2022 Games Twenty-Eight and Twenty-Nine (Double Header!): Blue Jays 8, Guardians 3 (Game One), Guardians 8, Blue Jays 2 (Game Two)

 

deal. in'. 

Well, it finally happened: Kevin Gausman walked a guy. We knew it had to happen eventually, I guess, and probably sometime in May. Fortunately, from a face-saving perspective, it came in the overall context of six-hit, one-run start wherein he pitched into the seventh, so maybe he will not be especially haunted by it. The best part is that it came against Franmil Reyes, who has only walked four times this season, and who actually strikes out something like forty-four-percent of the time (that's a lot). Baseball's weird! Also weird: the extent to which Raimel Tapia came through, knocking in three runs on the day, much like George Springer (that's less weird). Alejandro Kirk, DHing the firs half of the double-header, picked up three hits, each one a delight. Thornton and Merryweather (two innings!) took it the rest of the way and everything was lovely.

Until . . .

shoot.

I don't know how much difference it made in terms of run expectancy (I could easily check, and yet), but when the Blue Jays ran into like four outs fairly early on in the second game of the double header, its effects (indeed its affects) on feelings expectancy were profound: well before things were actually out of reach, this game just felt like one that was not going to happen. And then it didn't! I'm actually a little surprised to see from the box score that the Blue Jays had four hits (how the heck did they hit four). Young and long Triston McKenzie, friend and rival to Bo Bichette since they were both like nine years old, pitched a better game than Shane Beiber had earlier in the day, that's for sure.

Alek Manoah on the mound Sunday going for the series split, which would be fine, unlike a three-one series loss, which would actually be a real pain! We're a little behind both the Yankees and Rays right now. I don't like it as much.

KS