Blue Jays 9, Brewers 7 (F/10): An Objectively Great Game That I Nearly Minded But In The End Did Not

go Kaz

John Schneider totally emptied the bench (always fun! get on out there, everybody!), and probably more of the bullpen than he would have super duper liked to have, but it was all in the service of a much-needed and indeed quite sick win. Kevin Gausman unfortunately continued our starting pitchers' early habit of allowing three-run homers (this has happened so many times already), but solo shots from both Andrés Giménez and Daulton Varsho kept things close enough that our three-run top-of-the-ninth had things looking pretty good! Except then Hoffman had a tough time in the bottom of the ninth! Which necessitated a tenth! In which we actually thrived, don't worry! The double that Vladdy ripped to the wall, I would say, was my favourite part of that tenth, and although he has hit just the one homer so far, have you noticed that Vladdy is hitting well over .300 with an OBP comfortably over .400, and is on pace for like a nine-win season, at least according to the Baseball Reference version of Wins Above Replacement (I find myself at FanGraphs less and less; have they changed? have I? I think maybe both)? This is bound to keep on happening, I suppose, especially now that Vladdy has demonstrated that his ceiling is "best October hitter in the history of baseball," but it is wild that the early results can have Vladdy on pace for his most valuable season (by kind of a lot—he hasn't had a seven-win season [yet]), and people can still be asking "what's wrong with Vladdy?"  The gift and the curse, I suppose, and a burden that I think it is fair to say Vladdy seems fit to carry; I would not say that I worry, exactly. Anyway, to return to the pitching for a moment as we wrap up here: Louis Varland looked really good again, helping Hoffman out of the ninth, and wrapping things up in the tenth, leading some observers to wonder (in texts they have sent me) if maybe Varland should be closing on the reg, but I think the Blue Jays probably value his multi-inning ability, and his seeming indifference to being deployed in high-leverage, whether that occur in the fifth, or the tenth? Also, one must note that, not unlike Hoffman, Varland can be a little homer-prone, so there's no perfect answer here, but also no bad ones.

KS