Sports
Vlad Guerrero Jr., and the Blue Jays stick it to the Yankees in series opener
Take, for example, Guerrero’s off-season assertions that he likes “to play in New York and kill the Yankees” and that he “would never sign with the Yankees, not even dead.” The Jays’ Gold Glove first baseman re-iterated those remarks to reporters in New York prior to Friday’s game and then became one of the lead characters in their first meeting of the season.
While he shook off the initial blow, the shot didn’t sit well with Guerrero. As he walked slowly to first base, he glared at the Yankees dugout and at first baseman Anthony Rizzo though umpires intervened before more trouble could ignite.
Don’t be surprised if there are some more fireworks as the three-game weekend series unfolds, however, starting with a potentially explosive Saturday afternoon matchup. That’s when Jays starter Alek Manoah’s developing verbal feud with Yankees ace Gerrit Cole moves centre stage, especially since each are getting the start for their respective teams.
Heading into their first of 13 meetings this season — reduced from 19 with the new balanced schedule — the Jays were 24-24 against the Yankees dating back to the start of the 2020 season. That included an 8-11 mark in 2022, 5-5 in the Bronx.
With the win on Friday, the Jays pulled even with the Yankees at 12-8, four games behind the division-leading Rays.
KIKUCHI ROLLS
It was another effective outing from Kikuchi as the Japanese lefty scattered four hits and allowed just one run in six effective innings.
Kikuchi’s control was on point all game as he struck out three, including a big sixth-inning fanning of Yankees star Aaron Judge.
Kikuchi has pitched the Yankees well in his time as a Jays, holding batters to a .197 average in his six appearances last season.
For a season that started with Kikuchi heading to spring training having to earn the fifth starter’s spot, it’s been quite an emergence for the personable southpaw. And when stacked on a stellar outing by Jose Berrios in Houston on Wednesday, suddenly the back end of the rotation is showing some strength.
And how is this for the 2023 version of Kikuchi through four games: He’s 3-0 with a 3.80 ERA (21.1IP, 9ER) and 20 strikeouts and has gone six complete in each of his past two starts.
Guerrero may have zero interest in wearing Yankee pinstripes, but the Jays slugger loves to swing a bat in the Bronx.
His first-inning homer to get the series started was his 11th in 31 games in Yankee Stadium, his most in any big league park not named the Rogers Centre.
Guerrero’s latest was a two-run blast, cashing in a leadoff double from George Springer, who ended an 0-for-20 stretch at the plate.
While it was just the fourth homer of the season for Guerrero, it renewed his powerful performances at Yankee Stadium, including a three-homer effort last April.
His persistent baiting of the Yankees is turning into an amusing sideshow as well, a regular opportunity for Guerrero to show his personality. And when he backs it up at the plate, even better. After Friday’s game, Guerrero’s average on the season is a healthy .346.
IN THIS CORNER …
When it comes to Jays starter Manoah, we’ve never been a proponent of the “shut-up and pitch” crowd that thinks the big righty is too outspoken. Frankly, most in that group love his intensity when he’s out there winning ball games.
That said, what a juicy match-up in the Bronx on Saturday when Manoah looks to snap out of the worst stretch of his pro career while one of his major foils, Cole, gets the ball for the Yankees.
While both pitchers will be locked in — Manoah on returning to form, Cole on resuming one of the best early-season runs by a Yankees starter — expect fans in the Bronx to be fired up.
Manoah made comments to Cole last season, essentially challenging him to a brawl if the Yankees ace was interested in escalating things. The chirping carried into the off-season when Manoah labelled Cole as “one of the biggest cheaters in the game.”
He’s been fighting it so far, however, taking his 6.98 ERA into Saturday’s contest against Cole’s skimpy 0.95.
AROUND THE BASES
Belt struck out for the second time in the fourth inning — his 21st K in 41 trips — and then his form reversed dramatically. In the sixth inning he, uh, ‘belted’ his first home run as a Jay — another two-run blast — and then followed that with a two-run double in the eighth … With the win, the Jays have taken six of their past nine against the Yankees … The Jays improved to 8-6 on the road and 5-2 in series openers.
