After every Blue Jays series, this Canadian will sum up his five stars of the set and throw in my two cents (worth .015 US).
Why do I do this to myself?
Before Toronto’s series with the BoSox, I had cautious optimism that this would be the series that would return to .500. Like the Jays, the Red Sox have been toiling in American League East mediocrity. If one of those teams could dominate the series, it could set the table for a run at the wild card. As it turned out, one of those teams did.
It just wasn’t my team.
The Jays were swept by Boston, placing the Bluebirds back in the division basement that they share with Tampa, the other occupant, whenever Toronto can climb out of it. With Bo Bichette and Yimi Garcia now headed to the IL, only an epic July can take them out of the sellers’ category in 40 days, and the odds of that are as good as a Canadian not apologizing after he bumps into you.
We might even apologize if you bump into us.
Anyway, on to the series.
On Monday, Toronto’s starting pitcher, Yusei Kikuchi, might have been in full apology mode. The southpaw saw four of his pitches go deep (including two by Tyler O’Neill) in his four innings of work, and the Red Sox were up 5-1 after his departure. Justin Turner, who had his first good outing in six weeks, had his fifth home run of the year (a solo shot in the sixth), and Davis Schneider also had a solo blast in the ninth, but Boston got the win easily, defeating the Jays 7-3.
On Tuesday, Chris Bassitt took the hill for the Blue Jays and fanned six while allowing seven hits and two runs. This was better than Boston’s starter, Tanner Houck, who worked 5.2 innings and gave up three runs from an Ernie Clement double in the second and an Isiah Kiner-Falefa two-run single in the sixth. Toronto maintained a slim 3-2 lead until Tyler O’Neill smashed his third home run of the series in the eighth off Brendon Little, who would take the loss after Chad Green allowed an RBI single (it was Little’s runner) from Cedanne Rafaela. Boston won 4-3.
The series finale was painful for Blue Jays fans to watch. For all of 2024’s disappointments, Toronto always managed to avoid the broom, but that ended Wednesday with a sloppy 7-3 loss that saw the Jays commit four errors, two of which directly resulted in Boston runs. Kevin Gausman was tagged for five runs (four earned), including two home runs in 5.3 Innings, and his counterpart, Brayan Bello, won his seventh game (7-4), throwing six innings with two runs allowed. Boston ended the series the way it started, with a 7-3 win and the minuscule playoff hopes of the Blue Jays growing dimmer.
Here are my five Blue Jays stars of the series (which was a chore):
Justin Turner, 5 R, 5 H, 2 XBH, 1 HR, 1 RBI .500/.615/.900/1.515: Turner was so hot in April that when he went ice cold five weeks later, it felt like he disappeared entirely from the game. This was Turner’s best series since the early spring, and he comprised five of Toronto’s nine runs.
Ernie Clement, 0 R, 4 H, 1 XBH, 0 HR, 2 RBI, .500/.500/.625/1.125: Clement had four hits in this series and has been one of Toronto’s pleasant surprises of the season. He will never be an All-Star, and at 28, this could be his peak, but he is outperforming far greater names on Toronto’s roster.
Spencer Horwitz, 0 R, 3 H, 1 XBH, 0 HR, 0 RBI, .429/.556/.571/1.127: Horwitz reached base five times in his two games, and has proven that she could get a chance to play every day.
Chris Bassitt, 1 G, 6.0 IP, 3.00 ERA, 5 SO, 1.500 WHIP: Bassitt’s game score of 54 was not impressive, but it was the only respectable performance by a Jays starter in the series and he did exit the game with a lead.
Trevor Richards, 1 G, 2.0 IP, 0.00 ERA, 1 SO, 0.500 WHIP: Richards has not allowed a run in his last four appearances.
Honorable mentions for nobody.
Next, the Blue Jays will return to the road and challenge the Cleveland Guardians for a three-game series beginning on Friday.
Look for Orelvis Martinez to make his debut, as Toronto’s hottest prospect was called up after Bo Bichette’s injury.
Until then, touch them all!
