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| a classic "can't win 'em all" moment that barely even stung |
No, Jordan Romano couldn't quite seal the deal in the ninth (though he would have been out of the inning had a double-play call not been [quite rightly] overturned). But it is remarkable that it even got that far: down 4-0 after the first inning, and 5-0 soon enough thereafter on the three (three!) home runs allowed by Hyun-Jin Ryu (tying a career high for that steadiest of guys), there was no reason to expect much from the rest of this one. These Rays, while still excellent, are not quite the Rays you remember, though: their bullpen is not a true strength, and they are prone to both defensive and baserunning miscues. They are capable of messing up! And they sure did, with two down in the sixth, as things unfolded thus(ly): Keirmaier safe on a throwing error, Tyler Heineman to first on a strike-three wild-pitch (oops!), Springer double, Bo single, Vladdy single, Biggio double. You will forgive me, I hope, for posting specific rally details two games in a row, but stringing hits together for big innings has not really been a defining feature of this 2023 Blue Jays season, and I am ready to embrace it! I'm going to do it again for the eighth, too, because this one was really something: Espinal double (the speedy Cam Eden on for Espinal), Springer groundout that moves the runner to third, wild pitch to score Eden, Vladdy walk, Chapman hit by a pitch (a fastball this time that looked brutal, very much last night's breaking ball), and a walk to Whit to force in another run. What a gift! I'm telling you, these Rays, even though they walked us off in the ninth, these Rays are beatable, even in the Trop, even by us.
KS
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