2023 Toronto Blue Jays (est. 2021)

[rpriske]

September 27th, 2023

Enoli Paredes pitched a solid game and Giancarlo Stanton hit his 50th diner of the season as the Jays beat the Yankees, 5-2.

Ali Sanchez and Rafael Devers also went deep for Toronto.

WP - Enoli Paredes (9-6)
Save - Eduard Bazardo (8)
LP - Nick Nelson (12-9)

Record - 94-64

Boston lost so with four games left, the Jays lead by a game!

[rpriske]

Austin Meadows is activated from the IL.

Tyler Miller is sent back to Buffalo.

Carlos Garcia was named Reliever of the Year for the AA Northeast League.

Cole Waites was named Reliever of the Year for the High A West League.

[rpriske]

September 28th, 2023

Zach Davies pitched eight, leading the Jays to a 9-1 win over the Yankees. That is five in a row for the Blue Jays.

Vladimir Guerrero Jr., Rafael Devers, and Jared Walsh all homered for Toronto.

J.P. Crawford left the game with a bicep strain and we are told it is going to keep him out for the full offseason. That is a tough blow.

WP - Zach Davies (14-11)
LP - Deivi Garcia (5-14)

Record - 95-64

The Blue Jays now lead by 2. With 3 games left, they have a Magic Number of 2.

[rpriske]

J.P. Crawford is placed on the IL.

Tyler Miller is recalled from Buffalo.

[rpriske]

September 29th, 2023

The Toronto winning streak ended with a 3-0 shutout by the Rays.

WP - Shane Baz (9-7)
Save - Ken Giles (34)
LP - Mike Soroka (5-3)

Record - 95-65

Boston won so the Jays' Magic Number is still two.

[rpriske]

Clayton Kershaw of the Dodgers collected his 200th career Win.

[rpriske]

Minor League Contract signed:

Kyle Freeland
Alexis Almeda
Chris Bassitt

Donnie Murphy of Vancouver was named Manager of the Year for the Western League.

[rpriske]

September 30th, 2023

Vladimir Guerrero Jr. went 3 for 4 with a home run, leading the Jays to a 7-6 win over the Rays, in the penultimate game of the regular season.

Willy Adames also went deep for Toronto.

WP - Ran Thompson (7-3)
Save - Raidel Martinez (19)
LP - Ross Detwiler (4-2)

Record - 96-65

Boston still trails by one game so it is coming down to the last day of the season.

[rpriske]

Dunedin players announcing their retirement:

Kevin Smith. Got as high as AAA. Drafted by the Jays in 2017.

David Richardson. Never got above A ball Signed a minor league contract with the Jays back in May.

Logan Darnell. Appeared in seven games with the Twins in 2014, but never made it back. Signed a minor league deal with the Jays in March.

Robbie Padorsky. Appeared in two games with the Padres in 2022. Signed a minor league deal with the Jays just this month.

Sean Rackoski. Never got above A ball. Signed as a non-drafted free agent in 2018.

Pitching coach Terry Abbott. He only worked one year in the organization.

Jacob Matos of New Hampshire was named Pitcher of the Year for the Northeast League.

Yohander Mendez of Vancouver won the same award for the West League.
His teammate, Oddanier Mosqueda also received votes.

SEPTEMBER AWARDS

PITCHER - Josh James, Astros & Jack Flaherty, Cardinals

HITTER - VLADIMIR GUERRERO JR., BLUE JAYS & Juan Soto, Nationals

ROOKIE - Gunnar Holland, White Sox & Gilberto Celestino, Diamondbacks

[rpriske]

October 1st, 2023

The Jays ended their regular season with a 1-0 loss to the Rays.

WP - Corey Kluber (5-3)
Save - Ken Giles (35)
LP - Andrew Perez (2-7)

FINAL REGULAR SEASON RECORD - 96-66

Toronto and Boston ended the season tied atop the AL East!

We are going to a tiebreaker game in Boston!

[rpriske]

October 2nd, 2023

This is technically not the postseason, but it is to me.

The winner will have the #1 seed in the AL. The loser with the 1st Wild Card.

The Blue Jays are pitching Enoli Paredes (9-6, 3.98).

The Red Sox have Chris Sale (16-8, 3.21).

