Sports

‘ENOUGH IS ENOUGH’: Jays’ run of futility continues after being swept by O’s

Published

1 year ago

May 21, 2023

Baltimore Orioles second baseman Adam Fraizier throws to first base for a double play after forcing out Toronto Blue Jays centre fielder Kevin Kiermaier in the fourth inning at Rogers Centre in Toronto, May 21, 2023. Photo by Dan Hamilton /USA TODAY Sports

When this rather ominous stretch of 17 games in 17 days began at the start of a 10-game homestand, the Blue Jays were in bring-it-on mode.

The opposition may be tough to beat, they said, but so are we.

Well, the struggling team had some of that bravado punched out of them over a gruelling and often gruesome stretch of games that mercifully came to an end Sunday afternoon at the Rogers Centre.

Mercifully because the ugliness also had a heaping of agony in an extra-innings loss as the Jays fell 8-3 to the Baltimore Orioles.

To make it worse, the Orioles sealed it with a bat-around 11th in which they scored five runs. That unsightly collapse at the end of a maddening week of bad baseball around these parts brought out the boo-birds from those remaining from a sellout crowd of 41,643.

How low can they go? We’re about to find out.

“It’s at the point where enough is enough,” Jays manager John Schneider said before the team departed for St. Petersburg, Fla. where they will face the Tampa Bay Rays in a four-game series beginning on Monday.

“You’re waiting for it to turn and I know it will. But in order to get there, guys are going to have to continue to work their asses off and not just expect it.”

Not only has Schneider’s team lost four in a row and six of their last seven, the Jays have entrenched themselves in the basement of the AL East. At the conclusion of Sunday’s game, they were also 2 1/2 games out of an AL wild card spot and a shoddy 5-12 against division opponents.

The latest loss plummeted them to a record of 25-22 — two games worse than they were at the same point last season. The Orioles, meanwhile, are now 31-16 and six games ahead of the Jays, who trail the first-place Rays by 8 1/2.The frustration for a team that exited spring training convinced it had the goods to challenge for the division title has to be at a high.

“Obviously we’re grinding right now and the last two series haven’t been very sharp for us,” said Jays starter Kevin Gausman, who tossed eight innings and allowed two runs, but could file a successful lawsuit for lack of run support. “Lack of timely hits. We’re getting guys in scoring position, not shutting the door when we need to.

“It’s a mixture of a lot of things.”

Those things — big and small — have perhaps taken a body blow to the Jays’ confidence as they continue to press while trying to force things to happen.

“We’re going through a bit of a bad stretch, but there’s still a lot of games to play,” outfielder Daulton Varsho said. “So you can’t take a long stretch and make it feel even longer. Just keep your head up and keep grinding.

“It was an emotional week. In the division, you always want to win. At the same time, it’s a learning experience.”

For all of that bold talk, opponents are applying the same attitude when they face the Jays, the Orioles being the latest.

The visitors talked about Sunday being a possible statement game and the up-and-coming team that’s off to a blistering start continued that momentum by sweeping the Jays in their own stadium for the first time since 2005.

The Orioles, who have won nine of their last 12 including the three here, took advantage of a Jays offence unable to move batters along. On Sunday, Toronto scattered 13 hits, but managed just one run in an excruciating display of ineptitude on the bases.

Countering the hits were a dozen strikeouts, which further amplified the struggles from Toronto hitters, who were a mere 3-for-16 with runners in scoring position on Sunday.

It’s just a week in a long season, of course, but the warning bells continue to ring for a team that essentially finds itself in the middle of the pack in the AL.

A homestand that started with a three-game sweep of the Braves ended with a substandard 4-6 mark.

Furthermore, the much-touted attention to detail that the Jays promised during spring training continued to find lapses. From Cavan Biggio easily stealing a base only to slide through it and get tagged out, to Kevin Kiermaier dropping a fly ball for an error and, perhaps most crucially, swift and speedy Whit Merrifield getting picked off at first in the 10th inning when he represented the winning run.

So how do they snap out of it? Surely there is an urgency to reverse the current form and to do so quickly.

