ARLINGTON, Texas – The front end of this season-defining stretch couldn’t have gone much better for the Toronto Blue Jays and now the challenge really ramps up with a crucial eight-game homestand against the Tampa Bay Rays and Baltimore Orioles.
A bullpen game in Sunday’s 4-1 loss to the Texas Rangers, capping an 8-2 road trip that solidified their hold on a wild-card spot, was all about optimizing for the looming clash with the Rays.
Jose Berrios would have been on turn for the Globe Life Field finale before a crowd of 20,984 but facing five games in four days against their arch-rivals, the Blue Jays opted to line up their top four arms for the occasion. Berrios gets the opener, followed by Alek Manoah and likely Mitch White in Tuesday’s day-night twin bill, with Ross Stripling and Kevin Gausman getting the final two games.
The Blue Jays have another hole to fill for Friday’s series opener against the Orioles, and without a viable option at triple-A another bullpen game is a possibility, with Berrios and Manoah to follow.
Time to let it ride.
“It was a great road trip,” said interim manager John Schneider. “Guys are really competing and playing well overall. I really like where we are as a group and looking forward to an exciting week at home.”
The standings remain tight going in, with the Seattle Mariners (79-61), Rays (78-60) and Blue Jays (78-61) all within a half game of one another for the three wild-card spots. The Orioles (73-67) are 5.5 games off the pace and at risk of falling out of the mix.
“Really our season is in this next two weeks with how many head-to-head games we have against the Rays and the Orioles. That’s going to be telling right there,” said Stripling. “We’ve done well as of late of playing in the moment, understanding you’ve got to take care of the Pirates, you’ve got to take care of the Rangers, beatable teams. Don’t look ahead to the Rays. Kind of did that maybe in the last game against the Cubs at Rogers Centre (a 7-5 loss Aug. 31), let that game get away, maybe looking ahead at a winnable series. But for the most part I feel like we’ve really stayed in the moment.”
A three-game sweep of the Pirates, three of four in Baltimore and two of three against the Rangers speaks to that. The Blue Jays had their chances against Martin Perez to secure one more W but couldn’t fight off both the lefty and home-plate umpire Rob Drake’s rather liberal interpretation of the strike zone deep in the heart of Texas.
Questionable calls against Matt Chapman, caught looking at 3-2 and Whit Merrifield, buried 1-2 by two sketch strikes, helped snuff out a two-on, none-out rally in the second, for instance, while Bo Bichette, Vladimir Guerrero Jr., and Alejandro Kirk all ended up looking to the heavens at different points.
Any hitter to walk in this one really earned it.
“We were trying to get Perez out over the plate and he did a good job of pounding it in there. I’m sure Jonah Heim got high praise from (Rangers catching coach) Bobby Wilson on his receiving,” Schneider said in deftly diplomatic fashion. “I was impressed the guys stuck to their approach and their game plan and kept their cool and I think that’s the sign of a really good team that is kind of growing up, too.”
Just as he did a week ago against the Pirates, Trevor Richards started this one but couldn’t escape the first inning, giving up a Nathaniel Lowe RBI double and leaving the bases loaded for David Phelps, who cleverly limited the damage.
Phelps followed with two outs in the second before handing the reins over to Yusei Kikuchi, who got Corey Seager to end that frame before surrendering a two-run shot in the third to Adolis Garcia. The lefty got two more outs in the fourth but also left the bases loaded for Zach Pop, who struck out Garcia and then followed with a three-up, three-down fifth.
Julian Merryweather then threw two scoreless frames before Anthony Bass handled the eighth, giving up a solo shot to Leody Tavares.
All told, it was a solid collective effort.
“We gave our team a chance,” said Phelps. “The goal is to put up zeros, but we’ve seen what our offence can do. Even in that ninth inning there, we were a couple of swings away. I think it’s speaks to the resiliency of our club that when we’re having a bullpen day, it’s one guy after another picking each other up. We’ve talked about that for I feel like the last three or four months now, that it’s going to take 26, now 28 guys to fight for each other, lifting each other up to get where we want to go.”
Using six relievers ahead of five games in four days isn’t optimal, but part of the Blue Jays’ calculus is that Berrios, Manoah, Gausman and Stripling are reliable enough to expect six innings from, allowing them to spread the bullpen innings around. Tuesday’s doubleheader will challenge that, but that’s the situation forced upon them by their lack of rotation depth and it’s meant a heavier toll on their core four starters.
“We’ve tried to strategically get guys an extra day here or there and rotate that through the four main guys,” said Schneider. “You power through and all the games are big, especially when you get home and it’s a doubleheader mixed in there against Tampa. Hopefully we get through that and we can line up who we want with the proper rest. That’s kind of the plan right now.”
The Blue Jays are 4-6 thus far against the Rays and 6-7 against the Orioles and beyond keeping pace in the standings, tiebreaker advantages will be at stake, too. Beyond the coming week another four games in Tampa Bay loom while another three games against the division-leading New York Yankees remain and though unlikely, a run at the AL East isn’t out of the question.
“The next two series are going to be key for us,” said Teoscar Hernandez, who returned from paternity leave with two hits, including an RBI double, and a walk. “That’s going to determine if we’re going to be fighting for a playoff spot or if we’re going to be in a spot that we say, OK, we just have to play hard and try to stay in the spot we’re in.”
Still, coming on the heels of a three-city, 10-game road trip, eight games in seven days against fellow contenders will be a grind. The Blue Jays, after a 6-1 road trip to New York and Boston in late August, returned home and played one of their worst series of the season, a three-game sweep by the Los Angeles Angels.
They’ll dive into the clash with the Rays after a cross-continent flight.
“Everybody in the major leagues is tired right now,” said Chapman. “What really separates guys is how mentally tough you can be. We have high expectations but you don’t go out there and try to force yourself on the game. You let it come to you. Stay in the moment. Control what you can control and trick yourself into finding ways to get the job done.”
Added Phelps: “Every man in the clubhouse knows what this team can do. At the end of the day, we have spent the entire season in a playoff spot. We know what we’re capable of. We know what we want to do. If we can keep winning series, we’re in a really good spot.”
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.
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.
