Instant Reaction: Blue Jays overcome five-run deficit in 13-9 win over Reds

In the top of the fourth, Daulton Varsho hit another home run, giving him a three-game home run streak and his 18th home run in just 51 games.

Immediately following Varsho, Alejandro Kirk hit his 12th home run of the season to centre field, bringing the Blue Jays to within two runs.

With one swing of the bat from the struggling Addison Barger, the Blue Jays tied the game at five as he hit a two-run homer.

The Blue Jays went back-to-back for the second time in the game, as Vladimir Guerrero Jr. hit his first home run in a while, his 22nd of the year, to give the Blue Jays their first lead of the game. Thanks to a Barger and Ty France sacrifice fly, the Jays took an 8-5 lead into the bottom of the seventh, with the Reds adding a run to cut the Jays’ lead to two.

In the top of the eighth, the Jays scored some much-needed insurance runs. Barger hit an RBI single, Bo Bichette reached on a fielder’s choice error with the bases loaded to score another run, followed by a sacrifice fly from Varsho. France hit a single to give the Jays a 12-6 lead with just six outs to get.

But nothing is ever easy with the Blue Jays’ bullpen. Louis Varland entered in the bottom of the eighth, giving up three earned runs in just two-thirds of an inning, with his two outs coming thanks to a strikeout. When the lineup turned over to TJ Friedl, the Jays brought in Brendon Little, who struck him out to end the inning. In the ninth, Guerrero Jr. ripped a double to score Ernie Clement for the 13-9 lead.

Takeaways…

Aside from the second inning, Shane Bieber pitched well. It seemed as if every ball in play found a hole somehow in the bottom of the second, leading to a five-run inning. He faced the minimum over the next four innings, and thankfully, the Blue Jays came back to get Bieber the win.

The Blue Jays have to stop trying to play the matchup game with the bullpen. On Monday, Tommy Nance allowed two hits, and the Jays brought in Brendon Little for TJ Friedl, and the Jays ended up losing that game. They did something similar in this game, turning to Ryan Borucki after what should’ve been the third out of the inning. A run scored, but the Jays still had a sizable lead.

Insurance runs were needed because Louis Varland had a tough outing, giving up three earned runs in his two-thirds of an inning. This time, Little was able to get Friedl, and Jeff Hoffman got the final three outs even though the Jays had a four-run lead.

The offence was terrific in this series, as both George Springer and Daulton Varsho hit three home runs in the series. Varsho and Ty France had a three-hit game, Andrés Giménez, Ernie Clement, Alejandro Kirk, Addison Barger, and Springer all had two hits, with the final four players all hitting a home run.

Overall, the Jays had 18 hits, eight of which were of the extra-base variety. Surprisingly, the Jays only went 3-10 with runners in scoring position, while the Reds were 6-11. In the end, they did enough to get the victory.

The Jays enter Thursday with at worst, a two-and-a-half game lead for the division with a tiebreaker. On Wednesday, the Boston Red Sox fell to the Cleveland Guardians, while the New York Yankees are knotted up at four as I write this. The Jays still have the best record in the American League.

Next up is the biggest series of the season. After a Thursday off-day, the Blue Jays begin a three-game series against the Yankees, a series that will be huge in determining whether they win the division or not. Friday’s game starts at 7:05 PM ET with Kevin Gausman getting the start. Imagine if they sweep them again.