Jays Lose To Cubs

Blue Jays 2 Cubs 3

That was a long, long dumb game. I had a hard time staying awake for it. The boxscore says the delays went for 55 minutes. Plus the 2:31 of game time, it made for a long watch.

Two rain delays and a lot of bad baseball.

Let’s do this random note style:

• It started badly; Ian Happ homered on Chri0s Bassitt’s first pitch of the game.
• Bassitt gave up two more runs in the fifth inning. Dansby Swanson and Pete Crow-Armstrong started the inning with singles. The Cubs tried to bunt, but Vlad did a terrific job, getting to the ball quick and throwing to third to get the force there. Addison Barger threw back to first, but it was off-line. Tough play, but we could have used that out. Happ struck out but Michael Busch tripled to the ivy in center. Daulton Varsho got there and made a nice jump. The ball appeared to hit his glove, but he didn’t get the catch. It was a triple, scoring two. 3-0 Cubs.
• Bassitt wasn’t bad, especially considering he sat for two rain delays early. 5 innings, 5 hits, 3 earned, 2 walks and 5 strikeouts.
• Zach Pop had a scoreless inning.
• Ryan Yarbrough had an eventful two scoreless innings. In his first inning, he got a popup and then walked Crow-Armstrong. The Next batter ground one softly to the mound. Yarbrough had it go through him, then turned to get it, picked it up and threw it well wide of first base—two errors on the play. But Happ tried to put down a squeeze bunt and missed, and Kirk caught PCA off third base, and they got him in a rundown. A strikeout later, and the inning was over.
• The Jays got seven hits and five walks, so you would have liked more scoring.
• We got a run in the seventh: Steward Berroa singled. An out later, Springer singled him to third. Then Varsho put down a bunt single. It's a perfect bunt single. Berroa scored, and we had a run and runners on first and second with Vlad up. Then Springer took off to steal third, and he was out. Stealing with Vlad at the plate seems dumb. I’m sure Springer went on his own. It was close, but if he was out. If he was safe, with Varsho going too, the Cubs could have walked Vlad. Anyway, Vlad hit a fly to the track. It seemed bad baseball.
• And we got a run in the ninth, Addison Barger homered. But Springer, Varsho and Vlad all struck out.
• Barger made a very nice catch in right in the first inning. He needs more playing time.
• Leo Jimenez came out of the game with a sore knee.
• The Cubs pulled their starter, Justin Steele, after the second rain delay. He just went two innings, but he’s a great young arm. I’m all for being careful with young pitchers.
• Nate Pearson pitched two innings. He looked much like he did with us, but he made it through them scoreless. In his second inning, Vlad doubled, Kirk and Wagner walked, but Davis Schneider struck out, and Steward Berroa hit a fly ball to right to the track. Statcast tells us it would have been a home run in just one park, Yankee Stadium.
• Julian Merryweather also pitched an inning against us, giving up just a Wagner single.
• Varsho had two hits. Five others had one. Kirk was 0 for 2, but had 2 walks and hit one to the track in center. Clement (0 for 4, 1 k) and Schneider (0 for 3, 2 strikeouts) had the 0 fors.
• Kirk was caught stealing (well, he had two official caught stealing, but one was off the rundown on the missed bunt; by some silly rule, it is called a caught stealing). He caught Suzuki trying to steal third.

No JoDs today. Kirk had the high mark of .048 WPA.

The Other Award: Clement (-.191), Schneider (-.134), Berrora (-.133) and Springer (-.109).

Two one-run losses in a row. Some games are tough to watch.

Tomorrow, we try to salvage a win out of this. Bowden Francis (5-3, 4.92) vs. Shota Imanaga (9-2, 3.16). It might be tough to score again tomorrow.