The second half of the season got underway with Josh Donaldson leading the Blue Jays into Oakland to face his former team (thank you again, Billy Beane). Given the direction in which the two teams are trending – the Athletics are looking to rebuild with young talent while the Jays are once again in go-for-it mode – one might have though the Jays would make easy work of the A’s. Instead, the two teams battled through a less-than-stellar hit parade. After the Jays went down in order in the top of the first, Marcus Stroman took the mound and immediately looked shaky, giving up two runs on two singles and a walk. The Jays promptly got one back in the top of the second, then took the lead in the third, playing a little small ball while taking advantage of the fact that the A’s have the worst defensive metrics in baseball. The Athletics would tie the game at three runs apiece in the bottom of the inning of a solo shot by Josh Reddick. The superior offense of the Jays finally got it going in the fourth, plating four runs on three hits to give Toronto a 7-3 lead. The Athletics would claw their way back, however, scoring three runs in the bottom of the fifth inning to tie the game, thanks to back-to-back home runs by Khris Davis and Stephen Vogt. The winning run came in the seventh when Brett Cecil gave up a walk followed by back-to-back singles, giving the A’s a lead they would not relinquish.
Top Play of the Game by WPA
With the game tied at seven runs apiece, Brett Cecil entered the game in the seventh inning. After getting two quick outs, Cecil issued a walk to Josh Reddick, a single to Khris Davis and a line-drive single to Stephen Vogt to bring home Reddick from second base, giving the A’s an 8-7 lead and the top play of the game by WPA (.234).
Bottom Play of the Game by WPA
Down by a run, Devon Travis struck out to lead off the eighth inning followed by a walk to Ezequiel Carrera. Josh Donaldson, with an opportunity to show up his former team, grounded into a double play to end the inning, providing the bottom play of the game by WPA (-.123).
Marcus Stroman Struggles…Again
After two very strong outings by Stroman prior to the all-star break, Stroman once again looked shaky on the mound, surrendering six earned runs on nine hits (three home runs) and one walk with five strike outs in 4.2 innings. As was his trouble in other outings, Stroman seemed to be pitching up in the zone, with little difference between his fastball and sinker. One hopes that he can solve his mechanical issues before too much more time passes.
Up Next
The Jays will look to bounce back later today when they send R.A. Dickey to the mound to face Sonny Gray, who is the subject of trade speculation and who has not performed well this season. Dickey, meanwhile, has been stellar as of late, quietly going about his business while lowering his ERA to under 4.00. Game time is 4:05 ET.
Lead Photo: John Hefti-USA Today Sports