4 Takeaways from Blue Jays’ Doubleheader Split in Cleveland
The two games in Saturday's Blue Jays vs Guardians doubleheader were mirror images. In the opener it was all Toronto, early and often, and in the nightcap, it was the inverse.
Recapping Toronto's 8-3 win and 8-2 loss in Saturday's doubleheader, here are four takeaways from the Cleveland twin bill:
Clutch Hitting Returns
Entering Saturday, the Blue Jays were the league’s worst team with runners in scoring position. Toronto hit just .168 in those situations before Saturday, but in the opening game, things turned around.
The Jays were a pitch away from more RISP troubles as Raimel Tapia fell behind 1-2 to Shane Bieber with two outs and the bases loaded. Crouching down and choking up, Tapia hacked at an outside pitch. He flared the ball onto the outfield grass, getting a needed hit to drop and beginning a huge inning for Toronto.
The Jays finished four-for-10 with runners in scoring position in the opening game on Saturday and six-for-15 on the day.
Gausman Strong, But Finally Walks One
Kevin Gausman dominated again. He delivered 6.1 innings of one-run ball in the early game, striking out five en route to a Toronto win. But who really cares about that? More importantly, the walk streak is over.
Entering Saturday, Gausman hadn't walked a batter in his first five starts as a Blue Jay, facing 95 batters without a walk or homer allowed. While Gausman made it through another outing without a dinger against, Franmil Reyes snatched a Gausman free pass for the first time this year in the fourth.
The walk ended Gausman's streak at 136 consecutive batters to begin a season without a walk, a Blue Jays franchise record.
Hernández Rejoins Lineup
Activated from the injured list on Saturday morning, Teoscar Hernández rejoined Toronto's lineup for the second leg of the doubleheader.
After two strikeouts to start his return, Hernández clocked a ball out to right field. As the ball drifted back toward the wall, Cleveland's. Oscar Mercado found it on the warning track and killed the hard-hit shot. Hernández finished zero-for-three with two strikeouts.
Defensively the outfielder had a wind-pushed ball sail over his head in right field for a José Ramírez double in the opening inning but made a nifty sliding grab in the seventh, stealing a hit off the bat of Myles Straw.
Former Blue Jays Rise To Challenge
While José Ramírez and Franmil Reyes presented their own challenges, Toronto was roughed up by some former Jays on Saturday, too.
Adding an extra insurance run in game two, former Toronto catcher Luke Maile slashed a double down the left-field line, cashing a score and coming around himself a few batters later. Joining Maile in some friendly revenge, former Toronto relievers/Anthonys, Castro and Gose, worked scoreless relief outings in the opening game. Here are the final doubleheader stat lines of the former Jays on Cleveland:
C Luke Maile - 1/4, 1 RBI, 1 R
RP Anthony Castro - 2.2 IP, 1 H, 0 ER, 4K
RP Anthony Gose - 1 IP, 0 H, 0 ER, 2 K
Mitch Bannon is a baseball reporter for Sports Illustrated covering the Toronto Blue Jays and their minor league affiliates.Twitter: @MitchBannon