This is a fun team to watch. I know the mistakes are irritating, but that sixth inning was so much fun.
All that really mattered about that game happened in the bottom of the sixth. In the bottom of the sixth, with Chad Green coming in to start the inning and Yankees up 6-2:
Santiago Espinal started it off with a walk. Terrific 10 pitch at bat. He’s been a surprise.
Danny Jansen flew out (but considering how his next at bat went, we will forgive).
Rowdy Tellez ground one down the first baseline, and Luke Voit booted it. We talk about how many mistakes the Jays make, but we aren’t the only ones that screw up. Yankees had a terrible day with the gloves. Espinal scored. 6-3
Adam Ottavino came in to pitch for the Yankees. Vladimir Guerrero ground one hard down the first baseline, but Voit played a bit off the line and couldn’t get to it. Biggio and Grichuk scored. 6-5.
Vlad stole second!! Even if we lost, this would have been enough to make me happy. He got a terrific jump, and it wasn’t close. I hope this doesn’t make him think he should try to steal more often but it was great. Adam Ottavino is terrible at holding runners on first.
Gurriel stole second without a throw. Gotta wonder why they don’t work with Ottavino on holding runners, Gurriel getting to second takes off the double play and get him into scoring position.
Travis Shaw ground a hard single to center (nice swing). Vlad and Lourdes score. 8-6 Jays.
Joe Panik (pinch hitting for Espinal) walked to load the bases (7 pitch at bat).
Danny Jansen hits a grand slam. Jansen had a 3-1 count, and I was yelling, don’t swing. This is why I’m not a hitting coach. 12-6 Jays.
That ended the game for Ottavino. You could wonder why you leave him in so long, but the Yankees, like the Jays, want to save some arms for the next two games of the series.
Luis Cessa comes in to pitch for the Yankees, but Jansen has already killed the rally, so he gets Biggio and Grichuk to end the inning.
It was our biggest inning of the season, and it was a ton of fun.
Other than that? Who cares…..
But, Hyun Jin Ryu wasn’t good. He gave up 3 solo homers, two in the first and one in the fourth. The two in the first were both on fastballs that were too much over the plate. After that, he went away from the fastball, but a changeup without a fastball is….well just a bad fastball.
He had a tough fifth inning, giving up back to back one-out singles, and then a two-out two-run double. Another walk had me thinking they would take him out of the game, but he got a strikeout to get out of the inning. In total 5 innings, 6 hits, 5 earned, 2 walks, 5 strikeouts.
Sean Reid-Foley had a tough time of it in the sixth. Sean had 3 previous appearances, 4.2 innings, 1 hit, 2 walks, 6 strikeouts. In this game, he got 2 quick outs. Then single, walk, walk, run scoring walk. If we didn’t need to save some pitchers, I’m sure he would have been out of the game here, but he did get a fly out to end the inning, just 1 scored, but the 3 walks in the inning were tough to watch.
Sean gets the win because baseball.
After our 10-run, Julian Merryweather came in. He was terrific again. 2 innings, no hits, 1 walk, 1 k. I thought they would have him pitch the ninth, but, with his recent injury history, maybe being careful is smarter.
Anthony Bass pitched the ninth. He allowed a leadoff hit and a double, but gave up just one run.
Before the sixth, it was a frustrating game.
In the first, we had two doubles and a walk, before the second out, but only scored one run.
The second started double, single, but again we just got the one run.
We got two singles in the third, with one out and didn’t score. And two one-walks in the fourth but again didn’t score.
There was a fair bit of bad luck, hard hit balls seemed to keep finding gloves.
In total we had 12 hits and 9 walks. Only the 1 home run. Everyone in the starting lineup reach base at least once. Even Joe Panik, coming into the game in the sixth inning, had 2 walks.
Gurriel had another 3 hit game. Vlad and Travis had 2 hits each. Biggio, Panik and Jansen had 2 walks each. And we had 3 steals, which feels like it should be a season high. Biggio stole third, and course Vlad and Lourdes.
Jays of the Day: Vlad (.284 WPA), Gurriel (.182), Shaw (.132), Biggio (.105) and Espinal (.104). And I gotta give one to Jansen (.076 WPA), but he had the grand slam (even if it killed the rally.
Suckage: Ryu (-.262) and Villar (-.124, 0 for 4 with a walk). I haven’t fallen in love with him yet. He had another error today. Travis Shaw had an error as well.
Brett Gardner had a tough time in left. He had two misplays on balls that he should have caught The Yankees had 2 official errors (Hicks a throwing error and Volt).
We had 718 comments in the GameThread. DangYouToHeck led us to victory.
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.
