Unearned runs hurt Jays in the end
Defence turns sloppy against tough Astros
HOUSTON • The emotional attachment between Lourdes Gurriel Jr. and his older brother Yuli is a strong one and reunions on the baseball field are always a highlight for the Cuban siblings.
And the Toronto Blue Jays left fielder was that close to claiming some significant bragging rights over his Astros first baseman bro on Sunday at Minute Maid Park.
A home run in the fifth inning and a clutch RBI double in the top of the 10th appeared to have the Jays headed for their first series sweep of the season — and against the reigning American League champs at that.
And with the Gurriel’s Cuban parents watching from the stands, Lourdes had risen to the moment.
But before he could celebrate, normally unflappable Jays closer Jordan Romano gave up a two-run homer to Jeremy Pena in the bottom half of the 10th as the Astros walked it off for an 8-7 win.
“It was due to happen,” manager Charlie Montoyo said of Romano’s miscue that allowed Pena to take him to the deepest part of centre field for the winning blow in the Jays’ first extra-innings game of the season.
“Give the hitter credit for going deep to centre. (Romano) struck out the first guy. It’s tough to save a game when you have a guy at second.”
Though the clutch walkoff rocket was the deciding blow, the game had a number of wild swings of emotion and momentum.
Inconsistent Jays starter Yusei Kikuchi had trouble throwing strikes early on — walking five — and got himself into some trouble in the second when the Astros scored a pair of runs.
The defence that had been so strong for the Jays in the early portion off the season turned sloppy with errors from shortstop Bo Bichette and first baseman Cavan Biggio leading to three unearned Astros runs.
“It goes back to what I always say — playing games against good teams, if you play clean games you usually have a chance,” said Montoyo, who on Saturday won his 200th game of his big league managerial career. “The two games we didn’t play clean this year, we lost.”
On the other hand, the Jays showed the grit that has defined them through a 10-6 run thus far in the season.
Sandwiched between the two Gurriel RBI was a threerun homer from catcher Zack Collins in the sixth that tied the game at 5-5.
“Obviously in that situation, you’re looking for one thing and that’s not to hit a single,” Collins said of his third round-tripper of the season, a welcome bit of power for an offence not yet producing at its best. “You’re looking to hit a homer. The coach had confidence in me, I got the pitch to do it, took the hack and got it done.”
After trading runs in the seventh, the game was headed to extras where Gurriel kept up his big afternoon with a clutch one-out double to the corner.
It was clear how much the hit meant to Gurriel as he celebrated when he reached the bag at second.
Prior to the series, Gurriel had talked about how much the series meant to the brothers, who talk most days anyway but would be heavily dissecting each contest.
“We have to win this series,” Lourdes said, emphasizing the rivalry between the two close brothers, which was accentuated by a pair of doubles from Yuli on Sunday.
Well, they did win the series, just didn’t get the sweep. Altogether though, it was a successful six-game swing through Boston and Houston as the Jays got the better of each high-end opponent.
“There’s obviously positives we can take from it,” Collins said. “We played two good teams on the road and we have two major injuries with (Danny) Jansen and (Teoscar Hernandez) and a lot of guys have stepped up.
“Tough loss today but going home 4-2 is pretty good.”
KIKUCHI STRUGGLES
For the second time in his three starts, lefty Kikuchi had a subpar outing and once again didn’t make it out of the fourth inning. Kikuchi threw just 43 of his 75 pitches for strikes as he walked five and allowed three hits.
“He’s a work in progress,” Montoyo said. “I like his arm. I like how he competes but it was a tough game because he walked five guys.
“Playing tough teams, you can’t walk that many guys.”
AROUND THE BASES
A pair of singles from Vlad Guerrero Jr. gives him eight multi-hit games on the season and three in a row … Jays reliever Yimi Garcia had a visitor prior to the game when Houston manager Dusty Baker dropped by to present the former Astros pitcher with his 2021 ALCS championship ring … The Jays returned home for what will be their longest home stand of the season: a 10-gamer starting with four against the Boston Red Sox followed by three against the Astros and three more against the Yankees.