“It’s a tough grind, but (Jays players) are handling it extremely well,” Schneider said. “It’s a tough grind, but they’re handling it as well as they can.

“Right now, when it snowballs like this, you want to do a little too much, but you can’t. You’ve got to reel it in. And when it does (turn around), as (crappy) as it is right now, it will be the exact opposite.”

WIZARD OF GAUS

The Jays received yet another stellar outing from Gausman and another game with minimal run support.

The right-hander was able to exit with a 2-2 tie after scattering six hits and holding the pesky Orioles mostly at bay. With a weary bullpen, he needed 115 pitches to do it, though, the most thrown by a Toronto pitcher since Marcus Stroman in 2017. It was also the most pitches Gausman has thrown in a game since 2017.

With an overworked bullpen, that opened the door for Nate Pearson to come out and pitch the ninth, an assignment he’s earned with some strong work over the last couple of weeks.

OFFENCE OR OFFENSIVE?

The Jays struggles at the plate continued and in rather unsightly fashion.

Schneider has urged his hitters to press less while at the plate, but to no avail. And the frustration continued to mount.

The Jays had runners in scoring position in five of the first six innings and couldn’t punch one of them across. Most damning was the sixth inning with the bases loaded, down a run and one out, only to see Kiermaier ground out into a double play.

The Jays had counted nine hits by that point, so it wasn’t as if the bats were silent. The clutch hit chip? Gone missing, it seems.

The stretch mercifully ended in the seventh inning on a Matt Chapman sacrifice fly to score George Springer and tie it 2-2. When Merrifield struck out to end the inning, that was that, however.

GAME ON

The Jays, who suffered their third series sweep of the season, slipped to a 4-4 record in extra-innings games and 13-9 at the Rogers Centre … Tip of the old ballcap to Nathan Lukes, whose long journey to the major leagues hit a high point in the fourth inning when the Blue Jays outfielder singled for the first base hit in the bigs … Chapman shook off some of the May struggles over the weekend with a Sunday homer — a 420-foot bomb in the second inning, at that. Chapman also drove in the tying run with a sacrifice fly in the seventh to temporarily end the runners-in-scoring-position debacle.

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Sports

Champions Trophy host Pakistan says it’s not been told India wants to play cricket games elsewhere

Published

1 day ago

November 8, 2024

Anne Joseph

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.”

Pakistan hosted last year’s Asia Cup but all India games were played in Sri Lanka under a hybrid model for the tournament. Only months later Pakistan did travel to India for the 50-over World Cup.

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.

___

AP cricket:

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Sports

Dabrowski, Routlife into WTA doubles final with win over Melichar-Martinez, Perez

Published

1 day ago

November 8, 2024

Anne Joseph

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.

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Sports

Winger Tajon Buchanan back with Canada after recovering from broken leg

Published

1 day ago

November 8, 2024

Anne Joseph

Inter Milan winger Tajon Buchanan, recovered from a broken leg suffered in training at this summer’s Copa America, is back in Jesse Marsch’s Canada squad for the CONCACAF Nations League quarterfinal against Suriname.

The 25-year-old from Brampton, Ont., underwent surgery July 3 to repair a fractured tibia in Texas.

Canada, ranked 35th in the world, plays No. 136 Suriname on Nov. 15 in Paramaribo. The second leg of the aggregate series is four days later at Toronto’s BMO Field.

There is also a return for veteran winger Junior Hoilett, who last played for Canada in June in a 4-0 loss to the Netherlands in Marsch’s debut at the Canadian helm. The 34-year-old from Brampton, now with Scotland’s Hibernian, has 15 goals in 63 senior appearances for Canada.

Midfielder Ismael Kone, recovered from an ankle injury sustained on club duty with France’s Marseille, also returns. He missed Canada’s last three matches since the fourth-place Copa America loss to Uruguay in July.

But Canada will be without centre back Derek Cornelius, who exited Marseille’s win Sunday over Nantes on a stretcher after suffering an apparent rib injury.

