Blue Jays’ cost for wild-card spot reaches excessive gear

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And the beat goes on.

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The Toronto Blue Jays are on a heater proper now and the temperature continues to be climbing.

The Jays took Recreation 2 of this four-game collection with the Yankees in a lot the identical vogue as they’ve taken many  video games on this run: Stable beginning pitching and greater than sufficient pop to make it arise.

The 5-1 win Tuesday evening was under no circumstances as dominant because the Jays have been of late from an offensive perspective, however it didn’t must be the way in which Steven Matz was dealing.

Matz got here into this one figuring out he had his palms full. The Yankees are a membership that has at all times given him issues and the margin of error was regarded as slim with Cy Younger candidate Gerrit Cole opposing him.

Matz got here into this one with a 2-3 file in eight profession video games (six begins) versus the Yankees and a 5.77 ERA.

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However the lefty has been fairly sizzling himself for the reason that starting of August and he carried that into Yankee Stadium, holding the Yanks to only one run on seven hits over six innings. He struck out six and didn’t stroll a batter, utilizing up 93 pitches in these six innings.

In seven begins courting again to Aug. 4, Matz owns a 3-1 file and a powerful 1.63 ERA.

“For me, I’m at all times a giant really feel pitcher,” Matz mentioned. “It’s a tough factor to explain. You simply begin getting a really feel for all of your pitches and making in-game changes. When I’ve good really feel on the market and in between my begins, I really feel like I can actually preserve constructing off every begin and every pitch … I really feel like I’ve that proper now.”

Matz left the sport with a 4-1 result in earn his career-high-matching eleventh win of the yr. He additionally received 11 with the 2019 Mets.

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Cole didn’t develop into the problem the Jays in all probability anticipated. He was nonetheless hitting triple digits on the radar gun early on, however couldn’t get out of the fourth inning. He left with two out within the fourth after Reese McGuire’s sac fly to centre gave the Jays a 3-1 lead.

Cole may very well be seen signalling to the bench as Alejandro Kirk crossed the plate with that third Jays run. It introduced supervisor Aaron Boone and the Yankees coach out to the mound instantly. A 20-second dialog adopted earlier than Cole returned to the dugout along with his supervisor and coach, his evening over.

The Yankees finally introduced a left hamstring pressure for his or her ace, information that may solely harm the Yankees as they attempt to fend off the Jays and the opposite American League groups seeking to take a run at a type of two wild-card spots.

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Whereas clearly serving to the Jays’ wild-card hopes, the damage may additionally assist in the person awards division as red-hot Robbie Ray would seem like neck-and-neck with Cole for the American League Cy Younger Award.

However proper now, it’s all concerning the playoff push and, on that entrance, it’s full velocity forward for Toronto.

“Everyone is form of feeling it,” Matz mentioned of the texture within the locker room. “We’ve bought numerous confidence. We all know what we’re all able to and we’re enjoying essential baseball in September and that’s enjoyable and thrilling. We’ve simply bought to maintain going.”

With Tuesday evening’s win, the Jays have now received six in a row whereas the 2 groups they’re chasing — the Yankees and Pink Sox — have 4 and three losses in a row, respectively. That leaves the Yankees’ wild-card lead over the Jays at 2 1/2 for the primary wild card and the Pink Sox simply two forward for the second spot.

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YUP, THE OFFENCE IS BACK

After what appeared like an eternity during which the Jays offence was caught in impartial, they seem like making amends in a giant approach of late.

The Jays have now scored 56 runs of their previous eight video games, seven of these wins. It began with a 7-3 win over the Orioles on Aug. 30 and has continued nearly unabated since. A 4-2 loss the next evening has been the one blemish on an in any other case spectacular run.

The house runs have returned in a giant approach, as effectively, and Tuesday evening was no exception.

Kirk is one in every of three catchers on the roster in the meanwhile however a man whose bat is so worthwhile he was within the lineup because the designated hitter.

He answered the decision with two solo dwelling runs, together with a second-inning solo bomb off Cole that bought the Jays began.

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A lineup that has seen any variety of Jays cleared the path is presently being carried by second baseman Marcus Semien, who now has six homers previously six video games and is positively consuming up the Yankees pitching workers.

After a two-homer evening within the series-opener, Semien had a solo shot main off the fifth to go along with a double in his first at-bat.

mganter@postmedia.com