The Jays, having begun the afternoon with their backs firmly affixed to the wall, were relying on Aaron Sanchez to be good, but mostly for the bats to finally solve Cleveland pitching. Sanchez did his part early on, not giving up a hit until the 3rd and looking masterful with his curve. The offense then finally began to rouse from slumber. A Josh Donaldson two-out homer in the third staked the Jays to a lead, and consecutive walks, followed by an Ezekiel Carrera looper led to a second run in the 4th inning.
Sanchez, meanwhile, carried a one-hit shutout into the fifth, but made a mistake to Cleveland’s worst hitter as Roberto Perez rocked an RBI double to make the score 2-1. The next batter, Carlos Santana, followed with a line shot to third that might have been and RBI hit but for a spectacular play by Josh Donaldson to preserve the lead.
Terry Francona went to his bullpen to begin the 6th inning and Troy Tulowitzki greeted reliever Dan Otero rudely with an opposite field drive that fell inches short of going out. An out later Michael Saunders singled to put two aboard but the Jays stranded both runners. John Gibbons turned to his ‘pen as well in the top of the seventh,bringing in Brett Cecil who retired three right-handed hitters in order.
In the bottom of the seventh, facing Bryan Shaw, the Blue Jays loaded the basis with no outs via a Ryan Goins single, an error that put Jose Bautista on first and Goins at third, and an intentional walk to Josh Donaldson. Edwin Encarnacion capitalized with a sharp single off the mound and into center scoring two runs. The Jays failed to cash in any more runs, but the padded lead was hugely important for this squad.
After some managerial bait and switch, Toronto went to the standard play as Cecil gave way to Jason Grilli for the eighth and he was perfect. The bottom of the order tacked on a run in the bottom of the inning on a Carrera triple and a Kevin Pillar sac fly, then Roberto Osuna polished off the Cleveland hitters in ten pitches to finish the game and the Jays have new life.
It was a huge game for the Jays, as they not only got to Cleveland ace Kluber, but also did some damage against Bryan Shaw. They still have an enormous hill to climb, but they needed to get this first one and they got it done. Sanchez and the bullpen were masterful, the defense was great, and the bats put up enough runs to give the Jays an easy W.
Top Play of the Game by WPA
Josh Dnaldson’s third inning blast that gave the Blue Jays the lead for the first time in the series set the tone and was worth +0.124 WPA. No other play in the game would exceed that impact.
Bottom Play of the Game by WPA
In the third inning, with Tyler Naquin standing at 3B and one out, Carlos Santana grounded out to second and his team would fail to score in the inning. That play was worth -0.066 WPA.
Bullpen kings
The Toronto bullpen has accumulated 17.2 post season innings and allowed runs in only one of those, the 8th inning of game 1 of the ALDS when a couple were scored off Francisco Liriano. The Jays keep playing teams with vaunted bullpens but the Toronto guys are doing everything asked of them. Osuna has thrown in three of four days, and could be needed for a third straight game tomorrow, but they needed to win today, and the bullpen was a huge part of that.
MVZeke
Ezequiel Carrera once again came up huge for the Jays, delivering two hits, including his second triple of the series and the RBI single in the fourth. He has come up huge for this team when they needed somebody to step up.
Things are looking up
But they can’t take anything for granted. Having stumbled against the Cleveland bullpen game in game three, neither they or we should assume game five is a safe win, but it’s not irrational to like their odds given the scoring today.
Up Next
Toronto’s post-season ace Marco Estrada gets back to the mound tomorrow while Cleveland will counter with 24 year old left-handed rookie Ryan Merritt, who only had one major league start for his team this year. He doesn’t miss many bats, but he is an extreme strike thrower. It should be an exciting tilt.
Lead Photo: Nick Turchiaro-USA TODAY Sports