NEW YORK — In recent days the Toronto Blue Jays have described the switch in their play over the past few games after an extended skid in different ways. John Schneider used the word urgent. Kevin Gausman echoed that and said there was a realization of where they are and what’s at stake. Teoscar Hernandez sees the team playing together more effectively. Ross Stripling called it an understanding that they can’t simply out-talent other clubs.
However it’s framed, what’s been clear is that the Blue Jays have been far more in control of the play during what’s now a four-game winning streak after Saturday’s 5-2 win over the sliding New York Yankees than they were during the 3-9 stretch that preceded it.
“It’s a real thing,” Schneider said before his team triumphed in the on-paper mismatch between Mitch White and Gerrit Cole. “If you’re dictating the pace of the game on either end it just allows you to do things you’re more comfortable with. It allows guys to come in out of the bullpen at the right time.
“If you can score early, if you can get good starting pitching, things usually fall into place the way you have them planned.”
By and large that’s happened in recent days, although Saturday’s victory definitely featured a healthy dose of can’t-predict-ball, too.
Through the first four innings, Cole didn’t allow a hit and faced only two batters over the minimum, while White was in constant traffic, forced to navigate around seven hits and constant pressure.
That might have been expected but the Yankees, now 3-14 in their last 17 games, managed just one run despite the disparity in offence and the Blue Jays’ relentlessness at the plate broke through in the fifth.
Santiago Espinal lined a double off the left-field wall to break up Cole’s no-hit bid and Danny Jansen then shrunk his zone to work a critical four-pitch walk. Jackie Bradley Jr., followed with his biggest moment with the Blue Jays so far by lining a two-run double into the right-field corner for a 2-1 lead.
“Huge at-bats by both of those guys,” said Bradley. “Danny kind of wore him down a little bit, mound visit and I knew he wanted to get ahead early. I swung at the first pitch my first at bat so I wanted to see a pitch and then from there I wanted to be aggressive with my pitch, get something I can handle, and I was able to put a good swing on it.”
Pivotally, they kept the heat on, with some help from the BABIP gods, as Raimel Tapia and Vladimir Guerrero Jr., both reached on infield singles to load the bases for Alejandro Kirk, who on the sixth pitch of the at-bat pummelled a 99.6 m.p.h. fastball to left centre for a two-run double.
Guerrero, only a few feet behind Tapia who had to hold at second in case the ball was caught, was thrown out at the plate on the plate a hair after the speedy outfielder slid in safely.
By the time the inning was over, the Blue Jays had the game firmly in their grasp, with a crowd of 45,538 restless and booing their ace right-hander. One of them stood up and extended his middle finger at the Yankees dugout while shouting many words starting with the letter ‘f.’
Tough town.
“Guys worked the count,” said Bradley. “We were able to get some good swings. Obviously, Gerrit’s a really tough competitor, a very good pitcher and I felt like we were able to put together some good at-bats on him towards the middle of the game and made them count.”
The Yankees, of course, did not and the Blue Jays knew such misery at the beginning of this week, underlining how quickly things can turn.
That’s why Yankees manager Aaron Boone was slamming the table in his post-game availability afterwards, saying, “we’ve got to play better, period, and the great thing is it’s right in front of us. It’s right here. And we can fix it.”
Cole criticized himself for letting a good start – helped by Aaron Judge’s leaping catch by the right-field wall on a Bichette drive, likely stealing a home run – slip away by not attacking Jansen and failing to field the Guerrero grounder.
“When you’re going well, sometimes you cover those mistakes,” he said, “and when you’re not you just have to be crisp.”
Over the past four games the Blue Jays have been just that, the completeness of their play changing the tide.
Stripling’s return from the injured list with six perfect innings Wednesday along with a crucial Bo Bichette barehanded play on a Ryan Mountcastle infield ball helped set the stage for a breakthrough and that level of attention to detail has followed since.
“You started to hear guys say like, look, we’ve got to … like we got to do the little things and we need to shore up the defence, we need to fill up the strike zone, the basic things, which sounds so corny, but we’ve got to do it,” said Stripling. “You can’t show up and expect Vladdy to hit a three-run homer every night or for Gausman to go seven shutty every night. Baseball isn’t going to work that way. You need everyone on board with the process — once again, super corny — but that’s what it takes to win at this level, down a stretch in a playoff race. You started to see that the last couple days. That’s what good teams do and you’re starting to see that.”
White, making his first start since displacing Yusei Kikuchi in the rotation, did a strong job of limiting damage, helped by five strikeouts. After the Blue Jays took the lead, Adam Cimber — the first of five relievers — struck out Aaron Judge leading off the bottom half to start a three-up, three-out shutdown frame.
“Obviously not ideal to have all that action going on the bases, but made pitches when we had to,” White said of his four-inning, seven-hit, one-run outing. “In that situation with the way Gaus pitched the other night, and (Jose Berrios) too, there’s a fresh ‘pen, so it’s just my job to keep those first few innings as clean as possible, never give in and we got to the ‘pen.”
David Phelps and Anthony Bass each followed with a scoreless inning and, after Zach Pop allowed a Gleyber Torres solo shot in the eighth and Matt Chapman responded with one of his own in the ninth, Yimi Garcia — with Jordan Romano down after back-to-back days — closed out the ninth.
“They know they’re really good,” Schneider said of his team. “The Chappy homer was awesome in the ninth inning to kind of just say, ‘OK, yeah, we’re here.’ So they’re not going to back down from anybody.”
Under the circumstances, the Blue Jays couldn’t have mapped out the game any better, seizing control and then dictating the outcome.
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.
