TORONTO – After sweeping one of their most exciting series in years, the vibes were good for the Toronto Blue Jays, but the bullpen was depleted.
Closer Jeff Hoffman and reliever Braydon Fisher were unavailable — and others were best avoided after a taxing four-game sweep over the New York Yankees. A win in the series opener against the Los Angeles Angels would be hard to come by under the circumstances, but the Blue Jays have been playing exceptionally well of late, with sound defence, big hits and a willingness to put the needs of the team first.
If they could only generate enough offence to provide the bullpen with some breathing room, then maybe they could support another strong start from Eric Lauer and find a way to win once again. On a day Vladimir Guerrero Jr. was out of the starting lineup and Andrés Giménez left early due to an apparent injury, the lineup was depleted, too, but how about a walk-off sac bunt in extra innings?
Thanks to Ernie Clement, that’s exactly what happened in this one, as the Blue Jays beat the Angels 4-3 in 10 innings to improve to 50-38 on the season. With the win, the Blue Jays extend their winning streak to six and expand their AL East lead to 2.0 games over the Yankees, who lost earlier in the day.
Sustainable? Not exactly, but then again, these wins are banked and that puts the Blue Jays in an enviable position as clear buyers with a chance at their first division title in a decade.
And in a way, it’s perfectly on brand for the Blue Jays to walk this off on a sac bunt. They’re now tied for the MLB lead with 20 — partly a reflection of personnel and the close games they’ve been playing and partly a reflection that this team plays for each other, not simply for personal numbers.
Lauer’s performance deserves some recognition, too. The left-hander relied heavily on his slider and cutter to pitch a season-high six-plus innings, holding the Angels to two runs on just three hits while striking out six.
To be fair to Lauer, his line could have looked a lot cleaner if Nick Sandlin hadn’t allowed two of Lauer’s inherited runners to score on a majestic three-run homer by Jo Adell. But on a night the Toronto bullpen was well below full strength, the Blue Jays needed others to step up, including Sandlin.
Brendon Little, Yariel Rodríguez and Chad Green combined to keep the Angels off the board from the eighth inning onward and if the game had continued, recently recalled Lazaro Estrada looked to be the next arm up.
As for Giménez, he pulled awkwardly into third base in the sixth, reaching on a single earlier in the inning. Soon afterwards, the Blue Jays pulled him from the game and replaced him with Leo Jiménez, but the situation is at least a little concerning as Giménez twisted his ankle on a tag play at second base just two days ago.
Guerrero Jr., meanwhile, got a rare day off after fouling a ball off his right foot in Thursday’s series finale against the Yankees. As manager John Schneider put it: “Got to get the big boy off his feet at some point,” and Friday was a logical time to do so.
With Clement at the plate in the 10th inning, Guerrero Jr. stood on deck to bat for Will Wagner if needed, an indication his foot had improved. But thanks to the dramatic finish, the Blue Jays managed to extend their winning streak without him.
