Sports

Teoscar homers twice, Jays beat Nationals – Bluebird Banter

Published

4 years ago

July 28, 2020

If you are only going to get seven hits in a game, making four of them home runs seems a good plan. Teoscar Hernandez (hitting leadoff for the late scratch Bo Bichette) hit the season pitch of the game for a home run. Rowdy Tellez and Danny Jansen both went deep in the fourth inning. And Teoscar hit his second one in the fifth inning.

It would have been nice if a couple of the home runs could have come with guys on base, but then we didn’t have many on base: Lourdes Gurriel doubled and Derek Fisher “tripled” (it was really an error by right-fielder Adam Eaton, but Eaton played the ball so badly that he didn’t get a glove on it, and scorers won’t award an error if your error is so bad you don’t get your glove on the ball. One of the very stupid things scorers do). Jansen singled in the ninth. And we had 3 walks, Tellez, Joe Panik and Fisher.

On the pitching side, Jays starter Trent Thornton should go out an by some lottery tickets. He gave up 8 hits and 2 walks in 5 inning but only allowed 1 run. It wasn’t like the hits were soft seeing eye things, he was hit pretty hard. He had base runners in every inning. In particular:

In the second: With one out, Eric Thames walked and Kurt Suzuki singled. Then Victor Robles hit one off the wall in right-center field but Thames decided to tag up. Even if it was going to be caught, it was the wrong play, you go halfway. But he tagged up so he only made it to third on the ball off the wall (this is the Eric Thames I remember playing for the Jays). So they had the bases loaded, with one out. Then Trent struck out Michael A. Taylor, and got Trea Turner to line out to center.
In the third: Eaton and Starlin Castro started off the inning with back-to-back singles, but Howie Kendrik ground one pretty hard right at Brandon Drury at third, who started a nice double play. A line out to Gurriel in left (he didn’t look confident in the catch) ended that inning.
In the fourth: Thames singled and scored on Kurt Suzuki’s double (Eric ran hard this time). Another single put runners on the corners with no outs. Taylor lined one hard right at Drury who made a great throw to first for the double play. Very very lucky.

A.J. Cole pitched the fifth. He got a bit of luck too. After a one-out single, Asdrubal Cabrera lined one, again hard, right at Vladimir Guerrero for a double play.

Ryan Borucki pitched an excellent sixth inning, two strikeouts and a fly out. He came back for the seven and got a pop out, but then seemed to tire. He gave up a single and a walk. Thankfully, this time, Charlie noticed his pitcher was tiring and took him out. A first for the season. Ryan got awarded the win. I really think they should get rid of the “starter has to pitch 5 innings to get the win thing” for this season. Ryan gets the win for 4 outs.

Jordan Romano got the last two outs of the inning.

Rafael Dolis pitched the eighth. He got some luck too. After a one-out Thames walk, Suzuki hit a ground ball that Santiago Espinal (just into the game as a defensive replacement (nice move Charlie) turned into a pretty double play.

Anthony Bass pitched a quick ninth making a nice play on a swinging bunt for the last out. He gets his first Blue Jays save.

Jays of the Day: Thornton had the number (.140 WPA), but really doesn’t deserve it. Romano (.117), Hernandez (.126) and Tellez (.096) earned their number. I’d like to give an honorable mention to Drury for his defense.

No suckage Jays. Drury had the low mark (-.071, but he got us two very nice double plays).

If we had some of this luck the last two days, we would be 4-0, but we’ll take what we can get.

Tomorrow Tanner Roark makes his first Jays start. Austin Voth starts for the Nationals.

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Sports

Cavaliers and free agent forward Isaac Okoro agree to 3-year, $38 million deal, AP source says

Published

9 hours ago

September 14, 2024

Anne Joseph

CLEVELAND (AP) — Restricted free agent forward Isaac Okoro has agreed to re-sign with the Cleveland Cavaliers on a three-year contract, a person familiar with the negotiations told The Associated Press on Saturday.

Okoro’s new deal is worth $38 million, according to the person who spoke to the AP on condition of anonymity because the contract has not been signed or announced by the team.

ESPN.com first reported the agreement, citing Okoro’s representation.

