SEATTLE — The Toronto Blue Jays gave their travelling Western Canadian fans a reason to cheer as they came back to win a series over the Seattle Mariners, completing the series victory with Sunday’s 5-4 extra-innings win.
Down 4-1 after six innings, George Springer hit a game-tying, three-run home run in the seventh off Mariners reliever Ryne Stanek. The Blue Jays bullpen kept the game knotted, pitching four scoreless innings, while Daulton Varsho hit the go-ahead RBI in the 10th.
WE. ARE. TIED. #SpringerDinger pic.twitter.com/6fMPu7rkr6
— Toronto Blue Jays (@BlueJays) July 7, 2024
“Our fans are great, I think this is one of the best places to go,” said Springer when asked about the rousing reception he got from the crowd after he hit his 10th home run of the season. “Our fans come here to support us from all over the place and it’s awesome to see. I think it means a lot to us as a team and to hear them go nuts is awesome.”
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So what did we learn from the Blue Jays beginning their three-city, West Coast road trip 2-1? Let’s take a look.
Bullpen comes up big in Seattle
It’s no big secret that the Blue Jays’ bullpen has struggled mightily. Hit hard by injuries and unexpected subpar performances, the group has a combined 4.80 ERA that ranks 29th in the majors.
There is no doubt their performance has been disappointing. But Blue Jays relievers took advantage of a struggling Mariners lineup and a game like Sunday’s can give a much-needed boost to a struggling bullpen, especially in a season that has been filled with gutting losses.
“It’s big,” Chad Green said about their performance. “We’ve lost some guys to injury and guys are pitching in situations that they’re normally not used to pitching in. If you can come to a place like this and put up some numbers, it’s big going forward.”
Nate Pearson threw a perfect seventh inning in relief of José Berríos, and then the Blue Jays’ bullpen wriggled out of bases-loaded jams in the eighth, ninth and 10th innings. In the eighth, Brendon Little came into the game after Zach Pop hit Julio Rodríguez to load the bases with two outs. Little got shortstop J.P. Crawford to ground out to end the threat.
In the ninth, Green caught a lucky break when a Luke Raley hit bounced over the wall for a ground-rule double, holding the runner at third base, but to his credit, Green battled back in the inning and escaped a bases-loaded situation by getting Jorge Polanco to pop out in foul territory. Pitching in the 10th inning, Génesis Cabrera also was staring at a bases-loaded threat, but he got Cal Raleigh — a noted Jays killer — to fly out to centre field for the last out.
Blue Jays manager John Schneider had praise for his bullpen’s performance.
“Nate answered the bell,” he said. “Little with a big huge at-bat there to get out of that inning. Chad (was) just a ho-hum, professional, getting it done, and Cabby, man. That’s such a tough spot to come into with the runner at second. He made huge pitches, understood situations — when to stay out of the zone, when to be in the zone. Overall, they did an outstanding job.”
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Leo Jiménez soaking up MLB experience
Leo Jiménez has been in the major leagues for nearly a week, and the Blue Jays rookie has been savouring every moment.
“Every day has been way better, being able to share, talk and have conversations with my teammates has been, I think, huge for me,” the 23-year-old infielder said. “At the end of the day, I want to keep learning and I think that’s the best way — asking questions.”
In the second start of his MLB career, Jiménez recorded his first hit on Sunday with a line drive single up the middle off Mariners starter George Kirby in the second inning. Jiménez finished the game 2-for-3 with a hit-by-pitch.
Big League Leo!
There’s his FIRST @MLB hit 👏 pic.twitter.com/ryOUJhQ1xL
— Toronto Blue Jays (@BlueJays) July 7, 2024
“A dream come true for him, to get two of them is pretty cool,” Schneider said. “Guys gave him a nice little beer shower in there. He’s such a good kid. You love seeing that kind of stuff happen. He handled himself really well today.”
The Blue Jays’ No. 4 prospect, Jiménez was called up last week to take the place of injured infielder Isiah Kiner-Falefa. In his first taste of the majors, Jiménez was aware that he might be playing sparingly — at least initially — but he said he’s been coming to the ballpark every day and preparing like he’s in the starting lineup.
Jimenez said he’s been learning from and paying special attention to the position players, especially the infielders. Kiner-Falefa has been especially helpful, he said.
“When I got called up, (he) came to me and told me how things work in the big leagues with the guys so I really appreciated that from him,” Jiménez said. “He’s a great guy.”
Kiner-Falefa, in his seventh MLB season, said he enjoys the experience of mentoring young players. With Jiménez in particular, he sees a player eager to learn and willing to ask questions. While he’s on the IL with a left knee sprain, he’s keen to see what Jimenez can bring to the club.
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“He was an on-base machine in the minor leagues, so it’ll be nice to see that up here,” Kiner-Falefa said. “He’s an all-around player, where he’s got power, he’s good on defence. It’s all about gaining the confidence at this level. Hopefully, he can get off to a fast start and get some results, and from those results, build that confidence and start a great career from there.”
As for the other aspects of MLB life, Jiménez said on a recent walk in downtown Toronto with his family, he had his first experience with a few hardcore Blue Jays fans, who recognized him.
“I was like, ‘I haven’t even debuted yet. How do you guys know my name? How do you guys know who I am?’” he said, smiling. “It’s just awesome. People just come to you and tell you that and it actually makes you love the game even more.”
Vladimir Guerrero Jr. only Blue Jays All-Star
The Blue Jays will only have one representative at this year’s All-Star Game — at least for now.
MLB announced the pitchers and remaining reserves selected for this year’s All-Star Game and no Blue Jays were among them. That means Vladimir Guerrero Jr., named a starter last week, will be the only Blue Jays player in Arlington, Texas, next week — unless any Blue Jays players are named as injury replacements.
Considering Toronto is a last-place team that’s underperformed this season, it’s not altogether surprising that they don’t have a big presence at the Midsummer Classic this year.
Before he got injured, right-handed reliever Yimi García looked like he could be on track to be an All-Star, especially if he had been closing instead of an injured Jordan Romano. (The four AL relievers selected this year are closers.) Berríos got out to a fast start in April and looked on the All-Star track, but his numbers have dipped lately and he now leads the AL in home runs allowed with 21. Chris Bassitt has a 3.43 ERA in 18 starts and has been particularly effective lately, with a 2.19 ERA in his past six outings. But between needing all teams represented and the limited number of pitching spots available, both starters missed the cut.
If Guerrero remains Toronto’s only All-Star, it’ll be the first year since 2019 that the Blue Jays only sent one player to the event, when starter Marcus Stroman was their sole representative.
(Photo of Cabrera celebrating on Sunday: Stephen Brashear / Getty Images)
Kaitlyn McGrath is a staff writer for The Athletic, covering the Toronto Blue Jays. Previously, she worked at the National Post and CBC. Follow Kaitlyn on Twitter @kaitlyncmcgrath
