Sports

Jays Out-dueled by Rays, Lose 4-1 – Bluebird Banter

Published

4 years ago

July 25, 2020

It was a disappointing afternoon at the emptier than usual Trop for the Blue Jays. They were unable to do anything with a very good start from Matt Shoemaker, and a meltdown by Sam Gaviglio in the 8th gave the Rays all they needed to take the win.

Ryan Yarborough started for the Rays and kept the Blue Jays’ hitters off balance for five and a third shutout innings. He only managed one strikeout, but was able to locate all his off-speed pitches, and especially his change-up, all day to prevent much solid contact. The Jays were so off balance from those pitches that they let several 86mph fastballs over the heart of the plate get by them.

The Jays managed to threaten in the fourth, thanks to some adventurous base running. Cavan Biggio singled, then advanced to second on a fielder’s choice. Guerrero hit a ball hard, but right at Kevin Kiermaier in centre field. With Travis Shaw at bat, Biggio broke for third before Yarborough had entered his windup before turning around and trying to get back to second. Yarborough made a bad throw, leading to an awkward looking collision between Biggio sliding back into the bag and Willy Adames attempting to cover. Biggio was safe, and Yarborough’s focus seemed to slip for a moment, causing him to walk Travis Shaw. Randal Grichuk hit a hard grounder back to the mound on the next pitch, which Yarborough was able to knock down but not catch, loading the bases. Teoscar Hernandez nearly broke the game open with a deep fly to centre field, but Kiermaier was able to bring it in to end the inning.

Matt Shoemaker was able to match him pitch for pitch for five innings. He had a little trouble in the first, with a slapped grounder against the shift getting Brandon Lowe on and a line drive single by Yandy Diaz moving him over to third, but was able to get out of it thanks to a pop-out by Ji-Man Choi and a nice shoetop catch of a low Joey Wendle liner by Santiago Espinal. He mostly cruised for the next four innings, although Kevin Kiermaier gave the Jays a scare with a fly ball to the wall in left field in the fifth inning. Rays’ catcher Michael Perez lead off the sixth by working a walk. He was lifted for a pinch runner, Michael Brosseau, who immediately scored on a Ji-Man Choi double to the wall in the left field gap. Brosseau doesn’t look like a pinch runner (he’s listed at 5’10” and 215), and he nearly blew a tire rounding third, but he was able to get the job done. Shoemaker then got Brandon Lowe to strike out on a nasty splitter on the outside corner and back to back groundouts from Diaz and Yoshi Tsutsugo.

All in all, Shoemaker went 6 innings, allowing one run on 3 hits and 2 walks, striking out 4. I’ll take that every day from my starter, and I’m glad Reese McGuire was able to eventually score to allow him to avoid a hard luck loss.

AJ Cole worked a clean inning of relief in the seventh, but needed luck to do it. Joey Wendle and Manuel Margot hit towering flies to the track, and Kiermaier hit a sharp grounder over the second base bag that would have been a single if Bo Bichette hadn’t been shifted behind the base.

Sam Gaviglio came in for the eighth. It stated promisingly, with a K of Willy Adames on a high fastball. Then Mike Zunino, hitting for Brosseau, poked a soft line single to centre. Hunter Renfroe came in to run for him. Gaviglio then walked Choi and gave up a back breaking two run triple to Lowe. The game was pretty much over at this point, but Gaviglio compounded the damage by balking Lowe home and walking Diaz on four pitches. It was a brutal meltdown to watch. Brian Moran was brought in to stop the bleeding, and was able to strike Tsutsugo out and get Joey Wendle to to ground out softly.

On the hitting side, there wasn’t a lot to report. The Jays seem to struggle against junk ballers, and today was no exception. As a squad they managed eight hits and two walks against five strikeouts.

Reese McGuire (C) crushed a home run to right field of Rays reliever Peter Fairbanks in the seventh. He grounded out his other three times up.
Cavan Biggio (2B) was the other hitter who had a good day, with two line drive singles through the shift and a walk. His other time out he flied out to the track.
Lourdes Gurriel jr. (LF) lined a single to left that was almost robbed by a beautiful dive from Brandon Lowe. He also flied out to the track, popped out and grounded out.
Vlad Guerrero Jr. (DH) smashed a ground ball single that almost drilled Gurriel running from first to second base, and lined out hard.
Travis Shaw (1B) singled, walked, and made a very nice diving grab to help Moran end the eighth inning.
Randal Grichuk (CF) singled on a ground ball of Yarborough’s glove
Bo Bichette singled in the seventh inning.
Teoscar Hernandez (RF) went hitless with one strikeout each. Santiago Espinal, making his MLB debut, did the same, but at least chipped in a nice catch at third. He was pinch hit for in the seventh inning by Joe Panik, who struck out and grounded out.

There was some typical Rays weirdness in the game today. Some of it worked and some didn’t. On the positive side, they made use of carrying three catchers by pinch hitting for both Michael Perez and Mike Zunino, relying on Kevan Smith to catch the ninth. It’s uncommen to see a team voluntarily put themselves in a position where they have not catchers on the bench, but it worked out well here. Both pinch runners scored from first on extra base hits.

On the less effective side, they played a four man outfield against Cavan Biggio, with two fielders shifted towards first base and one covering the bunt towards third. Biggio’s as good a candidate for that treatment as any player in baseball. Last season, among players who took at least 300 PA, only Mike Trout hit a lower percentage of ground balls, and only 24 hitters pulled the ball more often. You can be pretty sure that a grounder to third or short isn’t coming with Biggio at bat, so moving the third baseman out to catch flies in the outfield might be a smart trade-off. Today, though, Biggio was able to just hit liners right through the shift and work a walk. There’s really no defending against that.

Jays of the Day: Shoemaker (0.167 WPA) and McGuire (0.121) had the number, and I’ll throw one to Biggio as well for getting on 3 times.

Suckage: Sam Gaviglio (-0.364) richly deserves this one. Gricuk and Hernandez also had the number, but really the entire offense with the exception of the two guys mentioned above should share the dishonour.

DangYouToHeck lead us down to defeat this afternoon.

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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.

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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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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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