MLB: Cleveland Indians at Toronto Blue Jays

Recap: Cleveland 2, Blue Jays 1; Jays Lose 19 Inning Canada Day Heartbreaker

The Canada Day game in Toronto is usually a fantastic affair that has little to do with the outcome of the baseball game. The festivities before the game and sold out crowd mean it is always a wonderful time at the ballpark.

The game featured some fireworks early, as the Blue Jays were fed up with Capazzara’s strike zone from the get go. Edwin Encarnacion struck out looking in the first inning on ball four, and he got in a feud with Capazzara as a result. That resulted in an ejection for both EE and manager John Gibbons, but not the fixing of Capazzara’s strike zone, as the Blue Jays continued to get burned by outside pitches being called strikes throughout the game.

Alas, the Blue Jays were still able to come out on top in this one, halting Cleveland’s win streak at 13 games. Marcus Stroman threw a gem, pitching six and two thirds innings while only allowing one run on five hits and a walk. Brett Cecil game into the game when Stroman got into trouble in the seventh, and quickly got out of the inning. Then, it was Jason Grilli in the eighth, followed by Roberto Osuna in the ninth, Joe Biagini in the 10th, and Jesse Chavez in the 11th, 12th, and 13th. Drew Storen took over in the 14th, pitched some of the 15th, before making way for Bo Schultz, who ended that inning and pitched the 16th, and 17th as well. Ryan Goins, middle infielder Ryan Goins, then came into the game in the 18th inning, and pitched a shutout inning of his own, escaping a bases loaded situation with one out by inducing a double play ball.

Top Play of the Game by WPA

In the top of the 19th inning with Darwin Barney on the mound, the second Jays position player to take the hill in the afternoon, Carlos Santana took him deep to right center field (.339).

Bottom Play of the Game by WPA

In the 18th inning with Ryan Goins on the mound and the bases loaded, Chris Giminez grounded into a 6-4-3 double play to end the inning (-.352).

Stroman Keeps it Down

Marcus Stroman has been through a rough patch of late, at times seeming like he couldn’t retire a single batter. His problems have been traced to leaving his sinker up in the zone, which effectively renders it useless and makes it extremely easy for hitters to make hard contact with when at the plate. Today, he didn’t have those issues, as highlighted by his 61.9% ground ball percentage. Ultimately, Stroman should still probably work on some of the issues highlighted on this site throughout his struggles, like his all too similar breaking balls and his lack of four-seam fastball usage. The improvement in the control is very nice to see, but if Stroman wants to be able to survive the games where he isn’t perfect, fine tuning those secondary offerings will go a long way.

Trend to Watch

The Blue Jays bullpen has been a question mark all season long. This week, with the return of Brett Cecil, it got a bit deeper. John Gibbons has been without a lefty he can trust this season thanks to the ineffectiveness and injuries that have plagued Cecil, Aaron Loup, and Franklin Morales. Today, Gibby was able to bring in Cecil to face the tough lefty when the situation called for it – bases loaded with two outs in the seventh inning – and it worked. Hopefully being able to put relievers in situations they are best suited for will go along way for this bullpen. They are sure to get a reinforcement via the trade market soon, but this cast being able to hold down the fort for the next month, as they did brilliantly today, should be extremely helpful as the Blue Jays attempt to climb their way up the standings.

Up Next

After a disappointing Canada Day loss to Cleveland, the Blue Jays will look to get back on track on Saturday afternoon. Marco Estrada (5-3, 2.81) gets the start for Toronto, while Trevor Bauer (6-2, 3.19), was supposed to take the mound for Cleveland, but won’t now that he pitched in today’s game. For now, Cleveland’s starter is TBA.

Lead Photo: Nick Turchiaro-USA TODAY Sports

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