The Blue Jays finished off their first-ever four-game sweep of the New York Yankees at home, taking a with a dramatic 8-5 win at Rogers Centre. Here’s what you need to know:
George Springer was at the centre of the action yet again, drawing a first-inning walk and coming around to score the game’s first run on a double by Addison Barger.
Springer would add a two-run home run in the third and another two-run shot in the eighth, providing desperately-needed breathing room in what was a tense one-run game late. Barger added a solo shot of his own and Nathan Lukes’ two-run double in the fourth gave the Jays the lead for good.
GEORGE SPRINGER.
— ÎÚÑ»´«Ã½ Blue Jays (@BlueJays)
TWO HOMERS.
PLAYOFF ATMOSPHERE.
“The dude is locked,†Lukes said of Springer, who had four homers and 11 RBIs in the four-game sweep. “Hitting in front of him (Thursday) was fun. I didn’t really have to base-run, I just got to watch the ball fly. He’s lights out. He’s the head honcho.â€
Chris Bassitt gutted his way through five-plus innings, throwing 113 pitches, and four relievers held the lead, though Braydon Fisher gave up a couple in the seventh — the first runs he had allowed out of the bullpen in his big-league career.
Jeff Hoffman worked a shutout ninth to earn his 21st save of the season and his third of the series.
Fastballs
Justin who?
With two out and nobody on in the top of the eighth and protecting a one-run lead, the Jays chose to intentionally walk Aaron Judge — something they didn’t do Wednesday, when Judge wound up hitting a game-tying home run in the same frame.
Cody Bellinger was the next hitter and left-hander Justin Bruihl came out of the bullpen to face him.
The 28-year-old was making his fourth appearance as a Blue Jay and just his 38th in the majors over the past three seasons.
“You’re going to ask guys to come in and make pitches,” said manager John Schneider, also making sure to compliment Chad Green, who got four outs before Bruihl was called upon. “And (Bruihl) absolutely did. That was really big, both him and Chad.”
A little amped up, Bruihl fell behind 3-1 but battled back and got Bellinger to swing through a sinker up and in, striking out the former MVP to end the inning, preserving the one-run lead.
What an at-bat
Lukes, placed in the leadoff spot for the first time this season, had an epic at-bat in the fourth inning.
With runners at second and third and one out in a 3-3 tie, the 30-year-old got into a drawn out-battle with Yankees reliever Clayton Beeter. After quickly getting behind 0-2, Lukes went into survival mode and fouled off six pitches while taking three others to finally run the count full.
The lefty swinger then fouled off two more before knocking the 14th pitch of the at-bat down the left-field line for a two-run double to give the Jays a lead they would never relinquish.
FOURTEEN PITCHES LATER...
— ÎÚÑ»´«Ã½ Blue Jays (@BlueJays)
Lukes Delivers!
“Incredible,” said Springer, who watched from the on-deck circle. “For him to keep going, keep grinding, keep fighting off pitch after pitch after pitch and not have a timeout after, like, the fifth pitch was unbelievable. That’s an at-bat right there where he completely flipped the script.”
Hitting the spin
Barger has been mashing fastballs since arriving from Triple-A Buffalo in mid-April, but when he’s had trouble it’s been when opposing pitchers work around him with breaking pitches and off-speed stuff. They’ve adjusted to him and he adjusted back in a big way Wednesday.
Barger’s first-inning double was off a cutter and his two-bagger in the third came off a knuckle curve. In the fifth, he turned around a slider and put in into the seats.
“It’s a guy coming into his own,†said Schneider after the game. “He’s got all the skills in the world to be a great player. (He’s) really buying into an approach, not being afraid to take some chances and understand how pitchers are going to attack him. Since he’s been up here he’s been damn good and added a dynamic to our lineup that we desperately needed.â€
Mailbag
DJTaxman77 found me on Bluesky @wilnerness to ask, “What is Addison Barger’s next contract going to look like? He is passing Vladdy as the top power bat on this team.”
Let’s not get ahead of ourselves, DJ — on both counts. While it’s true that Barger does have a better home-run rate than Guerrero right now, Vladdy could erase that with one hot week. Either way, the young lefty swinger’s pop has been a badly-needed addition to the Jays’ lineup. As for the contract, that’s a long time away. Barger likely won’t even be eligible for arbitration until after the 2027 season and won’t be a free agent until after 2030. If the Jays give him a long-term deal before then it’ll look a lot more like Alejandro Kirk’s five-year, $58 million (U.S.) deal than Vladdy’s half-billion dollar contract.
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