With the Blue Jays down 8-3 heading into the top of the fifth inning earlier today against the Minnesota Twins, manager John Schneider called upon Trevor Richards to help right the ship.
Starter Kevin Gausman allowed six earned runs (seven total) through three innings and fellow reliever Zach Pop gave up a solo home run of his own to give the Twins some added insurance runs that fell just short as the Jays bats rallied for seven unanswered on the day, winning 10-8.
Richards entered the game facing the bottom half of the lineup but a notable Jays killer in Carlos Santana, who has seen lots of personal success against at the Rogers Centre. The right-handed reliever handled the Twins easily in his first inning of work, getting Santana to line out before sitting down Jose Miranda and Edouard Julien, with Miranda going down swinging while Richards froze the Quebec City product on a high changeup that just caught the top of the zone. The righty was then called upon to pitch the sixth inning, with the Jays needing some length from their relief corps after Gausman exited early.
Blue Jays reliever Trevor Richards shuts the door and continues his solid start to the year
With some run support in the bottom half of the previous inning, Richards dealt with the Twins’ two, three, and four hitters with ease, generating two flyouts and a lineout to keep the Blue Jays’ momentum rolling into the bottom half of the sixth inning. On the day, he threw 18 pitches, 14 of which were strikes, and kept the Twins off the board for the first time in the game. He didn’t earn the win on the day but he certainly played a huge part in the turnaround for the Jays squad, shutting the door after Gausman and Pop allowed runs to give the Twins an elevated lead.
For Richards, it’s a story that keeps writing itself this season amidst a Blue Jays bullpen that has been disappointing on a collective front. The Illinois product owns a 2.84 ERA through 18 outings and 19 innings pitched and has allowed just eight hits and six earned runs. Richards has held opponents to a .125 average while posting a 0.84 WHIP out of the bullpen, walking eight batters compared to 20 strikeouts.
The veteran arm has been used in various roles throughout the season, seeing work as early as the third to fifth innings as noted in today’s outing. He has been working predominantly between the sixth to eighth innings for the Blue Jays this year and has been one of the top arms down in the relief corps alongside Yimi García, Jordan Romano, and the injured Chad Green.
The stats are somewhat similar to what Richards put forward last season before he struggled following his return from a neck inflammation injury in early August.
Prior to his IL stint, Richards was working with a 2.98 ERA and a 3.73 FIP and was able to pitch wherever needed out of the bullpen, whether it was the fifth inning or late in the contest in high-pressure situations. Following his return, he was one of the worst arms on the squad, allowing 23 hits and 23 earned runs through 18 1/3 innings, posting a 10.80 ERA and a 5.66 FIP to round out the season.
He pitched the most innings of any Jays reliever (72 2/3) and also posted the highest K/9 of all Jays pitchers with a 13.0 K/9 mark but finished the season on a sour note, where he may have still been battling injury or just ran out of gas while struggling to find his prior-IL stats.
For now, the former Brewers reliever is posting solid numbers for a Blue Jays relief corps that is struggling to live up to expectations and entered today with a league-worst 5.09 ERA with 76 earned runs and 23 home runs allowed.
With Green slated to return from injury soon, should Richards continue his current trend of sub-3.00 ERA baseball, the Blue Jays bullpen is potentially slated for a turnaround that could see the relief corps return to 2023 form.
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