Alejandro Kirk stays red-hot as the Jays shutout the Royals for the second consecutive night
By Scott Ony
1 year agoIf there is one thing that has been consistent on this year’s edition of the Toronto Blue Jays, it’s that every time Alek Manoah takes the mound they have a chance to win the game.
After scoring two early runs in the second, the offense was cold for much of the game but plated three in the seventh and two in the ninth to give Jordan Romano a 7-0 lead. In a rare non-save appearance, Romano had a scoreless ninth to seal the game for the Blue Jays.
The Jays improved to 33-22 on the season and 11-2 over their last 13.
Things Worth Mentioning…
- Depth hitting continues to get it done for the Jays. The five through eight hitters were 9-17 with three RBIs and four runs scored. Alejandro Kirk led the way with his second career four-hit game. Kirk is now hitting .365 since May 1st with an OPS of 1.040. Not to be outdone, Santiago Espinal was 3-4 including his team leading 16th double. Matt Chapman continued his hot streak with this rope to left field to open the scoring.
- Raimel Tapia joined in on the fun in the seventh, slicing a double to left-center to score a smiling Espinal from first.
- Bo Bichette did it all on Tuesday. Despite going 2-2 with three BB, his most impressive play came in the field. With the Royals threatening in the second inning, Bichette climbed the ladder to rob Emmanuel Rivera of a base hit and easily doubled off Carlos Santana. After a difficult April, Bichette has returned to form at the plate and shown he is capable of playing stellar defence.
- Manoah didn’t consistently have his best stuff tonight but he made pitches when he needed to. He went six innings and struck out four to earn his MLB leading tenth quality start. Although he allowed six hits (all singles) and three walks, he pitched out of jams and left hitters clueless more than once. All of his four strikeouts were looking and other than an excellent frame job by Alejandro Kirk on the first one, they were perfect pitches that started off the plate, making hitters look foolish.
- The bullpen did it again. For the second straight night, they were near perfect. Yimi Garcia, David Phelps, and Jordan Romano each threw an inning. Their only baserunner allowed was a Carlos Santana walk in the ninth. That’s now seven scoreless innings by seven different pitchers out of the pen this series.
POINTSBET IS LIVE IN ONTARIO
Recent articles from Scott Ony