Top of the 1st

With two out, Vladimir Guerrero Jr. blasted a solo homer over the Green Monster.

Blue Jays lead 1-0

Bottom of the 1st

With one out, Blake Rutherford reached on an error by Rafael Devers.
Rutherford went to 3rd on a double by Franmil Reyes.
He then scored and Reyes went to 3rd on a wild pitch.
With two out, Reyes scored on another wild pitch.
Christian Arroyo walked.
Alex Verdugo walked.
Jeter Downs was hit in the knee by a pitch and had to leave the game. He was replaced at 1st by Brandon Crawford.
Brian Anderson hit a Grand Slam.

Red Sox lead 6-1

Top of the 2nd

Sale struck out the side.

Bottom of the 2nd

3 up, 3 down

Top of the 3rd

Bo Bichette doubled with two out.
He scored on a Whit Merrifeld single.
Guerrero Jr. reached base on an error by Xander Bogaerts.
The two runners were stranded.

Red Sox lead 6-2

Bottom of the 3rd

Arroyo singled with one out.
He went to 2nd on a two out single by Crawford.
Anderson walked, loading the bases.
They were left that way.

Top of the 4th

Devers led off with a single.
That was all they got.

Bottom of the 4th

3 up, 3 down

Top of the 5th

3 up, 3 down

Bottom of the 5th

Durbin Feltman relieved for Toronto.
Brandon Belt led off with a single.
Arroyo hit into a double play.

Top of the 6th

Devers doubled with two out.
Brandon Workman received for Boston.
He stranded Devers.

Bottom of the 6th

Crawford led off with a single.
He got no further.

Top of the 7th

Max Kepler reached on a one out walk.
Ali Sanchez then walked.
Kepler scored and Sanchez went to 2nd on a single by Bichette.
Sanchez scored on a Merrifield single. On the throw, Bichette and Merrifeld advanced to 2nd and 3rd.
With two out, Giovanni Soto relieved for Boston.
Giancarlo Stanton hit a two run single to tie the game.
Devers struck out.

Game tied 6-6

Bottom of the 7th

Reyes reached on a one out single.
Ty Tice relieved for Toronto.
He left Reyes at 1st.

Top of the 8th

Darwinzon Hernandez relieved for Boston.
3 up, 3 down

Bottom of the 8th

3 up, 3 down

Top of the 9th

3 up, 3 down

Bottom of the 9th

Bogaerts reached on a one out single.
Kasey Kalich relieved for Toronto.
Bogaerts went to 2nd on a Rutherford groundout.
Reyes walked.
Belt walked, loading the bases.
They were left loaded.

Top of the 10th

(Note: No 'Ghost Runner' in this league.)
Guerrero Jr. led off with a single.
Joe Ross relieved for Boston.
He stranded the runner.

Bottom of the 10th

Crawford singled with one out.
Jose Leclerc relieved for Toronto.
He stranded the runner.

Top of the 11th

Willy Adames led off with a double.
Max Kepler was given an intentional walk.
Adames scored and Kepler went to 2nd on a single by Sanchez.
With one out, Merrifeld hit an RBI double.
Guerrero Jr. got the intentional walk.
Jared Walsh replaced Stanton as DH and hit a sac fly, scoring Sanchez.
Two were left on.

Blue Jays lead 9-6

Bottom of the 11th

Raidel Martinez relieved for Toronto.
Rutherford singled with one out.
Reyes walked, bringing the potential tying run to the plate.
Belt struck out.
Arroyo singled, loading the bases.
Andrew Perez relieved for Toronto.
Colton Welker pinch hit for Alex Verdugo.
Perez walked him, scoring Rutherford.
Tyler Black pinch hit for Crawford.
He grounded out.

BLUE JAYS WIN, 9-7!

Whit Merrifield was the game star, going 3 for 6 with 3 RBI.

Vladimir Guerrero Jr. homered.

WP - Jose Leclerc (5-3)
Save - Andrew Perez (2)
LP - Joe Ross (1-1)

Record - 97-66

[rpriske]

Batting Champions

VLADIMIR GUERRERO JR., BLUE JAYS - .356
Jeff McNeil, Mets - .334

Home Run Kings

GIANCARLO STANTON, BLUE JAYS - 50
Nolan Arenado, Phillies - 45
Manny Machado, Padres - 45
Miguel Sano, Cubs - 45

Jesus Zambrano, A's won the Pitching Triple Crown!

