The sheer madness of Saturday’s doubleheader couldn’t be beat. Two games against the Orioles, behind the last inning each, and two wins for the Blue Jays, the second ending with an 11-run final draw.
There was no way the drama would coincide on the series finale in Baltimore, and it didn’t. But the insane level certainly was, as the Blue Jays continued that shocking final draw from Saturday night and scored five runs Sunday before recording their first out.
As if that wasn’t enough, they added a 10 in the third to go 16-3. That saw 27 runs scored in four innings, including Saturday’s final draw, something that had never happened before in Major League history.
Lourdes Gurriel Jr.’s first hit in the first inning was his fourth this season, setting a club record. When Teoscar Hernández turned the trick in the third, it marked the first time in 45 franchise seasons that they had hit two bases loaded home runs in the same game.
“It’s quite indescribable,” said winning pitcher Steven Matz, who left after six innings with a 22-5 lead. “Twenty-seven races, speaks for itself. It’s crazy. “
I asked Charlie Montoyo if he had ever seen anything like this.
“No,” the Jays boss replied, “but I saw him today.”
It was an easy road to a third win in four games in Baltimore, ending a 7-1 road trip that moved the Blue Jays four games behind from second wild-card spot in the American League to a tie in the first, but when the game began series, it didn’t seem like it was going to be like that at all.
After a four-game sweep at Yankee Stadium, the Blue Jays went to Maryland and received one on the chin in Game 1 on Friday, trailing 3-0 in the first inning after not even being behind in any games during a whole week. They would tie it, but they ended up losing on an Anthony Santander home run in the seventh inning.
The Blue Jays began Saturday’s doubleheader with a 10-5 deficit after four innings of the first game, and at the time it seemed like the best they could hope for from the weekend’s series against the worst club in the American League was a division.
Then the floodgates opened.
From that point on, for the final 19 innings of the series, they outscored the Orioles 39-9.
“The last three (games), and I’ve been in the game for 35 years, I’ve never seen anything like it,” Montoyo said, “in a row (days), to score so many runs.”
Matz was right there with his manager.
“I definitely didn’t expect that,” said the southpaw, recalling his team’s situation on Saturday. “Obviously, we know we have an incredible lineup, but that was very special what we managed to do in the last three games.”
“This is a very tough team,” said outfielder / designated hitter George Springer, who was out Sunday after going 3-for-8 on Saturday, including the game-winning homer in the opener. “Coming down early but still scratching and scratching every game is huge for us.”
The Blue Jays fell early in both games on the doubleheader, but those two and Friday’s loss are the only games they have been lost in at any point in their last 10.
“It’s a reflection of what this lineup can do,” said Gurriel, who reached base five times Sunday, walking three times to complete two home runs. “I’ve never (seen anything like this) before, this is the first time, but I enjoy seeing everyone get horny at the same time.”
Gurriel drove in seven runs on Sunday alone and scored nine times in the series with 10 RBIs.
Vladimir Guerrero Jr.
The 22-year-old’s 44th home run of the season came in the second inning on Sunday, tying his father’s personal record in the Hall of Fame, set in 2000 with the Montreal Expos. He also tied it with the Angels’ Shohei Ohtani for the league lead.
Guerrero leads the American League with a .319 batting average and is five RBIs behind the White Sox’s Jose Abreu for first place in the final jewel of baseball’s triple crown.
A September 11-1 has not only thrust the Blue Jays into the center of the playoff race, but they are the wild-card leaders in percentage points heading into a three-game series against the East-leading Tampa Bay Rays. at the Rogers Center. starting Monday night, but it also serves to send a message to your opponents.
“We know what we are capable of,” Matz said. Now the rest of the league is starting to see that. I think it just puts pressure on other teams, and that’s what we want. We want the guys to corner themselves when we come to a series, or when they come to play in Toronto.
“We want them to put pressure on them because they know we can score 10 runs in one inning.”
They did it twice in a span of about 16 hours this weekend.
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