TORONTO – A second consecutive win against the Orioles doesn’t fundamentally change the Blue Jays’ position in the American League playoff race, but it sure beats the alternative.
Now 30-32, the Blue Jays are again within striking distance of the .500 mark thanks to a commanding performance from Yusei Kikuchi, a Vladimir Guerrero Jr. three-run home run and some add-on runs from the bottom of the batting order.
Considering where the Blue Jays were following a 10-1 loss to Baltimore a couple of days ago, these two wins were crucial to restoring some balance. And this latest win – 6-5 in front of 39,215 at Rogers Centre on Thursday – even came relatively smoothly.
It all started with Kikuchi, who felt he got a little too predictable with his pitch selection in his previous start against the Pirates. After that outing, he resolved to mix up his pitches more to keep the Orioles off-balance and it worked, as he allowed only one run in six innings of work.
Intent on keeping Baltimore’s hitters guessing, the left-hander threw all four of his pitches at least 10 times, an approach that allowed him to generate a remarkable 21 swinging strikes. His fastball topped out at 98.1 m.p.h. and his breaking stuff, which caught too much of the plate against Pittsburgh, was better located this time.
All told, Kikuchi struck out six while walking one and allowing just one run – one of the two home runs hit by Baltimore’s switch-hitting catcher, Adley Rutschman. He lowered his season ERA to 3.48, and the Blue Jays won one of his starts for the first time since April 22, ending a streak of seven losses, including three quality starts.
After six innings from Kikuchi, the Blue Jays turned it over to the bullpen, and following a clean inning from Nate Pearson, Zach Pop allowed Rutschman’s second home run of the day, which shrunk the lead to three and forced Yimi Garcia into duty for the ninth.
A pinch-hit home run from Ryan O’Hearn closed the gap to one before Garcia closed things out, and he’s now pitched on consecutive days, which puts his availability in question Friday when the Blue Jays open a road trip through Oakland and Milwaukee with a game against the A’s. If needed, Chad Green could close in place of Garcia, but that’s a problem for another day.
Offensively, Guerrero Jr. led the Blue Jays against Orioles left-hander Cade Povich, who was making his MLB debut. Along with the three-run homer Guerrero Jr. hit in the third inning, he added a single off the right field wall and a walk, raising his season OPS to .814.
In the fourth inning, Isiah Kiner-Falefa drove home Daulton Varsho with a blooper to right and two innings later an Ernie Clement single to left field allowed the Blue Jays to score two valuable insurance runs.
Still, there were some notably quiet performances, too, as Bo Bichette was hitless in four at-bats and George Springer grounded out four times. As the Blue Jays seek more offence, they’re considering different strategies, including Guerrero Jr. at third base, more days off for struggling veterans and a possible promotion for triple-A infielder Spencer Horwitz.
For now, a series that started poorly ends well for the Blue Jays, who have a little momentum as they head west. Here’s the thing, though. As encouraging as these last two days were, it’s not like the Blue Jays gained meaningfully by splitting against Baltimore. They treaded water, which, considering the opponent, is just fine.
But in Oakland this weekend the Blue Jays face a sub-.500 team for the only time this month. If they’re ever going to make meaningful gains in the standings, this would be the time to do it.
