Happ keeps cool in win over O’s, as trade rumours swirl about him
TORONTO — J.A. Happ didn’t let the distraction of trade rumours seep into his performance Sunday in what could have been his last home start in a Toronto Blue Jays uniform.
The veteran left-hander was stellar through five innings in a no-decision, striking out nine and allowing one run as Toronto rallied from three runs down to beat the Baltimore Orioles, 5-4, and sweep the baseball series between the two bottom teams in the American League East.
With the playoff picture increasingly dimming in Toronto, Happ’s name has been consistently brought up as a trade target ahead of the July 31 deadline.
“I’m not letting myself go there,” Happ said, when asked if he had thought about the start as potentially his last in Toronto. “I’m just going to wait and see. It’s a tough place to be mentally, so I’m trying to avoid those what ifs right now.”
“I think in some aspects, I want the next week to go quick, and in some I think I might look back and maybe not feel that way,” he added.
Happ, in his first start since making his all-star debut Tuesday night in Washington, allowed four hits and didn’t walk a batter, joining Justin Verlander as the only starters this season with four games of nine-plus strikeouts and zero walks.
He cruised through the first four innings Sunday and struck out six of his first eight batters. But he ran into trouble in a fifth inning — blemished by a missed opportunity at a double-play — as his pitch count crept above the 100 mark.
Jace Peterson tied the game for Baltimore (28-72) in the fifth on a run-scoring single off Happ, and Jonathan Schoop gave the Orioles a 2-1 lead with a solo homer off Joe Biagini in the sixth.
Baltimore tacked on two more runs in the eighth, before Toronto (46-52) staged a comeback with a four-run bottom of the frame to steal the win. Yangervis Solarte drove in the winning runs on a two-run homer off Tanner Scott (1-2) that followed a comeback sparking two-run shot from Randal Grichuk.
John Axford (4-1) earned the win despite allowing two runs — one earned — in the top of the eighth. Tyler Clippard pitched the ninth for the save.
The O’s took 4-1 lead in the eighth on a Renato Nunez RBI double and an error to Toronto second baseman Lourdes Gurriel Jr. Gurriel, who was activated off the seven-day concussion disabled list before the game, was charged with the error when he collided with shortstop Aledmys Diaz while seeking a ground ball.
“That was a communication thing, nobody knew who was taking it,” manager John Gibbons said. “It wasn’t a language barrier there, so it was something more than that. They’ll iron that out. They’re good players out there.”