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Looking back at the last time the Blue Jays played at Wrigley Field
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Evan Stack
Aug 17, 2024, 11:00 EDTUpdated: Aug 17, 2024, 11:25 EDT
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We’re a couple of years into MLB’s new scheduling format where each team plays every other team at least once per season. It’s given all teams a chance to visit ballparks at which they hadn’t played for several years, and the same is true for the Blue Jays. For instance, Toronto played the Padres at Petco Park for the first time since 2013 earlier this season, and they faced the Reds in Cincinnati last year for the first time since 2014. These are teams that had Mark DeRosa, Casey Janssen, Colby Rasmus, and some other names that you might’ve forgotten ever donned a Blue Jays jersey.
Yesterday, Toronto kicked off a series against the Chicago Cubs at Wrigley Field for the first time since August of 2017. This has been one of the rare matchup combinations, as the two franchises have played a series at Wrigley Field only twice before this series since 2005.
Looking back at the 2017 series, the Blue Jays entered the tilt after taking three of four from the Rays. They were 59-62, the closest they had been to .500 since June 28th of that season. Furthermore, they were also only three games back of a Wild Card spot, so they had some momentum heading into Wrigley. In the final game of the aforementioned Rays series, Justin Smoak had just hit his 33rd home run of the season, continuing the best year of his career.

Game Recaps

August 18th – Cubs over Blue Jays 7-4
Blue Jays starting lineup: J. Bautista, RF; J. Donaldson, SS; J. Smoak, 1B; S. Pearce, LF; M. Montero, C; K. Pillar, CF; R. Goins, SS; D. Barney, 2B; J.A. Happ, P
A Steve Pearce RBI single put the Blue Jays up 1-0 in the 1st inning, but the Cubs strung together four hits and a walk in the bottom of the 2nd inning to storm ahead 3-1. Anthony Rizzo doubled the lead in the 5th inning with a 2-run single, providing plenty of breathing room for reigning Cy Young winner Jake Arrieta, who put up nothing but zeros after the opening frame. Arrieta tossed 6.1 innings allowing six hits, one run, two walks, and six strikeouts, while J.A. Happ’s day was done after five innings and five earned runs.
The game stayed relatively quiet for the next couple of innings, but the Blue Jays made a substantial two-out rally in the top of the 8th inning, as Kevin Pillar’s RBI double and Ryan Goins’s two-run single cut Chicago’s lead to just one. Ezequiel Carrera flew out to end the threat, but not before the Blue Jays tagged Cubs reliever Pedro Strop, who entered the game with a 2.51 ERA, for three runs.
Unfortunately, Blue Jays rookie Tim Mayza, who was making only his third career MLB appearance, was unable to keep the game close in the bottom of the 8th, as Javier Baez crushed a two-run home run to left field with one out. Wade Davis secured his 25th save of the season, and the Cubs took the opening game of the series.
This series occurred prior to the universal DH rule, so it made for some unique defensive adjustments. Jose Bautista logged some time at third base, Josh Donaldson moved to shortstop, and Happ even took a couple of at-bats.
August 19th – Cubs over Blue Jays 4-3
Blue Jays starting lineup: J. Bautista, RF; J. Donaldson, 3B; J. Smoak, 1B; S. Pearce, LF; K. Pillar, CF; D. Barney, SS; R. Lopez, C; R. Refsnyder, 2B; N. Tepesch, P
Cubs rookie Ian Happ played a big role in this game, and it started from the jump with an RBI single with the bases loaded in the 1st inning. Blue Jays starter Nick Tepesch still had to work with the bases loaded with one out, but he got Alex Avila to ground into a double play to end the inning.
Toronto had runners on second and third with two outs in the top of the 2nd, and the Cubs opted to intentionally walk Rob Refsnyder to load the bases. With all due respect to Refsnyder, this was done to bring the pitcher’s spot to the dish, and Jose Quintana struck out Tepesch to retire the side.
After the teams exchanged a couple of scoreless frames, the Blue Jays kicked off the 4th inning with three consecutive hits. Rafael “Raffy” Lopez recorded the final hit of that streak, cashing in a pair of runs and giving the Blue Jays a 2-1 lead. Any momentum was immediately silenced by Lopez’s hit, as Quintana retired the next three batters in order, and Happ tied the game with a solo home run to lead off the bottom of the 4th.
The Cubs took the lead in the bottom of the 6th with a weakly-hit RBI infield single from Baez. The ball nearly split Refsnyder and Darwin Barney up the middle, but Barney’s effort to snag the grounder only deflected the ball into center field. Anthony Rizzo tacked on another RBI single in the bottom of the 7th, and the Blue Jays were faced with another late-inning deficit.
With two outs in the top of the 8th, Steve Pearce reached second base on a throwing error by Kris Bryant, and Kevin Pillar cashed him in with an RBI single one batter later. The Jays went three-up-three-down in the bottom of the 9th, however, and the Cubs won the second game of the set.
August 20th – Cubs over Blue Jays 6-5 (10)
Blue Jays starting lineup: E. Carrera, RF; J. Donaldson, SS; J. Smoak, 1B; J. Bautista, 3B; M. Montero, C; K. Pillar, CF; R. Goins, 2B; N. Aoki, LF; M. Estrada, P
The Blue Jays handed the ball to veteran righty Marco Estrada, who was in the midst of one of the worst stretches in his career. Estrada threw six innings, allowing five hits, three runs, one walk, and four strikeouts, but the majority of damage done against him was in the third inning when Albert Almora Jr. hit a three-run double to give Chicago a 3-0 lead. Outside of that, Estrada was solid and efficient.
Slowly but surely, the Blue Jays crept back into the game. Jose Bautista singled in a run in the 4th inning, Ezequiel Carrera drove in a run in the 5th, and Miguel Montero hit his first home run as a Blue Jay in the 6th inning to tie the game at 3.
There were fireworks later in the game, but Kevin Pillar might’ve stolen the show with a web gem in the 7th inning. Reigning NL MVP Kris Bryant smoked a ball 409 feet to deep center field, but Pillar secured the catch while jumping into the brick wall (and the famous ivy that lines it). Bryant’s flyout had an xBA of .930, and it would’ve been a home run in 13 out of 30 MLB ballparks.
Despite both teams having runners in scoring position in the 9th inning, the score remained tied at 3 heading into extras. Toronto did strike first in the 10th inning, however, as Kevin Pillar once again came through with a clutch RBI knock. Pillar singled to right field with runners on first and second, and Josh Donaldson scampered home with a long head-first dive at home plate to put Toronto ahead 4-3. Ryan Goins followed that up with a walk to load the bases, and Nori Aoki walked in a run to provide some insurance.
The bottom half of the frame was a complete disaster for the Jays, however. Roberto Osuna’s three wild pitches coupled with Raffy Lopez’s lackluster performance behind the plate led to three Chicago runs and a heartbreaking walk-off loss. It was Osuna’s 8th blown save of the season, and the Blue Jays fell further from playoff contention.

