Blue Jays 5, Rays 3 (F/10): An Apposite-Field Home Run

 

it was also an opposite-field one

After tenth-innings walks "were issued" (I have always liked that phrasing) to both Vladdy and Okamoto (George Springer was already aboard as The Manfred Man), Daulton Varsho (facing poor Aaron Brooks, appearing in the majors for the first time in kind of a while) hit just the fifth walk-off grand slam in Toronto Blue Jays history. I say "just," but how many would you really expect, I guess? Here's video of all five, conveniently assembled: 1987 American League MVP George Bell (9/4/88 [off of Mitch Williams, of all people]); the fully regrettable Gregg Zaun (9/6/08); 2018 World Series MVP (alas, not for us) Steve Pearce, who did it twice in four days (7/27/17 and 7/30/17), which is just wild beyond belief; and finally Daulton Varsho, just last night (5/13/26). Neat! 

And fairly needed, too! Jeff Hoffman had allowed a pair in the top of the tenth (Varland, Rogers, and Fluharty had all already pitched), and imagine being that guy, saddled with another tough loss, even after he'd been moved out of the closer role (excuse me: rôle). It would have been a real shame for AL-strikeout-leader Dylan Cease's nine-K, one-run seven innings to have been for naught, too, and, more broadly, nobody likes being swept by the Rays twice in as many weeks. It wears on one.       

Also wearing: Vladdy's slump (on Vladdy, I mean; I'm okay). Dan Shulman mentioned that when he (Dan) arrived in the booth at about quarter after two in the afternoon to do some prep work (filling out your scorekeeping book ahead of time, as soon as starting lineups are posted, really is enormously helpful in my experience), Vladdy was already on the field hitting off a tee before batting practice proper, and he apparently did this for forty-five minutes, which is a fairly enormous amount of time to spend hitting off a tee. Then, after launching one final, nice big homer off some regular BP pitching, Vladdy circled the bases in a his full home-run trot with a big smile on his face just to keep things light for the fellows. There was footage of all of this. I found it fairly moving. Maybe this next road trip will help him snap out of it: not the Detroit part, necessarily (though why not?), but the four games in New York that follow. For whatever reason, Vladdy hits at Yankee Stadium like few others, and honestly just wrecks the Yankees generally, regardless of venue (you may remember several such delicious instances from last October). I feel like maybe we're just a couple homers on the road trip away from putting this all behind us?

KS