Things worth mentioning

• Tonight, we got the old Marco Estrada. He threw 42 changeups and got 9 swings and misses, something he hasn’t been able to do much all season. His whiff rate on the change coming into tonight was just 16.42 percent, down from 19.88 last season, 22.77 in 2016 and 20.19 percent as a starter in 2015. It’s no surprise that he pitched effectively in the seventh, allowing seven hits, and three earned runs while striking out six and not walking a batter for the first time all season. His line would have looked better if not for the back-to-back-to-back doubles surrendered in the seventh, two of which with exit velocities of under 90 MPH and hit probabilities of just 42% and 27%. Needless to say, with the rotation being in the shape that it is, Estrada needs to have more outings like tonight’s.
• A’s starter (and old friend!) Brett Anderson left the game before throwing a pitch in the second inning and the Blue Jays still couldn’t find a way to win, even though the A’s already threw a bullpen game yesterday. The five Oakland relievers struck out 15 Blue Jays over eight innings and only allowed four hits, just one of which went for extra bases. They were dominated by the likes of Josh Lucas and Danny Coulombe, both extremely real baseball players that I definitely have heard of.
• So now we’re down to one game below .500, which we would have taken at this time last year, but I don’t think comparing anything from this time last year is a sign of good things. Oh well, onto the next one!