CINCINNATI – In some ways, Friday night was just an exaggerated version of the Blue Jays’ 2023 season.
Their pitching was generally incredible, their hitting was virtually non-existent and the game felt tense from start to finish.
Welcome to the stretch run. Get ready for six more weeks of this. And if all goes well, maybe more.
One thing is certain: the Blue Jays haven’t built themselves nearly enough of a cushion to relax.
A ninth-inning walk-off home run by Christian Encarnacion-Strand off of Jordan Hicks gave the Reds a 1-0 win over the Blue Jays at Great American Ballpark Friday on a night the visitors collected just three hits.
Including Friday’s game, the Blue Jays have 40 games remaining on their schedule. A 23-17 finish would get them to 90 wins while the Mariners, who began play just 0.5 games behind the Blue Jays, would need 24 wins to reach 90 on the season.
For context, 86 wins were needed to reach the playoffs in the AL last year, the first time MLB expanded the playoffs to six teams per league. Meanwhile, the Phillies qualified as the last NL wild card team with 87 wins only to advance to the World Series.
But of course that’s just one year under MLB’s new format and it’s entirely possible the bar will be higher in 2023. With that in mind, the Blue Jays simply need as many wins as possible.
Starter Jose Berrios pitched characteristically well Friday, holding the Reds hitless until the sixth inning while striking out eight. He lost the zone at times, walking four, but it’s hard to complain about a scoreless outing that saw the right-hander’s season ERA drop to 3.39.
Left-hander Genesis Cabrera induced a grounder from Joey Votto to escape the sixth, and Yimi Garcia pitched a scoreless seventh, though he did have some help. With one on and one out in the sixth, Will Benson popped a ball up to first base, where Vladimir Guerrero Jr. let it drop intentionally before starting a 3-4-6 double play.
Later, Erik Swanson would hold the Reds scoreless before giving way to Hicks, who allowed the big swing to Encarnacion-Strand.
Before the game, the Blue Jays activated the first of their reinforcements weekend, reinstating Kevin Kiermaier and Trevor Richards from the injured list. Kiermaier returned to centre field, going hitless in three at-bats, while Richards was available out of the bullpen, where his trademark change-up will give the Blue Jays flexibility against both lefties and righties.
After a successful rehab stint at triple-A Buffalo, Bo Bichette will be the next player to return to the Blue Jays. Bichette (patellar tendonitis in the right knee) was slated to travel to Cincinnati Friday with plans to start Saturday. Initially, he’ll DH at times, but the Blue Jays anticipate a full workload at shortstop within 10 days or so.
On Saturday, the Blue Jays will turn to Chris Bassitt while the Reds counter with Brandon Williamson. Maybe then, the offence will come a little more easily and the stress levels can finally drop a little.
