Well, that was certainly a buzzkill after a very fun start to the weekend.
The Blue Jays went up by a score of 6-1 over the Rangers on Sunday and it looked like they were going to cruise to sweep until Texas exploded for 11 unanswered runs. The final score was 12-6 for Texas, as the Rangers salvage the series.

Things worth mentioning… 

  • As the title says, Hyun JIn Ryu exited the game in the fourth inning after getting drilled on the leg by a line drive from Jonah Heim. It was a disappointing end to what had been an excellent start for Ryu. In the first three innings of the game, he allowed only one hit (a solo homer) and one walk while striking out four. The wheels just fell right off in the fourth, as Ryu allowed a walk, a double, and back-to-back-to-back singles before getting pulled. It doesn’t seem as though the injury was serious, it was more about how Ryu was pitching, so we’ll more than likely see him make his next start, which is Friday at home against the Oakland A’s.
  • Ryu wasn’t the only pitcher who got tagged by Taxes’ bats. Julian Merryweather came into the game in relief of Ryu and allowed both of his inherited runners to score and he allowed a run of his own, Ross Stripling couldn’t provide the team any length as he walked three guys and allowed a pair of runs, and Tayler Saucedo allowed two earned on three hits while recording just two outs. The only pitcher with a good line was Trent Thornton, who tossed two scoreless frames.
  • All told, it was a pretty ugly weekend for Toronto’s pitching staff. The bullpen was nails on Friday and played a key role in the comeback and they were rock solid in the win on Saturday, but, by Sunday, it seemed they were gassed from having to pitch so much. Toronto’s starters gave them just eight-and-two-thirds innings over the three games. I certainly wouldn’t say that we need to panic just yet, as many pitchers around baseball seem a tad bit behind because of the quick spring training, but the pitching needs to be better in New York. The bats won’t be able to dig the team out of huge holes against the Yankees and every game against the other good teams in the American League East matter. As we learned last year, there’s no such thing as it’s early. 
  • We’ll finish off with some Good Vibes. Here’s Vladdy hitting a ball 118 miles per hour…
  • And here’s Matt Chapman hitting his first homer as a Blue Jay…

POINTSBET IS LIVE IN ONTARIO