Remember him?

  • Miguel Montero – the two-time All-Star had a short 32-game stint with the Blue Jays in 2017. He was DFA’d by Chicago on June 28th, but the Blue Jays dealt a PTBNL to acquire him before another team could claim him from waivers. Both Luke Maile and Russell Martin were on the Injured List during the Cubs series, so Montero and Raffy Lopez were both summoned to handle catching duties for a few weeks. In those 32 games, Montero slashed .138/.248/.241 with a .489 OPS, two homers, eight RBIs, and three doubles.
  • Nori Aoki – The second piece to the Teoscar Hernandez trade, Aoki played 12 games with the Blue Jays and slashed .281/.294/.594 with an .888 OPS, three homers, and eight RBIs. He was DFA’d by Toronto in late-August, and would eventually be released by the team.
  • Nick Tepesch – Not only were the Jays dealing with catcher injuries, they were also fighting injuries to their starting rotation. Tepesch was acquired in late-July by the Jays from the Twins in exchange for cash, and he wound up making three starts for Toronto. In those appearances, Tepesch logged a 5.14 ERA with a 1.71 WHIP, 8.94 FIP, and 4.5 K/9. He was optioned to Buffalo just five days after his start in Chicago, and was even DFA’d a week later. After going unclaimed, Tepesch was assigned to Triple-A Buffalo where he remained until August of 2018.
  • Raffy Lopez – Lopez was signed by the Blue Jays in February of 2017, and he spent a good chunk of the season between Double-A New Hampshire and Triple-A Buffalo. With catching depth running thin due to injuries, Lopez was thrown into the catching rotation. He played in 24 games with the Blue Jays, slashing .222/.306/.463 with a .769 OPS, four home runs, twelve RBIs, and seven walks.

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