Instant Reaction: Blue Jays’ five series win streak ends with 3-2 loss to Phillies

The score remained 1-0 for the Blue Jays until the bottom of the fourth, when Bowden Francis lost his command. He got the first two batters out, but walked the next two and hit a batter to load the bases. Francis then walked Bryson Stott and then hit Otto Kemp to make it a 2-1 lead for the Phillies.

Thankfully, the Blue Jays answered right back in the top of the fifth. Bo Bichette hit into a double play, but after a review, he was determined to be safe. That worked out well for Toronto, as Vladimir Guerrero Jr. hit a double to tie the game at two.

The next two innings didn’t see any scoring, and after the Jays went quietly in the top of the eighth, Chad Green had the ball for the bottom of the eighth. As he’s done for most of his tenure as a Blue Jay, he gave up a home run, and the Blue Jays had a scoreless top of the ninth, falling 3-2.

Takeaways…

The Blue Jays’ bats have been so hot recently, but they’ve struggled in this series. In Friday’s game, the Blue Jays were held off the scoresheet while the Phillies put up eight runs. On Saturday, they scored just two runs, with Ernie Clement and Vladimir Guerrero Jr. accounting for four of the five hits.

Funnily enough, the Blue Jays out-hit the Phillies, as they gave up just four hits. Unfortunately, it was Bowden Francis’ command issues that drove in two runs, as he gave up three walks and hit two batters. Brendon Little got him out of the inning and got the next two outs, before Yariel Rodriguez retired the next four outs.

Braydon Fisher remains near perfect in relief, pitching another scoreless inning. He gave up only his second walk as a reliever, but also struck out a batter to drop his ERA to 2.76. Chad Green is the pitcher of record, giving up the game-winning home run, his ninth home run conceded this season.

There weren’t a lot of positives to take away from this game. This was the Blue Jays’ first series loss in about three weeks, breaking their five-series winning streak. They’ll have a chance to avoid the sweep on Sunday at 1:35 PM ET, as Jose Berrios gets the ball against Zack Wheeler.