[rpriske]

Good thing they won because there are no Wild Cards in this league (I need to fix the playoff structure...)

The match-ups are as follows:

Royals vs A's. Winner faces the Blue Jays.

Mets vs Cardinals. Winner faces the Dodgers.

[rpriske]

PLAYOFF ROSTER

ROTATION

Mike Soroka
Corbin Martin
Enoli Paredes
Zach Davies

BULLPEN

Raidel Martinez (C)
Durbin Feltman
Eduard Bazardo
Casey Kelly
Ty Tice
Justin Wilson
Kasey Kalich
Ryan Thompson

LINEUP

Bo Bichette - 2B
Whit Merrifield - CF
Vladimir Guerrero Jr. - 1B
Rafael Devers - 3B
Giancarlo Stanton - DH
Austin Meadows - LF
Max Kepler - RF
Willy Adames - SS
Ali Sanchez - C

BENCH

Joey Bart - C
Diego Cartaya - C
Joe Miguel Fernandez - IF
Jared Walsh - 1B/OF
TJ Friedl - OF

[rpriske]

NL WILD CARD

NYM. 0 0 2. 0 0 2. 0 0 0 - 4 5 0
SLC. 1 2 0. 0 0 0. 0 0 0 - 3 8 3

WP - Aaron Fletcher (1-0)
Save - Chad Green (1)
LP - Jack Flaherty (0-1)

HR - NYM: Francisco Lindor (1), SLC: Carson Kelly (1)

PoG - Lindor

METS WIN WILD CARD

[rpriske]

AL WILD CARD


KCR. 0 0 0. 1 0 0. 0 2 0 - 3 7 1
OAK. 0 1 0. 0 0 0. 0 0 0 - 1 2 3

WP - Nick Anderson (1-0)
Save - James Karinchak (1)
LP - Scott Barlow (0-1)

HR - none

PoG - Kenta Maeda

ROYALS WIN WILD CARD

[rpriske]

NLDS GAME ONE

NYM 0 0 0. 0 0 0. 0 0 0 - 0 2 1
LAD. 3 0 2. 0 0 0. 0 1 X - 6 5 1

WP - Lucas Giolito (1-0)
LP - Spencer Howard (0-1)

HR - LAD: Gavin Lux (1), Cody Bellinger (1)

PoG - Giolito

Dodgers lead 1-0

[rpriske]

ALDS GAME ONE

Royals @ Blue Jays

Asa Lacy (13-9, 2.97) vs Mike Soroka (11-3, 3.62)

Top of the 1st

Starling Marte led off with a single.
Adalberto Mondesi replaced him on a fielder's choice.
Nomar Mazara replaced HIM on a fielder's choice.
Jorge Soler walked.
Two men left on.

Bottom of the 1st

Bo Bichette led off with a single.
He advanced to 3rd on a Whit Merrifield single.
Whit went to 2nd on an RBI single by Vladimir Guerrero Jr.
The bases loaded when Giancarlo Stanton reached on a Hunter Dozier error.
With one out, Austin Meadows walked, pushing Merrifield across.
The bases were left full.

Blue Jays lead 2-0

Top of the 2nd

Dozier walked with two out but was stranded.

Bottom of the 2nd

Merrifield singled with two out but got no further.

Top of the 3rd

Mondesi singled with one out. He was left.

Bottom of the 3rd

Stanton reached with a lead off walk.
He went to 3rd on a one out double by Meadows.
They could not cash in.

Top of the 4th

3 up, 3 down

Bottom of the 4th

Ali Sanchez led off and was hit by a pitch.
He was left at 1st.

Top of the 5th

With one out, Reese McGuire hit a solo homer.

Blue Jays lead 2-1

Bottom of the 5th

Stanton led off with a walk.
With one out, J.B. Wendelken relieved for Kansas City.
Meadows singled, moving Stanton to 3rd.
Once again, no scoring.

Top of the 6th

Soler singled with one out.
With two out, he advanced to 2nd on a passed ball. He was left there.

Bottom of the 6th

3 up, 3 down

Top of the 7th

Dozier singled with one out.
He went to 2nd on a McGuire sac bunt.
Kasey Kalich received for Toronto.
Dozier scored on a Marte single. Marie went to 2nd on the throw.

