Daulton Varsho showed he can hit left-handed pitching, Chris Bassitt struggled in his Blue Jays debut, and more as Toronto fell to the Cardinals
5 months ago
The Blue Jays are now 0-2 when I’m scheduled to do the post-game article.
On Sunday afternoon, the Jays lost their second in a row to the Cardinals by the final score of 9-4. Let’s look at the player of the game, as well as things worth mentioning.
Blue Jays Nation’s player of the game: Matt Chapman
In Saturday’s game, Chapman committed an error leading to three runs, eventually sinking the Blue Jays.
Well, the 29-year-old third baseman rebounded Sunday afternoon, going 3-4 with an RBI. Moreover, two of his hits were of the extra base variety. Chapman also had a game-high exit velocity of 111.4 mph.
Not just that, but Chapman also made a solid play diving to his right, before a strong throw to first retired the runner.
Let’s look at things worth mentioning.
Things worth mentioning:
Chris Bassitt was not good on Sunday afternoon. There’s no getting around it, his line of 3.1 IP, 10 H, 9 ER, 0 BB, 0 K, and 4 HR iss not good enough. His velocity also remains nearly two miles per hour lower than last season. While he wasn’t good on Sunday, it’s no cause for concern at the moment, but it’s something to monitor as the season continues.
Daulton Varsho had a pretty impressive game as well. For a guy that “can’t hit left-handed pitching” his 2-4 game was rather solid. Splits change from year to year, and while his .221/.250/.303 slash line in 129 plate appearances was poor in 2022, his .293/.356/.463 slash line in 90 plate appearances in 2021 was fantastic. He also made a pretty darn good catch in centre field.
Trevor Richards had the only strikeouts for the Blue Jays on Sunday afternoon. He pitched two innings, allowing two hits (one of the infield variety), hit Jordan Walker, walked a guy, but struck out three. Batters swung 11 times on his changeup, but he generated seven swings and misses. As I said in this article, he definitely earned his spot on the roster.
Whit Merrifield had two RBIs on Sunday afternoon. The first was on a sac fly in the second inning, while the second was on a base hit to make the game 9-4. Anyway, here’s a video of him chasing the ball like a man chasing a bouncing beer pong ball.
The Blue Jays have yet to hit a home run three games into the season. They’ve scored 15 runs in the three games, but it is a bit concerning that they haven’t knocked one out of the park. Vladimir Guerrero Jr.’s double was the closest on Sunday afternoon.
The Blue Jays return to action on Monday evening, as they head to the opposite side of Missouri to play the Kansas City Royals (yes, they play in Missouri, not Kansas). José Berríos is the expected starter for the first game, before Yusei Kikuchi toes the rubber for the second.
As always, you can follow me on Twitter and Instagram @Brennan_L_D.
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