GAME 106, JULY THIRTY-FIRST:
CHISOX 7, JAYS 6:
ESTRADA GEM SPOILED BY
SECOND BULLPEN BUST IN THREE DAYS
Backed by a three-homer outburst and the opportunistic exploitation of a terrible Chicago collision in the field, Marco Estrada appeared to have completed the job of righting himself tonight with seven brilliant innings of one-run, four-hit pitching. After the dramatic finish of Sunday's finale against the Angels in Toronto, an efficient shutdown of the struggling…
GAME 105, JULY THIRTIETH:
JAYS 11, ANGELS 10:
SLAM-A-PALOOZA! PEARCE DOES IT AGAIN
AS JAYS STUN ANGELS WITH COMEBACK
A game that started this afternoon with a disappointing fall off the pedestal by the newest Blue Jay resurrection project, Cesar Valdez, ended with a most improbable ninth-inning seven-run comeback, capped by, whoever has heard of such a thing, Steve Pearce's second walkoff grand slam home run for his team within a week. As we…
GAME 104, JULY TWENTY-NINTH:
ANGELS 6, JAYS 5:
BULLPEN IMPLOSION SPOILS
LIRIANO’S POSSIBLE LAST STAND AS A JAY
There was plenty of motivation today for the Blue Jays to put last night's flat performance behind them and get back on the winning track for the last two games of this home stand. It's a crucial stretch for the team, if only because these seven home games against teams playing under .500 ball represent…
GAME 103, JULY TWENTY-EIGHTH:
PARKER BRIDWELL SHUTS DOWN JAYS
TO END STREAK AT FOUR
How does a team play as well as Toronto did sweeping the Oakland A's this week, and then turn in such a dispirited performance that they were shut down by another no-name pitcher hurling for a team with a record almost as mediocre as their own? Well, Friday night they did it when Jay Happ…
GAME 102, JULY TWENTY-SEVENTH:
JAYS 8, ATHLETICS 4:
PEARCE PIERCES A’S BALLOON:
TENTH-INNING SLAM SEALS SERIES SWEEP
In a fitting end to what may have been the strangest game of the year, Steve Pearce hit a walkoff grand slam home run today in the bottom of the tenth inning to beat the Oakland Athletics 8 to 4, to sweep the four-game series against Oakland and start their seven-game home stand off on…
GAME 101, JULY TWENTY-SIXTH:
JAYS 3, ATHLETICS 2:
NINTH-INNING THUNDER
KEEPS SWEEP IN ORDER
Maybe the Toronto Blue Jays should just start their games with the second inning, since their first inning pattern seems carved in stone. For the opponents: multiple base runners, a pitcher who can't find the plate, one or several runs, rarely none, but always way too many pitches, guaranteeing a short start and more work…
GAME 100, JULY TWENTY-FIFTH:
JAYS 4, ATHLETICS 1:
GOINS, GRAY CONTRIBUTE TO
VALDY’S BIG DAY
As I was saying yesterday about Chris Smith (Oakland version), the career minor-league pitcher is part of the bedrock of major league baseball. Without the system of minor leagues, there would be no way for teams to develop the raw talent that they sign and bring it along to the point where it can be…
GAME 99, JULY TWENTY-FOURTH:
JAYS 4, ATHLETICS 2:
LIRIANO REBOUNDS, BULLPEN STEPS UP
I hate to keep reverting to Yogi-isms, but it looked like “déjà vu all over again” after the top of the first inning of tonight's home stand opener between Toronto and the equally-struggling Oakland Athletics. Francisco Liriano, whose last two starts for Toronto had totalled three and two thirds innings, walked a couple, gave up…
GAMES 97-98, JULY 22ND, 23RD:
CLEVELAND 2-8, JAYS 1-1:
HOW DO YOU SPELL NADIR?
THE ANATOMY OF A SAD WEEKEND
Anybody who says all you need is a good night's sleep is a liar. The last pitch of Saturday night's Cleveland-Toronto game was deposited far up into the right field seats by Francisco Lindor in the tenth inning to give Cleveland a 2-1 win over Toronto. Sunday afternoon, after a quick and dreary Toronto first…
GAME 96, JULY TWENTY-FIRST:
CLEVELAND 13, JAY 3:
END OF THE LINE?
EDWIN LEADS ROUT OF FORMER MATES
I had to check the calendar tonight to make sure it was still July, and we hadn't jumped ahead to October: after tonight's embarrassing loss in Cleveland, it's clear that the Jays' turkey of a 2017 season is cooked and ready to eat. Bring on the cranberries and pumpkin pie! Here are the facts: the…