Game tied 2-2

Bottom of the 7th

With two out, Jose Alvarez relieved for Kansas City.

Top of the 8th

Mazara led off with a double.
With one out, he went to 3rd on a Charlie Blackmon groundout.
That was it.

Bottom of the 8th

James Karinchak received for Kansas City.
3 up, 3 down

Top of the 9th

Withe one out, Bryce Reagan pinch hit for Dozier. He struck out.

Bottom of the 9th

Reagan stayed in to play 3rd.
3 up, 3 down

Top of the 10th

Ty Tice relieved for Toronto.
Marte led off with a single.
He went to 3rd on a Mondesi double.
Mazara hit a two run single.
Soler hit a two run home run.
Blackmon singled.
Manuel Margot replaced him on a fielder's choice.
He went to 3rd on a single by Nicky Lopez.
Tice picked Lopez off at 1st.

Royals lead 6-2

Bottom of the 10th

Lucas Sims relieved for Kansas City

3 up, 3 down

WP - James Karinchak (1-0)
LP - Ty Tice (0-1)

PoG - Jorge Soler

Royals lead 1-0

[rpriske]

NLDS GAME TWO


NYM. 0 0 0. 0 1 0. 0 1 2 - 4 3 0
LAD. 1 0 0. 2 2 0. 0 0 X - 5 5 0

WP - Walker Buehler (1-0)
Save - Brusdar Graterol (1)
LP - Jonathan Loáisiga (0-1)

HR - LAD: Anthony Santander (1), Cody Bellinger (2)

PoG - Buehler

Dodgers lead 2-0

[rpriske]

ALDS GAME TWO

Royals @ Blue Jays

Brad Keller (7-13, 5.55) vs Corbin Martin (12-6, 4.04).

Top of the 1st

Starling Marte led off with a single.
He stole 2nd.
He was left there.

Bottom of the 1st

Bo Bichette led off with a double.
Whit Merrifield walked.
With one out, Rafael Devers hit into a fielder's choice, erasing Merrifield at 2nd. Bichette went to 3rd.
They were left on the corners.

Top of the 2nd

Charlie Blackmon led off with a walk.
He didn't get past 1st.

Bottom of the 2nd

Austin Meadows led off with a walk.
He was doubled off on a Max Kepler line out.

Top of the 3rd

3 up, 3 down

Bottom of the 3rd

Ali Sanchez led off with a double.
He went to 3rd on a Bichette single.
Bo went to 2nd on an RBI single by Merrifield.

Blue Jays lead 1-0

Top of the 4th

With one out, Jorge Soler walked.
Then Blackmon was hit by a pitch.
Manuel Margot hit into a double play.

Bottom of the 4th

Max Kepler singled with one out.
He went to 3rd on a Sanchez two out double.
Two left on.

Top of the 5th

Hunter Dozier singled with one out.
He was left at 1st

Bottom of the 5th

Merrifield led off with a single.
He went to 2nd on a Vladimir Guerrero Jr. groundout.
He was stranded there.

Top of the 6th

Soler singled with two out,
He went to 3rd on a Blackmon single.
Justin Wilson relieved for Toronto.
He got the 3rd out.

Bottom of the 6th

Adam Ottavinot received for Kansas City with two out.
Willy Adames reached on an infield single.
Sanchez reached on an error by Dozier at 3rd.
They were left on.

Top of the 7th

Reese McGuire walked with two out.
He was left at 1st.

Bottom of the 7th

Merrifield led off with a walk.
Guerrero Jr. hit into a double play.
Jose Alvarez received for Kansas City.
Devers homered off the first pitch he threw.
Giancarlo Stanton then singled.
He was stranded.

Blue Jays lead 2-0

Top of the 8th

3 up, 3 down

Bottom of the 8th

With one out, Lucas Sims received for Kansas City.
With two out, Sanchez doubled.
He was left at 2nd.

Top of the 9th

Raidel Martinez relieved for Toronto.
3 up, 3 down

Blue Jays win 2-0!

WP - Corbin Martin (1-0)
Save - Raidel Martinez (1)
LP - Brad Keller (0-1)

PoG - Martin

Series is tied 1-1