TORONTO – To be clear, this wasn’t the way the Blue Jays would have drawn it up.
They were a pitch away from losing two in a row to the Baltimore Orioles and extending their losing streak to six games. In fact, they were a pitch away on multiple occasions as Bo Bichette kept fouling off pitch after pitch from Tyler Wells with two out in the top of the ninth before finally flaring a bloop single into shallow left field to score two and tie the game 7-7.
Then Vladimir Guerrero Jr. stepped in to double home two more and give the Blue Jays their first lead since the early innings and Randal Grichuk added an insurance run with a double of his own. Finally, Jordan Romano closed things out with a clean ninth inning as the Blue Jays won 10-7 and improved to 34-35.
To say that the Blue Jays took the long way along the way would be generous, but it sure beats the alternative.
Early on, the Blue Jays positioned themselves well thanks to a leadoff homer from Marcus Semien – one of two he’d hit Saturday – and Guerrero Jr.’s 23rd of the season. But a promising start from Alek Manoah unraveled in the third after Mountcastle and DJ Stewart homered back to back.
When the next batter, Maikel Franco, took a Manoah fastball in the left shoulder, he exchanged words with Manoah and benches cleared. A scrum around home plate ensued and, while no punches were thrown, Manoah had been ejected by home plate umpire Roberto Ortiz by the time play resumed.
That the Blue Jays had not received a warning prior to the ejection appeared to frustrate manager Charlie Montoyo, but once the ejection had been made there was little recourse for the Blue Jays beyond warming up Anthony Kay and adjusting the pitching plans mid-game.
All told, Manoah allowed five earned runs in 3.1 innings while striking out six and allowing four home runs, but Kay didn’t fare much better with two home runs of his own allowed.
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More encouraging was the return of Lourdes Gurriel Jr., who began the day on the bench due to back spasms, but was able to pinch hit in the top of the seventh inning. A line drive off Gurriel Jr.’s bat appeared destined for centre field but, as has so often been the case of late, the Blue Jays failed to catch a break.
Second baseman Stevie Wilkerson made a great play and what might have been a single ended up as a double play. The next time up, however, Gurriel Jr. singled for a base hit that loaded the bases in the ninth inning and helped set up Bichette’s game-tying hit.
Those inclined toward optimism will note that the Blue Jays’ run differential remains much better than average at plus-40. And while that does nothing to change the Blue Jays’ current record, it does suggest the talent they’ve assembled is capable of outplaying its opponents going forward.
Add to that the fact that George Springer continues rehabbing at triple-A and it’s hard to believe a team with this much talent will continue playing so poorly. With plenty more games against the Marlins and Orioles on the schedule there’s still a chance to make up for some of these recent struggles and re-assert themselves in the American League playoff picture.
First things first, though: winning one against the Orioles was a small but necessary step.