The fifth overall pick in the 2020 NBA draft, Okoro is Cleveland’s best perimeter defender, often drawing the assignment of guarding the opponent’s top scorer. Okoro also has worked to improve his offensive game.

The 23-year-old averaged 9.4 points and 3.0 rebounds in 69 games — 42 starts — last season for the Cavs, who beat Orlando in the opening round of the playoffs before losing to eventual champion Boston.

Okoro shot a career-best 39% on 3-pointers, forcing teams to come out and guard him.

His agreement caps an extraordinarily busy summer for the Cavs that began with coach J.B. Bickerstaff being fired and replaced by Kenny Atkinson. All-Star guard Donovan Mitchell signed a three-year, $150 million extension in July, ending months of speculation that he wanted out of Cleveland.

Also, power forward Evan Mobley signed a five-year, $224 deal and center Jarrett Allen signed a three-year, $91 million extension.

___

AP NBA:

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Canada’s Marina Stakusic falls in Guadalajara Open quarterfinals

Published

1 day ago

September 13, 2024

Anne Joseph

GUADALAJARA, Mexico – Canada’s Marina Stakusic fell 6-4, 6-3 to Poland’s Magdalena Frech in the quarterfinals of the Guadalajara Open tennis tournament on Friday.

The 19-year-old from Mississauga, Ont., won 61 per cent of her first-serve points and broke on just one of her six opportunities.

Stakusic had upset top-seeded Jelena Ostapenko of Latvia 6-3, 5-7, 7-6 (0) on Thursday night to advance.

In the opening round, Stakusic defeated Slovakia’s Anna Karolína Schmiedlová 6-2, 6-4 on Tuesday.

The fifth-seeded Frech won 62 per cent of her first-serve points and converted on three of her nine break point opportunities.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 13, 2024.

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Kirk’s walk-off single in 11th inning lifts Blue Jays past Cardinals 4-3

Published

1 day ago

September 13, 2024

Anne Joseph

TORONTO – Alejandro Kirk’s long single with the bases loaded provided the Toronto Blue Jays with a walk-off 4-3 win in the 11th inning of their series opener against the St. Louis Cardinals on Friday.

With the Cardinals outfield in, Kirk drove a shot off the base of the left-field wall to give the Blue Jays (70-78) their fourth win in 11 outings and halt the Cardinals’ (74-73) two-game win streak before 30,380 at Rogers Centre.

Kirk enjoyed a two-hit, two-RBI outing.

Erik Swanson (2-2) pitched a perfect 11th inning for the win, while Cardinals reliever Ryan Fernandez (1-5) took the loss.

Blue Jays starter Kevin Gausman enjoyed a seven-inning, 104-pitch outing. He surrendered his two runs on nine hits and two walks and fanned only two Cardinals.

He gave way to reliever Genesis Cabrera, who gave up a one-out homer to Thomas Saggese, his first in 2024, that tied the game in the eighth.

The Cardinals started swiftly with four straight singles to open the game. But they exited the first inning with only two runs on an RBI single to centre from Nolan Arendao and a fielder’s choice from Saggese.

Gausman required 28 pitches to escape the first inning but settled down to allow his teammates to snatch the lead in the fourth.

He also deftly pitched out of threats from the visitors in the fifth, sixth and seventh thanks to some solid defence, including Will Wagner’s diving stop, which led to a double play to end the fifth inning.

George Springer led off with a walk and stole second base. He advanced to third on Nathan Lukes’s single and scored when Vladimir Guerrero Jr. knocked in his 95th run with a double off the left-field wall.

Lukes scored on a sacrifice fly to left field from Spencer Horwitz. Guerrero touched home on Kirk’s two-out single to right.

In the ninth, Guerrero made a critical diving catch on an Arenado grounder to throw out the Cardinals’ infielder, with reliever Tommy Nance covering first. The defensive gem ended the inning with a runner on second base.

St. Louis starter Erick Fedde faced the minimum night batters in the first three innings thanks to a pair of double plays. He lasted five innings, giving up three runs on six hits and a walk with three strikeouts.

ON DECK

Toronto ace Jose Berrios (15-9) will start the second of the three-game series on Saturday. He has a six-game win streak.

The Cardinals will counter with righty Kyle Gibson (8-6).

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 13, 2024.

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