Toronto Blue Jays swept in doubleheader

The Toronto Blue Jays were swept in a doubleheader against the Philadelphia Phillies on Friday, Sept. 19. In a pair of seven-inning games, Toronto was blown out in Game 1 by a score of 7-0 and lost a late lead in a 8-7 loss in the second game.

After a three-game sweep against the New York Yankees in which the Blue Jays allowed 43 total runs, Toronto is riding a five-game losing streak to drop its record to 26-25.

Game 1

In the first game of the doubleheader, Toronto allowed a run in the top of the first inning, and the score remained 1-0 till Philadelphia rallied for five runs in the fifth to pull away.

Blue Jays’ pitcher Robbie Ray threw 4.1 innings and allowed five earned runs on five hits and four walks. He also struck out six and gave up a home run to Bryce Harper in the fifth.

Toronto struggled to get the bats going after being shut out and finished with just four total hits. Leadoff hitter Cavan Biggio reached base on all three plate appearances, fishing 2-for-2 at the plate with a walk and stolen base. Lourdes Gurriel Jr. and Randal Grichuk each finished with a hit for the Blue Jays.

Game 2

Toronto got the bats going in the second game of the doubleheader but failed to keep late leads in the loss. Trailing 2-0, the Blue Jays rallied for five runs in the top of the fourth inning. Philadelphia scored three in the bottom half to tie it up, but the Blue Jays went back ahead with two more runs in the fifth.

Leading 7-5 going into the sixth inning, Harper smashed a two-run double, and it was followed by an RBI single for Alec Bohm to put the Phillies ahead 8-7. In the top of the seventh, Jonathan Villar and Travis Shaw both reached base with walks, but Hector Neris got Biggio to line out to centerfield to secure the save and the doubleheader sweep.

On the mound for Toronto, Ross Stripling got the start and went 3.1 innings, allowing three earned runs on four hits and three walks. He also struck out four batters. Rafael Dolis picked up the loss, allowing one unearned run and two hits in 0.2 innings pitched.

Teoscar Hernandez performed well at the plate for the Blue Jays, finishing 3-for-4 with two runs scored and a solo home run in the fourth inning to score the team’s first run of the game.

Saturday Primer

Regardless of its recent skid, Toronto is still in great position to appear in the 16-team MLB Playoffs in 2020, but it will need to avoid a collapse the final full week of the season. The Blue Jays have nine games remaining and are four games ahead of the Seattle Mariners for the final spot in the American League.

On the other side, the Phillies still have plenty to play for the rest of the season. Philadelphia is a half-game out of the second spot in the National League East, and the Phillies are the top wild card team as of Sept. 19.

Let’s take a look at Saturday’s game against the Phillies heading into the third of a four-game weekend series. The game will begin at 6:05 p.m. ET at Citizens Bank Park in Philadelphia.

Pitching has been an issue for the Blue Jays in this five-game losing streak. During this skid, Toronto allowed 11.6 runs per game, and that includes the two seven-inning games in the doubleheader against Philadelphia.

Toronto will hand the ball over to Hyun-Jin Ryu, who has been the team’s most consistent starter this season. In his first year with the Blue Jays, he has 10 starts in 2020 with a 4-1 record and a 3.00 earned run average in 54 innings pitched. He has struck out 60 batters with 14 walks. Toronto’s last victory game during Ryu’s last appearance in a 7-3 home win over the New York Mets. He threw six innings and allowed one run on eight hits with no walks. He also struck out seven batters as the winning pitcher. The Blue Jays won each of their last four games with Ryu on the mound.

On the other side, Philadelphia will start Vince Velasquez on Saturday night. In his sixth season, he appeared in seven games so far in 2020 with five starts. He has struggled a bit in the shortened season with a 6.46 ERA with an 0-1 record. The Phillies are 0-7 in games Velasquez appeared in this season. He is coming off a 6-2 road loss to the Miami Marlins on Monday. He threw 3.2 innings and allowed four earned runs on seven hits and one walk. He had five strikeouts as he picked up his first loss of 2020.

All odds for Saturday night’s game are according to a popular United States sportsbook.

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