TORONTO – One of the questions for the Toronto Blue Jays that emerged after the trade deadline earlier this month is whether they will strengthen their faulty thrust enough to become a heavyweight.
Rescuers Zach Pop, Adam Cimber, Anthony Bass, Yimi Garcia and closer so Jordan Romano were the main reason the Blue Jays (61-51) stopped their three-game losing streak with a 2-1 win over the Cleveland Guardians (60- 53) on Saturday.
With a 1-0 lead by Cleveland, Toronto starter Mitch White found himself struggling with two goals in the fourth inning. Toronto interim coach John Schneider then assigned the game to his painkillers. They eliminated the visitors to allow Matt Chapman and Teoscar Hernandez to beat the solo hosts to lead the fifth and seventh innings, respectively.
“Zach came to clean up my mess,” White said. “I don’t mind passing the torch to them. They are great.”
Bass and Pop are two arms added to the Blue Jays bullpen on the trade deadline. Bass (3-3) took the win for his clean seventh inning.
“You can’t say enough about the work they’ve done from Pop to Cimber, Bass to Yimi,” says Schneider. “Everybody stepped up.
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“They’ve been really, really good for a while. So it lines up well behind Mitch and just one credit to those. All are pretty much nails. “
Bullpen has shone in the past two matches with a total of 9 innings.
In the opening game of Friday’s series, which lost 8-0, Pop, Trevor Richards, Trent Thornton, Cimber and David Phelps each had one round to close.
Meanwhile, Romano made his 26th save with a four-time appearance on Saturday, the fourth time he’s thrown more than one inning since Schneider replaced Charlie Montoyo.
“(Romano’s) showed he could do it,” said Schneider. “I really trust him in any position.”
The Guardians (60-53) saw their six-game winning streak end against 44,977 at Rogers Center.
Cleveland opened with a run in the first inning.
Steven Kwan took the lead with a walk and advanced to second as Canadian Josh Naylor earned two free passes. Andres Gimenez knocks Kwan out with a single hit midfield.
Toronto heavyweight Vladimir Guerrero Jr extended his streak to 22 career highs with a double in the first round. But for the most part, the Blue Jays continued to be thwarted by Cleveland’s pitch.
In the end, Chapman led the fifth inning with his left-center shot to close the game and end a scoreless 16-round streak for Toronto.
Chapman’s pro also tied him to the team lead with Guerrero at the age of 23.
As the game drew, Hernandez sent Cleveland starter Tristan McKenzie (8-9) deep into left-back in his 17th game.
“It was a tough time,” Hernandez said. “We faced a lot of good pitchers.”
Blue Jays central midfielder Raimel Tapia made two excellent catches. With a first-place finisher and no one disqualified, the left-hander made a dive to his left on the drive from Amed Rosario in the opening half.
In the fifth inning, Tapia made a catch over his right shoulder on the center left warning line off Jose Ramirez’s club to end the inning with the first and second place runners.
Tapia was also thrown out of the field, trying to score a single goal from second base to end the seventh inning.
Toronto’s White went through 4 innings, giving up with three hits with three attacks and three walks.
After a tough first inning, White pulled back eight in a row before walking away in the fourth round against Gimenez.
RETURN
Ross Stripling rejoined the Blue Jays on Saturday after successfully starting a five-round rehab for Triple-A Buffalo on Friday. He could find a spot in the rotation as early as Wednesday if the Blue Jays decide to give struggling Jose Berrios an extra day of rest.
NEXT
Toronto righty Kevin Gausman (8-8) will face Cleveland’s Shane Bieber (7-6) in the series finale on Sunday. The Blue Jays continue their six-game home run with the first of three against the Baltimore Orioles on Monday.
This report by the Canadian Press was first published on August 13, 2022
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