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Bo Bichette has five hits as Blue Jays snap Rays’ winning streak at 13

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Blue Jays manager John Schneider was respectful enough of the early season history the Tampa Bay Rays had made, bringing a 13-0 record to the Rogers Centre on Friday night for his team’s first meeting against a divisional opponent.

But Schneider had zero interest in bowing down in reverence to the Rays and their early-season wizardry.

From the opening day of spring training the Jays — through Schneider’s lead — the team has been driven to be the best in the division.

It is far too early for a statement game, but the Jays delivered a loud message just the same, crushing the Rays bid for baseball history with a convincing 6-3 win before 34,822 on another open-roof night at the downtown dome.

The win halted the Rays’ winning streak and leaves them tied with the 1987 Milwaukee Brewers and 1982 Atlanta Braves for the longest season-starting run in modern history.

The result also provided a window into the competitive psyche of the Jays, who don’t see themselves as chasing anyone in baseball – undefeated or not – a point made emphatically by Schneider prior to the game.

“I think we’re kind of past the measuring stick point with our team compared to anyone else in the league,” Schneider said when asked the predictable question of what sort of measure a meeting with the American League East leaders could offer. “We feel comfortable going up against anybody. So respect the roll they are on and how they play, but business as usual and how are we going to beat them.”

And so they went about that business in methodical fashion, starting with five solid innings from troubled starter Jose Berrios, who was unable to continue after suffering a left-knee contusion. The injury was considered minor and Schneider said the righty won’t have to miss a start.

Berrios allowed four hits and one earned run while striking out six and was in control for most of the outing.

The Jays, overall, were clearly ready for the test. Sure, the Rays had won a club record 13 in a row and had an insane run differential of plus 71. They had only allowed 30 runs in that span, a stretch that Schneider half-dismissed as “uniquely hot.”

While respecting the start, the Jays clearly had a plan – and certainly weren’t blown away by what the Rays had done, especially against a mostly lightweight collection of opponents including the Tigers, Nationals, A’s and Red Sox.

“They played at home for quite a while and they play well there,” Schneider said. “You don’t want to say opponent has anything to do with it, because it is the major leagues … it’s such a game of repetition. It just gets contagious.

“It could go the opposite way starting tonight. Any little chink in the armour that shows up, you’ve got to take advantage of it.”

There’s still a gap, but as the Jays improved to 9-5, they’ve set themselves up with an opportunity to win a fourth consecutive series should they be able to take at least one more in this three-game weekend series.

Publicly, the Jays weren’t going to put too much emphasis on one game. In an extremely competitive clubhouse, however, it was clear it meant more than just another mid-April game.

“Guys are excited to play big series,” Schneider said afterwards. “You pay attention to what the Rays did the first 13 games, but we’re solely focussed on winning the series.”

BREAKING DOWN BERRIOS

It had the makings of a critical outing for Berrios, an opportunity to find some success and get on a path towards being a meaningful contributor to the Toronto rotation.

Depending on the severity of the injury, which was not immediately known,  it could have been an important momentum builder for the right hander.

“I honestly do think things are going to be fine,” Jays pitching coach Pete Walker said. “There are a lot of positives and it’s not like he’s lost his stuff.”

Walker is of the belief that what Berrios needs is a run of consistent success to get himself on track. To that end, it was at least in part a confidence-building move that prompted Schneider to take Berrios our of the game after five innings.

“He’s in a position where he needs not just one game, but three or four good ones and he can really start rolling. I think he’s in a better place than what the outside world realizes from a stuff standpoint.

“It’s just a matter of executing in key situations.”

Walker said the wild swings in form last season took a mental toll on the Puerto Rican right hander.

“There were so many ups and downs last year and that’s hard for anybody because one minute you feel you’ve got everything together and the next minute you’re struggling,” Walker said. “He’s been through a lot but he’s got thick skin and I think he’s really ready to contribute to this team.

‘He has been frustrated about the results so far, but I think he feels good about where he is.”