The Canadian men will prepare for Suriname next week at a camp in Fort Lauderdale, Fla.

“We are looking forward to getting the group together again with the mindset that there is a trophy on the line,” Marsch said in a statement. “We want to end 2024 the right way with two excellent performances against a competitive Suriname squad and continue building on our tremendous growth this past summer.”

The quarterfinal winners advance to the Nations League Finals at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, Calif., with the two semifinals scheduled for March 20 and the final and third-place playoff March 23, and qualify for the 2025 CONCACAF Gold Cup.

Thirteen of the 23 players on the Canadian roster are 25 or younger, with 19-year-old defender Jamie Knight-Lebel, currently playing for England’s Crewe Alexandra on loan from Bristol City, the youngest.

Bayern Munich star Alphonso Davies captains the side with Stephen Eustaquio, Jonathan Osorio, Richie Laryea, Alistair Johnston and Kamal Miller adding veteran support.

Jonathan David, Cyle Larin and Theo Bair are joined in attack by Minnesota United’s Tani Oluwaseyi.

Niko Sigur, a 21-year-old midfielder with Croatia’s Hadjuk Split, continues in the squad after making his debut in the September friendly against Mexico.

Suriname made it to the Nations League quarterfinals by finishing second to Costa Rica in Group A of the Nations League, ahead of No. 104 Guatemala, No. 161 Guyana and unranked Martinique and Guadeloupe.

“A good team,” Osorio said of Suriname. “These games are always tricky and they’re not easy at all … Suriname is a (former) Dutch colony and they’ll have Dutch players playing at high levels.”

“They won’t be someone we overlook at all,” added the Toronto FC captain, who has 81 Canada caps to his credit.

Located on the northeast coast of South America between Guyana and French Guiana, Suriname was granted independence in 1975 by the Netherlands.

Canada has faced Suriname twice before, both in World Cup qualifying play, winning 4-0 in suburban Chicago in June 2021 and 2-1 in Mexico City in October 1977.

The Canadian men, along with Mexico, the United States and Panama, received a bye into the final eight of the CONCACAF Nations League.

Canada, No. 2 in the CONCACAF rankings, drew Suriname as the best-placed runner-up from League A play.

Canada lost to Jamaica in last year’s Nations League quarterfinal, ousted on the away-goals rule after the series ended in a 4-4 draw. The Canadians lost 2-0 to the U.S. in the final of the 2022-23 tournament and finished fifth in 2019-20.

Canada defeated Panama 2-1 last time out, in an Oct. 15 friendly in Toronto.

Goalkeepers Maxime Crepeau and Jonathan Sirois, defenders Joel Waterman, Laryea and Miller and Osorio took part in a pre-camp this week in Toronto for North America-based players.

Canada Roster

Goalkeepers: Maxime Crepeau, Portland Timbers (MLS); Jonathan Sirois, CF Montreal (MLS); Dayne St. Clair, Minnesota United FC (MLS).

Defenders: Moise Bombito, OGC Nice (France); Alphonso Davies, Bayern Munich (Germany); Richie Laryea, Toronto FC (MLS); Alistair Johnston, Celtic (Scotland); Jamie Knight-Lebel. Crewe Alexandra, on loan from Bristol City (England); Kamal Miller, Portland Timbers (MLS); Joel Waterman, CF Montreal (MLS).

Midfielders: Ali Ahmed. Vancouver Whitecaps (MLS); Tajon Buchanan, Inter Milan (Italy); Mathieu Choiniere, Grasshopper Zurich (Switzerland); Stephen Eustaquio, FC Porto (Portugal); Junior Hoilett, Hibernian FC (Scotland); Ismael Kone, Olympique Marseille (France); Jonathan Osorio, Toronto FC (MLS); Jacob Shaffelburg, Nashville SC (MLS); Niko Sigur, Hadjuk Split (Croatia).

Forwards: Theo Bair, AJ Auxerre (France); Jonathan David, LOSC Lille (France); Cyle Larin, RCD Mallorca (Spain); Tani Oluwaseyi, Minnesota United (MLS).

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This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 8, 2024.

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