Oilers fall just short of one final epic comeback
A season that began as “Cup or bust,” a declaration made a year ago by both Draisaitl and McDavid, ends somewhere in between.
BOSTON — Following Monday night’s gut-wrenching loss at Fenway Park, the Toronto Blue Jays were understandably upset. Manager John Schneider and starter Chris Bassitt wore frustration on their faces, and their verbal tones matched those feelings. Vladimir Guerrero Jr. looked just as dejected as he hung his head while walking slowly from the clubhouse to the assembled media.
The source of their misery was obvious as the team had just suffered a seventh-straight loss and arguably its ugliest defeat this year.
The next afternoon, though, Schneider was chipper in his office. He laughed and cracked jokes and it was clear that the feelings from the night before had eased. The manager reflected on the nature of the baseball schedule and noted how its daily grind can actually work like medicine.
“You’re sitting in a hotel and you’re thinking about [the loss] and you get here and you kind of just start your day,” Schneider said. “You do it again the next day, no matter what. So, I think it’s more of a blessing. You get around coaches, you guys [media], players, and you kind of just go about your day.”
The Blue Jays players, to their credit, brought that mindset to life on Tuesday night, flushing the previous night’s disappointment and responding with a 9-4 victory over the Boston Red Sox in front of 34,546.
Guerrero Jr. collected two doubles and four RBIs, George Springer launched his first home run since June 4 and Kevin Gausman tossed six solid innings. Overall, it was an emphatic way to snap a losing streak.
The Red Sox opened the scoring in the second inning when Rafael Devers deposited a 2-2 fastball from Gausman 467 feet into the right-centre field bleachers for the longest home run of his career. They added another run when Tyler O’Neill tripled on a fielding miscue by Guerrero Jr. and then scored on Masataka Yoshida’s double to right field.
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The Blue Jays responded with a haymaker in the next inning, though, batting around the lineup and scoring seven runs.
Danny Jansen doubled, Isiah Kiner-Falefa reached base with an infield hit, and both came around to score when Kevin Kiermaier ripped a base hit under the glove of second baseman Enmanuel Valdez.
Right-fielder Wilyer Abreu fielded the ball and sailed a throw over the Blue Jays dugout that allowed another run to score as Toronto tied the game at 2.
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Red Sox starter Brayan Bello then loaded the bases for Guerrero Jr., who scorched a 111-m.p.h. double to centre that plated two runs. Then, Springer smacked a two-run homer to right-centre field that pushed the score to 7-2.
Springer was greeted by Guerrero Jr. at home plate after rounding the bases and continued his celebration in the dugout while donning the club’s home run jacket. It’s about the happiest the outfielder has looked during a month that’s registered as one of the worst of his entire career, from an offensive standpoint. He added two singles on the night and pushed his season OPS to .581.
That was more than enough run support for Gausman. He allowed a two-run homer to O’Neill, a native of Maple Ridge, B.C., in the sixth inning, but overall, pitched well over his six frames, allowing three earned runs on five hits, walking one and striking out five.
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Shortstop Bo Bichette went 0-for-4 but drew a walk and scored in his return from a right calf issue that landed him on the 10-day injured list. He was slotted in the leadoff spot for just the third time this season and the plan for the next little while is for Bichette to stay there.
“You miss 10 days and then [we] throw him in the leadoff spot, [but] I think he’s one of the very few guys who you can kind of do that with. So, yeah, see how it goes,” said Schneider. “You want who has been one of your best hitters over the years — and will probably be that at the end of the year — getting up more and facing good pitching late.”
Daulton Varsho, meanwhile, is still out with a back issue. He sustained the injury in the ninth inning of Saturday’s game and hasn’t played since. The outfielder took part in light running and fielding drills prior to Tuesday’s game but is still experiencing soreness while swinging the bat. Schneider is hopeful Varsho could return sometime in the next two games, so the club is not considering an IL stint for him at this point.
The Blue Jays entered Tuesday with a 3.7 per cent chance to make the playoffs, according to FanGraphs, and while one victory won’t change that number dramatically, at least it’s a start.
On Wednesday, the baseball calendar will flip once again and bring a new day with more opportunities.