Undefeated opponent or not, apparently Berrios doesn’t mind facing the Rays at the Rogers Centre: In four career starts against them here, he has a 1.93 ERA over 23.1 innings, walking three while striking out 16.

“It was a good stepping stone for him tonight,” Schneider said

GAME ON

Think this one meant much to Jays shortstop Bo Bichette, who merely went five-for-five at the plate? The first of those – a second-inning ground rule double was the 500th hit of his career. That made Bichette the fastest player in club history to reach that milestone, doing so in 407 games … As he does, George Springer led the game off in style with a solo home run to let the Jays jump out to an early lead. It was the 53rd leadoff homer of Springer’s career tying him with former Astro Craig Biggio (father of Cavan) for third most in MLB history … A pair of bases loaded walks, first from pinch-hitting Alejandro Kirk and then from Santiago Espinal led to a four-run fifth to give the Jays a commanding lead … Other than back-to-back home runs allowed by Yimi Garcia in the seventh, the Jays bullpen shut it down for Berrios. Canadian closer Jordan Romano finished it off with a 1-2-3 ninth to record the save, his fifth of the season.

 

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Canada’s Marina Stakusic falls in Guadalajara Open quarterfinals

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GUADALAJARA, Mexico – Canada’s Marina Stakusic fell 6-4, 6-3 to Poland’s Magdalena Frech in the quarterfinals of the Guadalajara Open tennis tournament on Friday.

The 19-year-old from Mississauga, Ont., won 61 per cent of her first-serve points and broke on just one of her six opportunities.

Stakusic had upset top-seeded Jelena Ostapenko of Latvia 6-3, 5-7, 7-6 (0) on Thursday night to advance.

In the opening round, Stakusic defeated Slovakia’s Anna Karolína Schmiedlová 6-2, 6-4 on Tuesday.

The fifth-seeded Frech won 62 per cent of her first-serve points and converted on three of her nine break point opportunities.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 13, 2024.

The Canadian Press. All rights reserved.

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Kirk’s walk-off single in 11th inning lifts Blue Jays past Cardinals 4-3

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TORONTO – Alejandro Kirk’s long single with the bases loaded provided the Toronto Blue Jays with a walk-off 4-3 win in the 11th inning of their series opener against the St. Louis Cardinals on Friday.

With the Cardinals outfield in, Kirk drove a shot off the base of the left-field wall to give the Blue Jays (70-78) their fourth win in 11 outings and halt the Cardinals’ (74-73) two-game win streak before 30,380 at Rogers Centre.

Kirk enjoyed a two-hit, two-RBI outing.

Erik Swanson (2-2) pitched a perfect 11th inning for the win, while Cardinals reliever Ryan Fernandez (1-5) took the loss.

Blue Jays starter Kevin Gausman enjoyed a seven-inning, 104-pitch outing. He surrendered his two runs on nine hits and two walks and fanned only two Cardinals.

He gave way to reliever Genesis Cabrera, who gave up a one-out homer to Thomas Saggese, his first in 2024, that tied the game in the eighth.

The Cardinals started swiftly with four straight singles to open the game. But they exited the first inning with only two runs on an RBI single to centre from Nolan Arendao and a fielder’s choice from Saggese.

Gausman required 28 pitches to escape the first inning but settled down to allow his teammates to snatch the lead in the fourth.

He also deftly pitched out of threats from the visitors in the fifth, sixth and seventh thanks to some solid defence, including Will Wagner’s diving stop, which led to a double play to end the fifth inning.

George Springer led off with a walk and stole second base. He advanced to third on Nathan Lukes’s single and scored when Vladimir Guerrero Jr. knocked in his 95th run with a double off the left-field wall.

Lukes scored on a sacrifice fly to left field from Spencer Horwitz. Guerrero touched home on Kirk’s two-out single to right.

In the ninth, Guerrero made a critical diving catch on an Arenado grounder to throw out the Cardinals’ infielder, with reliever Tommy Nance covering first. The defensive gem ended the inning with a runner on second base.

St. Louis starter Erick Fedde faced the minimum night batters in the first three innings thanks to a pair of double plays. He lasted five innings, giving up three runs on six hits and a walk with three strikeouts.

