A-MINUS: Blue Jays fail to complete win against underdog Oakland
Hyun-Jin Ryu pitches five innings as Toronto blocks wild-card promotion
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The Blue Jays, seeking a rare series win, were instead beaten 5-2 by baseball’s worst team on Wednesday afternoon.
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After winning 7-1 and 6-5 in Oakland and trying to break out the brooms for the first time since August 4th and 6th in Boston and for the seventh time all season, the Jays instead couldn’t get the bat going bring and became the victim of a former farm worker.
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Kevin Smith, one of five players traded for Matt Chapman before the 2022 season, took reliever Trevor Richards deep in the sixth inning, opening a close game for a three-run home run.
Former catcher Carlos Perez blasted a bid from Hyun-Jin Ryu for a two-run home run to give Oakland the lead.
Toronto scored first in the second with a double by Cavan Biggio and a single by Ernie Clement.
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Mason Miller was outstanding for Oakland, replacing starter JP Sears. Sears went just 3-for-11 in the game but was only able to hold Toronto to one run despite giving up four walks and four hits in five innings. Miller retired six Jays in a row, three of them by strikeout, neutralizing any threat of a rally. Rookie sensation Davis Schnedier greeted Dany Jiminez with a solo home run in the eighth, his seventh, but the visitors got no closer.
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Ryu went five innings and gave up two earned runs on five hits and a walk in his eighth start this year since returning from Tommy John Surgery. He had gone 3-0 with a 1.50 ERA in his last five starts, but wasn’t quite as sharp in this one. Still, he received little support from his teammates.
Toronto had to settle for a third straight series in which they won two of three games against weak competition. Next up is MLB’s second-worst team, the Kansas City Royals, who start Friday at the Rogers Center. Things should get a lot more interesting after that: Texas comes for four and then Boston, still tenuously clinging to life in the wild card race, comes for three games.
The positive news for Toronto was that the team’s top player, Bo Bichette, could potentially return this weekend, according to Sportsnet. However, Chapman, the standout third baseman who is dealing with a finger injury, appears to be much further behind. Chapman played some ball on Wednesday but continues to feel uncomfortable swinging a bat.
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https://torontosun.com/sports/baseball/toronto-blue-jays/a-minus-blue-jays-unable-to-complete-sweep-against-lowly-oakland A-MINUS: Blue Jays fail to complete win against underdog Oakland
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