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Trent Thornton’s debut gets Rowdy, but the Blue Jays fall in extra innings
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Cam Lewis
Mar 31, 2019, 16:35 EDT
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Well, that was an interesting game. The Jays would end up losing 4-3 to the Tigers in extra innings, thus splitting the four-game series, but there’s certainly a lot to talk about.

Things worth mentioning…

  • Trent Thornton was incredibly good in his Major League debut. Thornton, who squeaked onto the team when Ryan Borucki got injured in spring training, went five scoreless innings while setting a franchise record for rookie pitchers making their debut with eight strikeouts. The word on Thornton when the Jays acquired him from Houston was the spin he puts on the ball. Thornton’s most effective pitch this afternoon was his curveball, which had Tigers batters swinging all over the place.
  • Speaking of debuts, Rule 5 pickup and 2000s-born literal child Elvis Luciano made his first big league relief appearance. Luciano came into the game with the Jays down 3-0 after Tim Mayza and Javy Guerra combined to let the Tigers score three runs in the seventh inning. Luciano would go an inning and a third without allowing a run on one walk and one hit. He was thrown right into the deep end, having to pitch to Nick Castellanos with two runners on base, but he got out of it. It was pretty impressive stuff from the 19-year-old.
  • In the eighth inning, Charlie Montoyo took a big gamble pinch hitting Rowdy Tellez for Luke Maile. In doing so, the Jays lost the DH spot and had to play as a National League team the rest of the way, but Tellez made the decision look good by hitting a three-run bomb to tie the game.
  • Overall, the bats were pretty disappointing again today. Outside of Rowdy’s clutch bomb, the Jays couldn’t get much going. They had a chance to win in the bottom of the bottom of the 10th inning when Freddy Galvis hit a pinch hit infield single with Richard Urena on second. Urena ran through a stop sign at third and got thrown out at home. Still, I don’t mind the aggressive running from Urena. Play to win and force the other team to make plays.
  • While the result was disappointing, this was a fun and interesting game to watch. We all know this team isn’t going to be great, but if the games are like this, it’ll be a fun season to follow. That said, it would be nice to the bats finally break out.

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