Surging Blue Jays sweep Marlins, win eighth straight
Take a look around the league with Big League Stew’s daily wrap up. We’ll hit on all of the biggest moments from the day that you may have missed, while providing highlights, photos and interesting stats.
The undisputed hottest team in baseball resides north of the border in Canada. The Toronto Blue Jays completed a three-game sweep of the Miami Marlins, a perfect 6-0 homestand and extended their overall winning streak to eight with a 7-2 victory on Wednesday.
Toronto jumped ahead early, scoring twice in support of rookie right-hander Scott Copeland in the first inning. From there, the long ball took over as the Blue Jays muscled up for four solo home runs. Justin Smoak and Russell Martin went back-to-back in the fourth. In the seventh, Jose Reyes and Josh Donaldson went back-to-back as the Rogers Centre roared.
Copeland, for his part, wouldn’t need that much support. He was dialed in, tossing seven innings of one-run ball to earn his first career victory.
In an interesting sidebar, Toronto did not require a save from their bullpen on Wednesday, which extended their streak to 34 games without a save. For perspective.
The Blue Jays are 18-16 over that stretch and would just as soon watch the streak reach 50 as long as the wins keep piling up.
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MATT HARVEY CONTINUES TO STRUGGLE
While concerns about the New York Mets offense have led to reported trade talks surrounding Milwaukee Brewers thrid baseman Aramis Ramirez, another issue may be brewing as ace Matt Harvey continued his recent string of tough outings.
There’s no concern about Harvey’s health, but he’s been far less effective over his last four starts. That continued in Wednesday’s 8-5 loss to San Francisco Giants.
Harvey was touched up for seven earned runs on nine hits over six innings. Joe Panik, Brandon Belt and Justin Maxwell each took him deep, which is especially troubling. The three homers allowed were the most Harvey has allowed in 47 career starts. They were also more than his two strikeouts, which is a new career low.
Over his last three starts, Harvey has given up five home runs in 19 IP. He allowed just four homers in his first eight outings covering 54.2 innings.
That all adds up to a very rough stretch, but sometimes those come with the territory. Obviously, it plant seeds of concern that can’t be dismissed, but it’s not panic time yet. That can be saved for two or three starts down the road should Harvey fail to turn the tide.
ASTROS LOSING SKID REACHES SEVEN
Despite five shutout innings from Vincent Velasquez in his MLB debut and a 5 for 5 night at the plate from George Springer, the Houston Astros slide continued with a 4-1 loss to the Chicago White Sox. That makes seven straight losses for the first-place Astros, who wrapped up a six-game road trip through Toronto and Chicago at 0-6.
Houston was done in by an offense that scored only four runs during the three-game series in Chicago and 14 overall during the road trip. Even the call up of top prospect couldn’t provide a major lift, though it could have been worse without his three RBIs in the series.
On Wednesday, Houston was limited to one run on six hits against White Sox starter Jose Quintana. Quintana went seven innings for his third win. All of Chicago’s offense came on home runs, which might be the trap Houston has fallen into. Adam LaRoche and Geovany Soto each hit solo blast. Jose Abreu capped the scoring with a two-run shot.
If there’s good news for Houston, it’s that they’re headed home to enjoy an off day on Thursday before hosting Seattle over the weekend. If there’s better news, it’s that Oakland notched its first walkoff win in 2015 to defeat Texas 5-4. With a win, the Rangers would have moved within one game of first place.
[On this week’s StewPod: Who belongs in the baseball video-game Hall of Fame?]
YASIEL PUIG REACHES FIVE TIMES, FLIRTS WITH CYCLE
The roller coaster ride that is Yasiel Puig was nothing but thrills and joys on Wednesday.
For the first time in his young career, Puig reached base five times in the Los Angeles Dodgers 7-6 victory again Arizona. Puig flirted with a cycle, too, after completing three stages in his first three plate appearances.
Puig singled but was left stranded in the first inning. In the second, he connected on a three-run home run that gave Los Angeles a 4-1 lead. In the fourth, he doubled, which set the stage for some late drama.
In what appeared to be his final at-bat in the seventh, Puig settled for a second single, which was good for his fourth hit. However, as fate would have it, Arizona battled back and ultimately tied the game in ninth on A.J. Pollock’s solo home run. The tying run was the first allowed by Dodgers closer Kenley Jansen this season.
With the cycle again within reach in the ninth, Puig showed patience that had to make all Dodgers fans smile. Puig settled for a five-pitch walk and ended up scoring the winning run after Adrian Gonzalez also walked and Howie Kendrick singled him home.
A complete night for Puig and a ninth straight Dodgers win over the Diamondbacks.
Want to see more from Wednesday’s slate of games? Check out our scoreboard.
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Mark Townsend is a writer for Big League Stew on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at [email protected] or follow him on Twitter! Follow @Townie813
