When It All Clicks, the Blue Jays are the AL's Dark Horse
Talk about a bounce-back effort.
After a 13-1 blowout loss just an evening ago, the Blue Jays showed the baseball world just how good they can be when everything is working.
Pitching. Hitting. Defense. You name it, Toronto did it in Saturday's 6-1 win over the Houston Astros.
After Houston beat him up on May 7, Blue Jays starter Ross Stripling redeemed himself. Since making changes to his delivery, the 31-year-old dug up some long-lost confidence, and the results are showing.
In five innings of work, Stripling surrendered just one run on seven hits. He got the win, but wasn't perfect -- a bases-loaded walk in the fourth being his biggest blunder. Still, Stripling has now allowed just two runs over his last 17 innings.
Early in the game, it was Toronto's defense that kept Stripling on an even keel. In the third inning, Lourdes Gurriel Jr. delivered one of the Blue Jays' most outrageous defensive highlights. With Astros speedster Myles Straw leaving from second, Jose Altuve ripped a line drive that Gurriel Jr. took on a couple bounces.
Look at Gurri', man...
— Toronto Blue Jays (@BlueJays) June 5, 2021
So inspirational 🍍 pic.twitter.com/aoPOC0netg
The Jays left fielder scooped it on his backhand and needed a mere half-stride to fire a rocket to Reese McGuire at the plate. Straw -- completely unaware the ball was anywhere close to the plate -- approached home plate standing up as McGuire slapped the tag on him. Stripling was fired up, smiling and pumping his fist after the play.
"Gurriel's throw was as good as any that I've seen while I've physically been on the field," Stripling said. "I didn't even go to back that one up because I figured he was probably scoring."
"[It's] always good when your team's picking you up like that," he said.
While Gurriel Jr. has had some trouble tracking fly balls this year, his arm alone has shown baseball fans why he was a 2020 Gold Glove nominee. After Saturday's bullet, Gurriel Jr. moved into a tie for the league lead with seven outfield assists.
"Pitching and defense wins in the big leagues, and when you play teams like that, you've got to play flawless you've got to play your A game," Blue Jays manager Charlie Montoyo said.
"And that's what we did today. We pitch good, we played defense, and of course we hit," Montoyo said.
Defense and pitching kept Toronto in the game, but the Blue Jays' bats took over in the fourth inning. Gurriel Jr. tied the game with an RBI single before Joe Panik got a chance to hit with two men on.
📁 MLB
— Toronto Blue Jays (@BlueJays) June 5, 2021
└ 📂 Blue Jays
└ 📂 Reasons to Panik
└ ⚠️ This folder is empty pic.twitter.com/rxExZRyn3A
Not exactly a renowned power hitter, Panik came up clutch for the second time in three games with a wall-scraping three-run homer to right field off Astros starter Jose Urquidy.
Vladimir Guerrero Jr. also added his league-best 18th home run of the season with a two-run shot in the fifth inning.
For Toronto, it was exactly the effort the team so desperately needed. All three phases of the game -- pitching, defense and offense -- came together on Saturday. If the Blue Jays want to narrow the gap in the American League Wild Card race, they'll need to duplicate performances like this one.
Up Next:
LHP Steven Matz vs. RHP Luis Garcia @ 1:07 PM ET
Matz allowed three runs through five innings and picked up the win in his first career start against the Astros on May 8.
Garcia goes for Houston and he's been on a roll lately. The 24-year-old has managed a 2.54 ERA over his last five starts and makes his first career appearance against Toronto on Sunday.
Further Reading:
Blue Jays will reach 85% vaccine uptake on Monday
Ethan Diamandas is a contributing writer who covers the Toronto Blue Jays for Sports Illustrated. He also writes for Yahoo Sports Canada and MLB.com. Follow Ethan on Twitter @EthanDiamandas