Jays strike back for win
The Blue Jays took care of the nohit drama early Tuesday night, but the real excitement didn’t happen until the ninth inning.
Bo Bichette singled in the top of the first to assure the Jays wouldn’t be no-hit for a second straight night, but they didn’t score until they were down to their last couple of strikes.
Down 1-0 into the final frame, with a fourth-inning solo shot by Jose Altuve the game’s only run, new Astros closer Josh Hader issued a two-out walk to Justin Turner — who already had three hits — to give the Jays one last breath.
Three pitches later, the hardthrowing lefty hung a slider to Davis Schneider, who hammered it 423 feet to deep left-centre. Suddenly a Jays team that looked as though it was going to roll over to a second straight loss had the lead and plenty of life.
Chad Green, who came on to get the final out of the eighth inning, retired the side in the ninth to seal the 2-1 victory in the first one-run game the Jays have played this season.
For Schneider, it was his second home run in as many starts, having only made it into the lineup when the Jays have faced a left-handed starter, but one wonders if he’s earned himself a start on Wednesday against right-hander Cristian Javier.
If your memory is jogged, that might be because just about the same thing happened after the Jays were no-hit in Detroit last July.
The next day, the Jays were being shut out on just two hits into the seventh before they scored a run, and trailed 3-1 with two out in the ninth inning when Danny Jansen blasted a two-run homer to tie it. They won the game in the 10th.
Slightly different, but awfully similar. The Jays went on to win four in a row and 10 out of 15.
José Berríos got a no-decision, but the righty was marvelous, allowing just that Altuve homer over six strong innings of work. Yimi García, Tim Mayza and Green provided three innings of one-hit relief, allowing Schneider to play hero.