The first HR of #PlayersWeekend courtesy of Cody Bellinger 💪
Blue Jays rally in ninth inning but fall to Cubs in extras
Photo credit: © Matt Marton - USA Today
Aug 16, 2024, 17:30 EDTUpdated: Aug 16, 2024, 17:51 EDT
It’s been nearly seven years since the Toronto Blue Jays visited Wrigley Field.
Coming into the August series against the Chicago Cubs back in 2017, the Blue Jays were just three games back of the final Wild Card spot in the American League, August 17 to be exact. While there were plenty of teams to jump in the standings, they had a chance as they were 7-3 in their last 10 games.
The two teams started a three-game series on August 18, with the Blue Jays being swept at the hands of the Cubs. On August 21, 2017, the Jays were five games behind the final Wild Card spot and never came that close again.
Nearly seven years later, there is no slight hope that the Jays could make the postseason, they are well out of it. Coming into the Friday afternoon game, the Jays had a 57-64 record, nine games back of the final Wild Card spot with a three game winning streak.
That winning streak was snapped in the first game of the series, as the Blue Jays fell 6-5 to the Cubs. Cody Bellinger got the scoring going early, hitting his 13th home run of the season to tack on two runs in the bottom of the first.
The Blue Jays stormed back, a common theme in the game, as Ernie Clement singled in a run in the top of the fourth, before Leo Jiménez hit his second home run of the season in the top of the fifth to tie the game at two. With this home run, Jiménez set a new career-high in home runs when combining the seven he hit in Triple-A.
It's Leo SZN 🦁 🚀
Chicago pulled out to a 5-2 lead thanks to solo home runs from Pete Crow-Armstrong, Miguel Amaya, and Ian Happ. It looked as if they’d cruise to a 5-2 win, but the Blue Jays tied it in the top of the ninth. Cubs closer Héctor Neris balked in a run, before George Springer hit a triple to score two more runners, tying the game at five and sending the game to extra innings.
Two outs in the 9th trailing by two. George Springer comes up clutch 😳
After a scoreless top half of the inning, Chad Green walked the first batter he faced in the bottom of the tenth, before Seiya Suzuki singled in the game-winning run. Good comeback, good compete level, good result.
Diving into the stats…
All but one Blue Jays batter had a hit. Surprisingly, it was the hottest hitter in baseball, Vladimir Guerrero Jr., that failed to get one. Will Wagner continues to smack the ball as he had another multi-hit performance, while Ernie Clement and his pencil bat had two hits as well.
The only extra-base hits that the Jays hit in this game came from Leo Jiménez and George Springer. Jiménez’s career-high in home runs was eight that he had set last season in the minor leagues, but thanks to seven home runs with the Buffalo Bisons and now two with the Jays, it’s a new career-high. Rather impressive for a player who struggled with power early in his professional career.
Yariel Rodríguez started the game and had a tough one, finishing with a line of 5 IP, 4 H, 4 ER, 2 BB, 5 K with three home runs given up. The bullpen only gave up one earned run, as Brendon Little gave up a solo home run, while Chad Green gave up an earned run. Erik Swanson had another scoreless inning, while Génesis Cabrera struck out a batter in a clean inning.
With the loss, the Blue Jays have a 57-65 record, nine and a half games back of the final Wild Card. They have the ninth-worst record in the league, but the seventh-best odds to win the draft lottery as both the Chicago White Sox and Oakland Athletics are unable to land in the top 10.
The three-game series continues on Saturday, as the two teams match up at 2:20 PM ET. Chris Bassitt is expected to start for the Blue Jays and he’ll be opposed by left-handed starter Justin Steele.
As always, you can follow me on Twitter @Ryley_L_D.