Well, that was an up-and-down game; I’m not really sure how to feel about it. I thought Aaron Sanchez pitched pretty well, throwing the ball low in the zone and generating a ton of ground balls. His pitch count was low throughout the game, a sign that he was able to get batters out quickly. The offense was alright for the majority of the game but truly came through in the clutch during the eighth inning. Troy Tulowitzki hit a laser through the middle of the diamond for a single with two outs; bringing playoff-aficionado Dalton Pompey into the game as a pinch runner. Melvin Upton Jr. really showed me something in his at-bat against lefty Tommy Layne, drawing an eight pitch walk. Unlikely hero, Kevin Pillar came to the plate in a big spot and he delivered. He stroked a two run double over left fielder Brett Gardner’s head, giving the Jays a 4-3 lead.
All seemed in line for the Jays to mop up a clean win from there on out… if only that were the case. There was much more drama in the next six outs than anyone could have predicted. Jason Grilli came in and quickly eliminated the possibility for Pillar to be the hero. Without going into excruciating detail, the Jays found themselves down by three runs going into the top of the ninth, courtesy of a triple and home run. Grilli has been so good for the Jays, but he was bound to have a bad outing; it just really sucks that it happened against the Yankees down the stretch.
Now, it seemed like the Yankees had the easy route to the win, although Betances was due to face the top of the Blue Jays lineup. Bautista and Donaldson led the inning off with walks, immediately bringing Edwin up as the tying run. Encarnacion obviously struck catcher Gary Sanchez’s glove on the downstroke of his swing, causing both Edwin and Sanchez to miss the ball. Somehow, this went unobserved by all four umpires watching the play and Edwin was not awarded first base. On the tenth pitch of the at-bat, he hit a grounder right back up the middle. He busted it (and I mean busted it) down the line, beating the throw by a slim margin and cashing in a run. After Upton beat out another infield single, Pillar was back up with the chance to cause some magic with only one out and the bases loaded. This time he failed to pull the trigger on a breaking pitch down the pipe and was left to toss hit bat around the dugout. The Blue Jays last chance to score runs came down to Justin Smoak. Smoaky put a great swing on a pitch down and on the outer half of the plate. He drilled it to left field. I confess, I thought it was gone right off the bat. Gardner kept going back and back, he turned around and jumped right at the wall. His leap brought his glove one foot under the top of the wall, the ball fell into his glove, his momentum made him crash against the wall and he almost lost it… it was so close. He closed his glove at the last second to keep hold of the ball and win the game for the Yankees.
As I stated at the start of this lengthy recap (which only recounted six outs), I don’t know how to feel. Crushed, obviously. But that was one of the most exciting regular season games of baseball I have watched. The team really has to bounce back and take the next game against New York.
Top Play of the Game by WPA
Kevin Pillar gets the top play of the game, attributing 0.500 WPA with one swing of the bat in the eighth inning. The Jays were trailing by a run and he cashed in two with a massive double over Gardner’s head.
Bottom Play of the Game by WPA
By WPA, the worst play of the game goes to Smoak in the last at-bat of the heavyweight bout. His flyout at the wall to Gardner decreased the Jays chance of winning by -0.231 WPA. I understand that, as this was the final nail in the coffin, but I am going to go off the board and award my worst play of the game. It came the at-bat prior. Kevin Pillar struck out swinging on a curve ball down the middle of the zone. The bases were loaded with one out. A ball to the outfield ties the game. Any ball in play has the potential to tie the game, but he struck out. He detracted -0.225 WPA with that play, so all-in-all, it was very close to Smoak’s at-bat. I have never seen the same player get the top play and the bottom play of the game but this game was that wild.
Sanchez continues to cruise
I have discussed a lot of this game, but essentially none of that has covered the Jays starter (and the AL’s ERA leader!), Aaron Sanchez. His final line was seven innings, allowing three runs to score on five hits, while striking out four and walking two. He seemed pretty sharp all night long except in the seventh when he gave up two runs. No fault on Gibbons for not pulling him earlier, his pitch count was low and he was breezing through the middle innings of the game. Sanchez is scheduled to start next against the Red Sox, and the Jays need him to be at minimum as sharp as tonight, likely more. He hasn’t gone more than seven innings since July 4th, I’m hoping that he can spin his first complete game next week!
Up Next
The Jays have the finale against the Yankees tomorrow night, and it feels like a must win ball game to be honest. First pitch at 7:05 PM ET.
Lead Photo: Brad Penner-USA TODAY Sports