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Blue Jays blown out again as the Marlins take the series with an 8-1 win
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Photo credit: © Dan Hamilton - USA Today
Ryley Delaney
Sep 28, 2024, 18:00 EDTUpdated: Sep 28, 2024, 18:14 EDT
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The Toronto Blue Jays lost once again on Saturday.
Thankfully, they didn’t give up 15 runs this time, only falling 8-1 to the Miami Marlins. Their record now sits at 74-87 with one more game left this season.
Miami took a 2-0 lead in the top of the first, as Jonah Bride hit a single to make it 1-0, before former Blue Jays farmhand Griffin Conine hit his fourth double of the season to make it 2-0.
The Blue Jays cut the lead in half thanks to Nathan Lukes’ first career home run in the big leagues, a great moment for the 30-year-old outfielder. This season, he’s slashing .303/.371/.447 with seven extra-base hits in 91 plate appearances for a 132 wRC+.
It wasn’t until the top of the sixth before the Marlins scored again, as Dane Myers hit a double to make the game 4-1, before Jhonny Pereda hit a single that scored another run to make it 5-1. Myers hit another extra-base hit, this time a three-run home run, to give Miami an 8-1 lead in the top of the eighth.
Yikes.

Diving into the stats…

The Blue Jays only amassed four hits in this game, with Nathan Lukes’ home run being their only extra-base hit. George Springer, Spencer Horwitz, and Ernie Clement each hit a single.
Both Vladimir Guerrero Jr. and Alejandro Kirk had at-bats in this game, but failed to reach base with a hit. That means that Kirk’s hitting streak came to an end after 18 games. Moreover, Guerrero Jr. has to get a hit in Sunday’s game to reach 200 hits for in a season for the first time in his career.
As per usual, pitching wasn’t great in Saturday’s game. Starter Yariel Rodríguez gave up three eanred runs and two walks in five innings pitched, but struck out five to finish the season with a 4.47 ERA. Brendon Little struggled, giving up two earned runs in a third of an inning pitched.
It’s nice to see Erik Swanson get back on track though, as he struck out two in an inning and two thirds to bring his season ERA to 5.03. Since returning on July 20, Swanson has a 2.55 ERA in 24.2 innings pitched, along with 27.6 K% and a 10.2 BB%. His FIP is on the high side, coming into Saturday’s game with a 5.25 FIP in that time frame thanks to giving up seven home runs.
Génesis Cabrera struggled in Saturday’s game, giving up three earned runs thanks to the Dane Myers home run. He’ll finish the season with a 3.59 ERA. Recently recalled Nick Robertson pitched a scoreless inning.
With the Pittsburgh Pirates defeating the New York Yankees 9-4 on Saturday afternoon, the Blue Jays’ will finish with 7.48% odds of landing the first-overall pick in December’s draft lottery. For context, the Cleveland Guardians had a 2% chance of winning the lottery and managed to move all the way up to the first-overall pick in the most recent draft.
The 2024 season comes to an end on Sunday at 3:07 PM ET, as the Jays face the Marlins with a chance to avoid the sweep. It’ll be a bullpen day for the Jays, while Ryan Weathers starts for the Marlins.
As always, you can follow me on Twitter @Ryley_L_D.

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