The best part about that game is that it’s over.
On Friday evening, the Blue Jays played against the New York Yankees in their seventh game of Spring Training, falling to the Bronx Bombers 8-4. It uh.. .wasn’t a fun game, but let’s look at some of the positives!
Things worth mentioning…
Daniel Vogelbach hit his first home run of the spring to give the Blue Jays an early 2-0 lead. In fact, he, along with Davis Schneider and Ernie Clement, forced Gerrit Cole out of the first inning, as Schneider hit a single and Clement a triple. Cole would later return, because you can do that during Spring Training.
The big question is whether or not Vogelbach will make the team out of Spring Training. The 31-year-old first baseman/designated hitter slashed .233/.339/.404 with 13 home runs in 319 plate appearances with the New York Mets last season. For his career, he is slashing 20/.342/.410 with 80 home runs in 1878 plate appearances. He hits right-handed pitching especially well, and could be a great option for the bench.
Davis Schneider also hit a home run, his first of the spring, making it an 8-4 game while also going 2-3. Last season, the 25-year-old slashed .276/.404/.603 with eight homers in 141 plate appearances, along with a 14.9 BB% and 30.5 K%. It’s not a stretch to say that he helped save the Blue Jays season, and he’ll get a long look in Spring Training.
Chad Dallas made his second start of Spring Training, going 1.2 IP, 3 H, 2 ER, 1 BB, 2 K. The home run he gave up wasn’t great, but he got strikeouts with the curveball and the cutter. Unfortunately, the two earned runs came on a hanging slider, his best pitch. Still, Dallas will probably start the season in Triple-A and could be called up at some point in 2024.
Chad Green had a rough day against his former team, as he finished with a line of 1 IP, 2 H, 2 ER, 0 BB, 1 K. Not the greatest outing of the spring, but no cause for concern just yet. Other regular relievers that pitched in this game are Jordan Romano (1 IP, 2 K), Yimi García (1 IP, 1 H, 1 K) and Génesis Cabrera (1 IP, 1 K).
Hagen Danner made his second appearance of Spring Training, striking out two batters while facing the minimum. Both strikeouts were of the caught looking variety via the slider that sat a tick under 91 mph. The fastball maxed out at 97.5 mph.
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