SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Just beyond the left-centre field wall at Sutter Health Park, beside the out-of-use barbecue and the pallet of industrial-strength dishwashing liquid, you’ll find the visiting clubhouse.
It’s functional, rather than glamorous, with cramped quarters and folding chairs bearing the logo of the stadium’s co-residents, the Sacramento River Cats. This is a temporary home for the Athletics between stints in Oakland and Las Vegas — and you can tell.
But these games still count, so give the Blue Jays credit for taking advantage of a free-falling Athletics team on the way to a 7-6 win Friday night. Along the way, the Blue Jays registered a couple of significant milestones — the 1,000th hit of Vladimir Guerrero Jr.’s career and Max Scherzer’s first win with the Blue Jays.
With a result like that, and just two games remaining before the all-star break, it’s a little easier to overlook the questionable playing conditions that aggrieved Athletics starter Luis Severino and the stifling first pitch temperature of 36 C, or 96 Fahrenheit. Now 55-39, the Blue Jays are tied with the Cubs and Astros for the third-best record in baseball, trailing only the Tigers and Dodgers.
After an off day Thursday, the Blue Jays’ bullpen could have withstood a short start from Scherzer if needed, but pitching on an extra day of rest, the right-hander put together one of his best starts as a Blue Jay, holding the Athletics scoreless until the sixth inning and striking out eight.
He set season highs with 90 pitches and six innings, an indication that his troublesome right thumb was feeling a little better. While Athletics sluggers Nick Kurtz and Tyler Soderstrom took Scherzer deep in his final inning of work, this was still a major step in the right direction for the 40-year-old on the way to his first MLB win since July 25th of last year.
Next up, Scherzer will get a chance to rest over the all-star break before beginning the second half with some of the momentum that eluded him for so much of the early part of the season.
After Scherzer’s departure, relievers Braydon Fisher, Brendon Little and Yariel Rodriguez each held the Athletics scoreless before Jeff Hoffman allowed three runs in a 33-pitch ninth to make it a one-run game that felt a little too close for comfort.
Offensively, the Blue Jays did what they should against Severino and a pitching staff that ranks 29th among the 30 MLB teams with a 5.29 ERA. Most of their production came in a six-run fifth inning, though it was small ball, rather than home run power, that chased Severino from the game and gave the Blue Jays the lead.
After George Springer reached on an error, Guerrero Jr. singled to right for the 1,000th hit of his big-league career. It’s a meaningful achievement for any player, and especially impressive for a 26-year-old partway through his seventh MLB season.
Soon after reaching first, Guerrero Jr. stole second and when the Athletics tried to catch him, Springer bolted home from third for a steal of his own. That set in motion a six-run rally that also featured RBI singles from Addison Barger, Alejandro Kirk and Myles Straw, a late replacement for Joey Loperfido, who fell ill.
Barger and Straw would later steal bases of their own, as the Blue Jays continued playing effective small ball — though with two games remaining in one of baseball’s most hitter-friendly environments, the Blue Jays have a couple more chances to show off some power.
In the meantime, the Blue Jays are doing enough other things well. Scherzer’s looking as good as he has all year and the offence found a way to put up seven with small ball, so after taking their first loss in 11 games Wednesday, the Blue Jays now have a new winning streak in the works.
