Twins 7, Blue Jays 4: Feels Bad, Man

 

there's no way that's good

Aside from the company on the couch, which was exquisite, and the snacks, which were also strong, this was a tough one, and never really felt as close as the fairly reasonable final score might suggest. Varsho's two-run homer in the first ruled, of course, but the worm turned hard as all heck in the seven-run third, all off of Eric Lauer, who still seems weakened by the virus that is running through the Blue Jays pitching staff (not a metaphor or metonym or anything at all; they are literally guys who have gotten sick). Lauer gutted through just a miserable five-and-a-third, wearing all those runs, and just grinding through it so as not to tax the bullpen in a game that already looked a little out of reach. Spencer Miles, our Rule 5 pick (which is to say, among other things, that in order for us to keep him, he needs to stay on the big-league roster all year), pitched three-and-two-thirds scoreless as the game's sole reliever (for our side, I mean), allowing just one hit and one walk which is honestly pretty remarkable. Is it odd to have been kind of impressed by the Blue Jays' pitching in a game in which they allowed seven, and so were never really in the game after the third? Surely it is, and yet it is lightly how I feel about it, aside from also feeling like "dang it" on account of how that really is just too many runs. Jesus Sanchez, who seems to have already totally fit into the overall ethos of things, hit a pretty remarkable ninth-inning home run that saw him stagger into the right-handed batter's box (he is of course a great-big lefty) to, as I have said before, make this one seem a little closer at the end than it ever really was, but I am nevertheless grateful for it, as I am for all Blue Jays dingers (you only get so many; treasure them all, my friends). My only other thoughts about this game are that i) Joe Ryan really is a very good pitcher, isn't he, and also ii) that I would like to see more of Twins reliever Kody Funderburk, a promising name-guy, and finally iii) oh man what a drag that George Springer fouled a ball super hard(ly) off his big toe, and totally smashed it to the point of fracture. Could this mean Eloy Jimenez gets the call-up from Buffalo? Anybody else remember when the top three prospects in baseball were Vladimir Guerrero Jr., Fernando Tatis, and Eloy Jimenez? Anybody else lightly but perpetually haunted by contingency, or is that just me and my dude Eloy Jimenez?

KS