Athletics 5, Blue Jays 4: Late-inning implosions are Actually Bad

May 19, 2018, 16:41 EDT

I hate to make this kind of statement in May, but that game felt like a real nail in the coffin. It’s way, way, waaaaay too early to say something like that, I guess, but it stings.

Things worth mentioning

The Jays looked like they had this one wrapped up. It was a difficult pitching matchup, Oakland’s ace against Toronto’s seventh guy, but Sam Gaviglio was excellent, tossing five-and-a-third scoreless frames. The Jays pulled ahead in the fifth with a four-run inning powered by a Gio Urshela homer, Yangervis Solarte double, and Kevin Pillar sac fly. Again, up 4-0 going into the eighth, it looked automatic.
But that wasn’t the case! Toronto’s ‘pen imploded as John Axford came in and issued a walk and a single. He struck out a guy but then Teoscar Hernandez made an error, putting guys on second and third with one out. After that, Tyler Clippard came into the game and got one guy out before issuing a walk and then a grand slam to Chad Pinder. Fuuuuuuuuck. I don’t know. Quite a bit went wrong. The Jays’ ‘pen has been largely good and this is one of the first times they’ve imploded for a loss this year. It’s frustrating, especially given how things have gone recently and how important this game seems.