Fearless Blue Jays split four-gamer against mammoth Yankees

Though rare, it is possible for losses to be fun. In the Blue Jays’ case, Sunday’s shattering 1-0 loss to the division-leading New York Yankees wasn’t nearly as disappointing as the score would suggest. One might even be able to call it somewhat “fun”.

Thanks to a smattering of offensive contributions from the entirety of the lineup, the Blue Jays were able to split a tough series against one of the American League’s most competitive squads. For a team that’s rebuilding, they’ve demonstrated exceptional effort, even when going against difficult and intimidating opponents.

Here’s a look at the good, the bad, and the weird from this weekend’s four-game series at Rogers Centre:

Bo Bichette (4-for-16, 3 R, 2B, HR, 3 RBI, 2 BB) had an encouraging, albeit comparatively unspectacular set, while Vladimir Guerrero Jr. (3-for-12, 2B, 3B, 2 RBI, 2 BB) showed major heart in an epic ninth-inning battle against Yankees closer Aroldis Chapman.

Lourdes Gurriel Jr. (2-for-5, RBI) was hitting prior to hurting himself, with Teoscar Hernandez (3-for-8, 3 R, 3 HR, 6 RBI, 3 BB) also contributing in a big way. Reese McGuire (4-for-6, 3 R, 2B, HR, RBI) was outstanding in Thursday’s game

On the mound, opener Wilmer Font (2.0 IP, 0 H, 0 R/ER, 3 SO) was tremendous, while relievers Sam Gaviglio (3.0 IP, 2 H, 0 R/ER, 2 SO), Derek Law (2.0 IP, 2 H, 0 R/ER, BB, 2 SO, SV), and Justin Shafer (1.0 IP, 0 H, 0 R/ER, SO) were all solid.

Despite picking up the loss in the finale, Trent Thornton (6.0 IP, 3 H, R/ER, BB, 6 SO) was phenomenal, holding the Yankees hitless through four swift innings.

Cavan Biggio (1-for-15, 2 R, 2 BB, 9 SO), Brandon Drury (2-for-7, R, 2B, 2 SO), and Derek Fisher (2-for-12, 3 R, HR, RBI, 2 BB, 4 SO) all struggled at times, despite the latter’s encouraging offensive performance in the series opener. Freddy Galvis (3-for-16, R, 2B, 3 SO) continued to slide, while Randal Grichuk (1-for-15, R, HR, 2 RBI, 5 SO) was kept relatively quiet throughout.

Elsewhere in the lineup, Danny Jansen (1-for-5, R, HR, 3 RBI, 2 BB) was cold except for his home run Friday, and Justin Smoak (1-for-10, R, BB, 2 SO) continued to falter in the month of August.

New Blue Jay Zack Godley (3,0 IP, 5 H, 3 R/ER, HR, 3 SO) was roughed up, as were Thomas Pannone (2.1 IP, 6 H, 7 R/ER, 2 HR, HB, SO, L) and Jacob Waguespack (3.2 IP, 3 H, 3 R/ER, 2 HR, 2 BB, 2 SO).

In one of the most peculiar ejections of the 2019 season thus far, Yankees outfielder Brett Gardner was thrown out of Saturday’s game by home plate umpire Chris Segal despite saying “nothing at all” from the Yankees dugout. Though many have speculated that Segal actually meant to throw out Cameron Maybin for calling his strike zone “f***ing terrible”, Gardner ended up getting the brunt of the ump’s anger.

The now 49-72 Blue Jays will welcome the perfectly .500 Texas Rangers to town Monday for a three-game series that’ll feature Ariel Jurado (6-7, 4.74 ERA, 69 SO), Lance Lynn (14-7, 3.60 ERA, 178 SO), and Kolby Allard (0-0, 4.15 ERA, 7 SO) taking the mound for the visitors. The Blue Jays haven’t yet announced starters for any of the three games.