ON DECK

Toronto ace Jose Berrios (15-9) will start the second of the three-game series on Saturday. He has a six-game win streak.

The Cardinals will counter with righty Kyle Gibson (8-6).

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 13, 2024.

The Canadian Press. All rights reserved.

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Stampeders return to Maier at QB eyeing chance to get on track against Alouettes

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CALGARY – Mired in their first four-game losing skid in 20 years, the Calgary Stampeders are going back to Jake Maier at quarterback on Saturday after he was benched for a game.

It won’t be an easy assignment.

Visiting McMahon Stadium are the Eastern Conference-leading Montreal Alouettes (10-2) who own the CFL’s best record. The Stampeders (4-8) have fallen to last in the Western Conference.

“Six games is plenty of time, but also it is just six games,” said Maier. “We’ve got to be able to get on the right track.”

Calgary is in danger of missing the playoffs for the first time since 2004.

“I do still believe in this team,” said Stampeders’ head coach and general manager Dave Dickenson. “I want to see improvement, though. I want to see guys on a weekly basis elevating their game, and we haven’t been doing that.”

Maier is one of the guys under the microscope. Two weeks ago, the second-year starter threw four interceptions in a 35-20 home loss to the Edmonton Elks.

After his replacement, rookie Logan Bonner, threw five picks in last week’s 37-16 loss to the Elks in Edmonton, the football is back in Maier’s hands.

“Any time you fail or something doesn’t go your way in life, does it stink in the moment? Yeah. But then the days go on and you learn things about yourself and you learn how to prepare a little bit better,” said Maier. “It makes you mentally tougher.”

Dickenson wants to see his quarterback making better decisions with the football.

“Things are going to happen, interceptions will happen, but try to take calculated risks, rather than just putting the ball up there and hoping that we catch it,” said Dickenson.

A former quarterback himself, he knows the importance of that vital position.

“You cannot win without good quarterback play,” Dickenson said. “You’ve got to be able to make some plays — off-schedule plays, move-around plays, plays that break down, plays that aren’t designed perfectly, but somehow you found the right guy, and then those big throws where you’re taking that hit.”

But it’s going to take a team effort, and that includes the club’s receiving corp.

“We always have to band together because we need everything to go right for our receivers to get the ball,” said Nik Lewis, the Stampeders’ receivers coach. “The running back has to pick up the blitz, the o-line has to block, the quarterback has to make the right reads, and then give us a catchable ball.”

Lewis brings a unique perspective to this season’s frustrations as he was a 22-year-old rookie in Calgary in 2004 when the Stamps went 4-14 under coach Matt Dunigan. They turned it around the next season and haven’t missed the playoffs since.”

“Thinking back and just looking at it, there’s just got to be an ultimate belief that you can get it done. Look at Montreal, they were 6-7 last year and they’ve gone 18-2 since then,” said Lewis.

Montreal is also looking to rebound from a 37-23 loss to the B.C. Lions last week. But for head coach Jason Maas, he says his team’s mindset doesn’t change, regardless of what happened the previous week.

“Last year when we went through a four-game losing streak, you couldn’t tell if we were on a four-game winning streak or a four-game losing streak by the way the guys were in the building, the way we prepared, the type of work ethic we have,” said Maas. “All our standards are set, so that’s all we focus on.”

While they may have already clinched a playoff spot, Alouettes’ quarterback Cody Fajardo says this closing stretch remains critical because they want to finish the season strong, just like last year when they won their final five regular-season games before ultimately winning the Grey Cup.

“It doesn’t matter about what you do at the beginning of the year,” said Fajardo. “All that matters is how you end the year and how well you’re playing going into the playoffs so that’s what these games are about.”

The Alouettes’ are kicking off a three-game road stretch, one Fajardo looks forward to.

“You understand what kind of team you have when you play on the road because it’s us versus the world mentality and you can feel everybody against you,” said Fajardo. “Plus, I always tend to find more joy in silencing thousands of people than bringing thousands of people to their feet.”

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 13, 2024.

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