Instant Reaction: Blue Jays’ offence comes alive in postseason-clinching 8-5 victory over Royals

With rookie Trey Yesavage on the mound, the home plate umpire squeezed him, leading to a walk. After Maikel García hit a single and Salvador Perez struck out, Adam Frazier hit a two-run single to bring the Royals to within one.

The Jays gained some more separation in the top of the fifth. Heineman led off the inning with a single, and after Springer struck out, Daulton Varsho hit a single to put on two runners, who were cashed in by Vladimir Guerrero Jr.’s 34th double of the season. Addison Barger then hit a double to make it 6-2.

Again, the Royals cut into the Blue Jays’ lead, but it wasn’t without controversy (more on that in the takeaways). At the end of a review, the first two Royals reached in the bottom of the fifth, knocking Yesavage out of the game. With Brendon Little on the mound, he gave up an RBI single to García and Perez. In the bottom of the sixth, Jac Caglianone hit a one-out triple and was cashed in by former Blue Jay Randal Grichuk to make it 6-5.

That was all the runs the Royals got, as Ernie Clement hit a two-out RBI single in the top of the eighth, followed by Giménez’s first triple of the season, which scored their eighth run of the game.

Takeaways…

Trey Yesavage finished with four + innings pitched in his second start, giving up four earned runs, three walks, and two strikeouts. On top of being squeezed, which led to two runs in the fourth inning, Daulton Varsho made a spectacular catch. However, it was deemed to be a trap after review (despite it clearly being a catch), leading to two more runs in the bottom of the fifth.  Instead of a double play, Yesavage was knocked out of the game, and Brendon Little allowed two inherited runners to score.

Little pitched an inning and two-thirds, giving up those two inherited runners and a runner of his own. The bullpen settled down from there, as Seranthony Domínguez struck out two in an inning and a third, Eric Lauer threw a clean inning, and Jeff Hoffman picked up his 32nd save of the season.

The bats finally came alive in this game, finishing the day with 12 hits, just the second time they’ve had six or more hits since Monday. Andrés Giménez, George Springer, Vladimir Guerrero Jr., and Ernie Clement all had two-hit games, while Varsho, Addison Barger, Myles Straw, and Tyler Heineman had one hit.  Springer hit his 25th double, Guerrero Jr. hit his 34th double, and Barger hit his 31st double, while Giménez hit his first triple.

Varsho’s catch wasn’t deemed a catch, but Nathan Lukes made a terrific catch in right field to lead off the top of the seventh. If he doesn’t make this catch, the Royals would’ve had a runner in scoring position with no outs in a one-run game. This catch may have given the Blue Jays the division.

With the win, the Blue Jays’ magic number to clinch the American League East is four, as the New York Yankees were able to win in extra innings on Sunday afternoon. Next up for the Blue Jays is a game against the Boston Red Sox on Tuesday, with Kevin Gausman expected to start against Lucas Giolito when the game begins at 7:07 PM ET.