Unable to take advantage offensively, the Jays lose 4-1 to the Twins
5 years ago
An odd game from the beginning, the Toronto Blue Jays fell to the Minnesota Twins 4-1 in what should usually be a solid outing.
Even though the whole team was able to combine for eight hits, the Jays were unable to really make the most of it and left a total of 16 runners on base for the team. Getting the hits but not in the right situation they wanted to get more than the single run they acquired in the first inning.
Thornton had an overall solid outing but it was the relievers that really kept them within reaching distance. Elvis Luciano and Javy Guerra totalled for 3.1 innings and only allowed three hits between the both of them.
Most of the scoring came early for the Twins, as Nelson Cruz totalled two RBI on two separate hits through his first two at-bats — giving the Twins a 3-1 lead after three innings.
Leading the offence (like he has been for most of this season), Freddy Galvis was 2-for-4 with one strikeout and new addition Eric Sogard was 1-for-3 with a walk and a strikeout. The only Jays that were left without at least a hit were Rowdy Tellez and Luke Maile.
Toronto still has a chance to win their first series of the game as they close out the series in Minnesota tomorrow.
Worth Mentioning
- Blue Jays opened the scoring with Freddy Galvis crossing the plate after some rare offence in the first inning. Galvis hit a zero-out single and advanced to second on a flyball from Grichuk, then scoring on a single to centre field from Smoak. Nice to see some actual runs scored earlier for this team, a rare treat in the year 2019. Galvis now has a four-game hitting streak.
- Trent Thornton continued some of his lack of early success in this game. In just the first inning, he allowed three hits, two earned runs and walked one in 37 pitches. It looked extremely rough allowing an immediate double and then a walk on the first two batters faced in this game. It took a few more outs, but Thornton eventually got some connection with Maile later in the game, keeping the game within reach — finishing with 4.2 innings pitched, allowing six hits, three walks, three earned runs, and striking out three.
- Jake Odorizzi had seven strikeouts through just three innings, including being able to punch out the side in the second inning. The Twins starter was able to get some easy outs through a decent portion of the Jays lineup.
- Elvis Luciano had an extremely solid four outs after relieving Thornton. Allowing one hit and one walk but was able to strikeout two batters, the 19-year-old might just have enough to stick around a little longer. He did have one wild pitch that was able to advance the runners, so it wasn’t all pretty. Small sample size of what he can actually do, but just introducing him every now and again, giving him some middle relief innings can’t hurt.
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