Sports
Canada’s Marina Stakusic falls in Guadalajara Open quarterfinals
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.
The Canadian Press. All rights reserved.
Sports
Kirk’s walk-off single in 11th inning lifts Blue Jays past Cardinals 4-3
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.
The Canadian Press. All rights reserved.
Sports
Stampeders return to Maier at QB eyeing chance to get on track against Alouettes
CALGARY – Mired in their first four-game losing skid in 20 years, the Calgary Stampeders are going back to Jake Maier at quarterback on Saturday after he was benched for a game.
It won’t be an easy assignment.
Visiting McMahon Stadium are the Eastern Conference-leading Montreal Alouettes (10-2) who own the CFL’s best record. The Stampeders (4-8) have fallen to last in the Western Conference.
“Six games is plenty of time, but also it is just six games,” said Maier. “We’ve got to be able to get on the right track.”
Calgary is in danger of missing the playoffs for the first time since 2004.
“I do still believe in this team,” said Stampeders’ head coach and general manager Dave Dickenson. “I want to see improvement, though. I want to see guys on a weekly basis elevating their game, and we haven’t been doing that.”
Maier is one of the guys under the microscope. Two weeks ago, the second-year starter threw four interceptions in a 35-20 home loss to the Edmonton Elks.
After his replacement, rookie Logan Bonner, threw five picks in last week’s 37-16 loss to the Elks in Edmonton, the football is back in Maier’s hands.
“Any time you fail or something doesn’t go your way in life, does it stink in the moment? Yeah. But then the days go on and you learn things about yourself and you learn how to prepare a little bit better,” said Maier. “It makes you mentally tougher.”
Dickenson wants to see his quarterback making better decisions with the football.
“Things are going to happen, interceptions will happen, but try to take calculated risks, rather than just putting the ball up there and hoping that we catch it,” said Dickenson.
A former quarterback himself, he knows the importance of that vital position.
“You cannot win without good quarterback play,” Dickenson said. “You’ve got to be able to make some plays — off-schedule plays, move-around plays, plays that break down, plays that aren’t designed perfectly, but somehow you found the right guy, and then those big throws where you’re taking that hit.”
But it’s going to take a team effort, and that includes the club’s receiving corp.
“We always have to band together because we need everything to go right for our receivers to get the ball,” said Nik Lewis, the Stampeders’ receivers coach. “The running back has to pick up the blitz, the o-line has to block, the quarterback has to make the right reads, and then give us a catchable ball.”
Lewis brings a unique perspective to this season’s frustrations as he was a 22-year-old rookie in Calgary in 2004 when the Stamps went 4-14 under coach Matt Dunigan. They turned it around the next season and haven’t missed the playoffs since.”
“Thinking back and just looking at it, there’s just got to be an ultimate belief that you can get it done. Look at Montreal, they were 6-7 last year and they’ve gone 18-2 since then,” said Lewis.
Montreal is also looking to rebound from a 37-23 loss to the B.C. Lions last week. But for head coach Jason Maas, he says his team’s mindset doesn’t change, regardless of what happened the previous week.
“Last year when we went through a four-game losing streak, you couldn’t tell if we were on a four-game winning streak or a four-game losing streak by the way the guys were in the building, the way we prepared, the type of work ethic we have,” said Maas. “All our standards are set, so that’s all we focus on.”
While they may have already clinched a playoff spot, Alouettes’ quarterback Cody Fajardo says this closing stretch remains critical because they want to finish the season strong, just like last year when they won their final five regular-season games before ultimately winning the Grey Cup.
“It doesn’t matter about what you do at the beginning of the year,” said Fajardo. “All that matters is how you end the year and how well you’re playing going into the playoffs so that’s what these games are about.”
The Alouettes’ are kicking off a three-game road stretch, one Fajardo looks forward to.
“You understand what kind of team you have when you play on the road because it’s us versus the world mentality and you can feel everybody against you,” said Fajardo. “Plus, I always tend to find more joy in silencing thousands of people than bringing thousands of people to their feet.”
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 13, 2024.
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