ultimately separating himself from the pack. But he never came close to catching Pogacar, who built a 35-second lead with one lap left to go.
“It was still a really hard race today, but the team was on point,” Pogacar said. “We did really how we planned, and the race situation was good for us. We make it hard in the last final laps, and they set me up for a (takeover) two laps to go, and it was all perfect.”
Ottawa’s Derek Gee, who placed ninth in this year’s Tour de France, finished 48th in Montreal, and called it a “hard day” in the heat.
“I think everyone knows when you see Tadej on the start line that it’s just going to be full gas,” Gee said.
Israel Premier-Tech teammate Hugo Houle of Sainte-Perpétue, Que., was 51st.
Houle said he heard Pogacar inform his teammates on the radio that he was ready to attack with two laps left in the race.
“I said then, well, clearly it’s over for me,” Houle said. “You see, cycling isn’t that complicated.”
Australia’s Michael Matthews won the Quebec City GP for a record third time on Friday, but did not finish in Montreal. The two races are the only North American events on the UCI World Tour.
Michael Leonard of Oakville, Ont., and Gil Gelders and Dries De Bondt of Belgium broke away from the peloton during the second lap. Leonard led the majority of the race before losing pace with 45 kilometres to go.
Only 89 of 169 riders from 24 teams — including the Canadian national team — completed the gruelling race that features 4,573 metres in total altitude.
Next up, the riders will head to the world championships in Zurich, Switzerland from Sept. 21 to 29.
Pogacar will try to join Eddy Merckx (1974) and Stephen Roche (1987) as the only men to win three major titles in a season — known as the Triple Crown.
“Today gave me a lot of confidence, motivation,” Pogacar said. “I think we are ready for world championships.”
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 15, 2024.
