Some Really Nice Things: Jays Split Series with Yankees
That was a lot of baseball.
Thursday
Marco Estrada didn’t have it. The changeup- too much up not enough change. Baseball is hard.
“When they’re down I get swings and misses, when they’re up like that they get hit a long way,” Estrada said. “That’s basically what happened. I wasn’t really locating much, missed a lot of my spots actually.”
Estrada needed 29 pitches to get through the first inning, an inning in which the Yankees scored four times.
Aaron Judge hit a homer in the second, and nothing really got any better.
Estrada only lasted 3 2/3 innings, and was finally pulled when the Yankees were up 7-0.
12-2 was the final. Let's never speak of it again.
Friday
Francisco Liriano returned from the DL and was solid.
Liriano allowed just two runs against the scary Yankees offense. He struck out five with only two base on balls and allowed only two runs.
The two runs were courtesy of Aaron Judge, who hit a mammoth two run bomb that chased Liriano from the game.
Judge is impressive. There are even arty pictures of him available on Getty. Look!
He's large. He's agile. He plays catch with the local kids in the stands. He's swell.
You know who else is swell?
Josh Donaldson. Also, Josh Donaldson's two homer game.
"There's been some guys that have been doing that since before I even came [off the disabled list]," Donaldson said of the offense. "It's nice to be a part of it right now, and it's nice to see guys continue to have good at-bats and hitting balls out of the park."
Saturday
The optimism of Friday fizzled out on Saturday. Though the final was a painful 7-0, the game was actually a lot closer than the final score shows.
Four homers off a relief pitcher in the 8th will make a game look ugly, but Joe Biagini brought it.
Awkward questions surrounding roster moves and promotional Father’s Day grilling apron tie-ins may soon be upon us, but that will not be dwelled upon here.
The Jays' offense hung Joe Biagini out to dry and allowed some left handed Yankee shaped rookie own them. The third inning was the key to the game- with two on and none out, Jordan Montgomery got Josh Donaldson to fouled out and Bautista and Morales to strike out on curveballs.
Lost in this is that Joe Biagini pitched really, really well and has generally proven himself a very capable starter at the big league level. With Aaron Sanchez nearing a return from the DL, some are wondering where Biagini's place will be. He, of course, had something amusing to say:
"Everyone wants Aaron Sanchez to come back. I do, too, because he looks good in his jersey -- as we've talked about before. He's also really good at throwing baseballs, so I feel like we're a better team with that. I'm just trying to be really appreciative of the opportunity to go hang around on that mound every once in a while in whatever capacity."
Yes Network played Word Association:
His in depth discussion of Russell Martin's handsomeness is a highlight. As is Danny Barnes.
Sunday
From home, this game felt like a big deal. It is only June, but a series split with the first place Yankees would be a lot better than losing 3 of 4.
“I think we needed it,” Gibbons said. “It would have been a kick in the teeth had we not won that one and you lose three out of four at home. That’s never good.”
You said it, Skip.
Josh Donaldson hit the winning homer off Tyler Clippard late in the game.
“So it was kind of nice to be able to go out there and contribute and help the team win. We had a lot of guys do some really nice things today,” Donaldson said.
One of the guys was Justin Smoak, whose two run homer to support Marcus Stroman tied the game.
Justin Smoak has put together a very nice season offensively to go with his stellar defense and people have started to take notice of it, including Josh Donaldson.
“It’s amazing,” Donaldson said of Smoak’s season. “It’s every day and that’s what we need, we need guys that are gonna come and have great at-bats and professional at-bats all day.
“He’s in one of those zones right now that you could say that, when he’s getting those pitches to hit he’s very rarely missing it.”
General links of interest/ amusement from the weekend:
The best part of a dugout freakout is the flying gum, The second best part of a dugout freakout is the completely chill reactions from the others.
Bautista patiently waiting for a lull in the tantrum before engaging really shows that Bautista has lived with toddlers.
