After setting a franchise record with 55 wins before the all-star break, the Blue Jays kicked off the unofficial start to the second half in similar fashion.
George Springer had three hits, Joey Loperfido and Alejandro Kirk each had two while veteran Chris Bassitt tossed 6 1/3 scoreless innings in a 4-0 victory over the San Francisco Giants on Friday night at Rogers Centre.
The Jays have won 14 of their last 18 games despite dropping two in a row to the Athletics before the break. They remain in sole possession of first place in the American League East ahead of next week’s crucial three-game series against the rival New York Yankees.
A resurgent Vladimir Guerrero Jr. would go a long way to help ÎÚÑ»´«Ã½ win the AL East.Â
Here’s everything you need to know about what happened Friday, including a slew of injury updates:
The Buffalo Boys
The Jays had runners on first and second during each of the first two innings but didn’t score. Their luck changed in the third when Loperfido hit an RBI double. Two batters later, Will Wagner added a two-run double to right field and Nathan Lukes picked up an RBI single.
Justin Verlander surrendered all four runs on nine hits and a pair of walks across 2 2/3 innings. Loperfido has seven hits in six games since being recalled from Triple-A Buffalo.
Escaping trouble
Just like Verlander, Bassitt allowed multiple baserunners in each of the first three innings, but he escaped without any damage, and that trend continued throughout the night. In the sixth, Rafael Devers hit a double off the wall but was stranded at third. Bassitt departed with one out and a pair of runners on in the seventh before Braydon Fisher retired the next two batters.
Guests: Paul Sun-Hyung Lee of Kim’s Convenience and The Mandalorian, Second City Veteran/TV …
While Bassitt surrendered a season-high 10 hits, he didn’t allow any runs as he improved to 10-4 with a 3.89 ERA. The Giants finished 0-for-9 with runners in scoring position and left nine men on base.
The walking wounded
Manager John Schneider’s first media availability after the break contained some ominous news. Reliever Yimi Garcia, who has been out since early July with a sprained ankle, is now dealing with an issue in the ulnar nerve of his right elbow. He is scheduled to be examined by doctors and there’s no timetable for his return. Equally troubling, Anthony Santander has yet to resume hitting and will soon be re-examined by the medical staff.
Right-hander Bowden Francis recently had a setback with his injured right shoulder and he won’t throw for at least 10 days; second baseman Andrés Giménez has been limited to doing defensive work on his knees to help protect his injured ankle; and reliever Ryan Burr is out for the remainder of the year because of right shoulder surgery.
The update was more promising on outfielder Daulton Varsho, who recently began a rehab assignment in Florida. The goal is to have Varsho playing at Triple-A early next week and he’ll likely require at least a few games there before returning. Right-hander Alek Manoah will continue his rehab from Tommy John surgery with a start for Class-A Dunedin on Sunday.
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