CHICAGO – Fill in the blank, John Schneider: Playing a doubleheader is …
“Tough,” said the Toronto Blue Jays manager. “The mindset is you’ve got two games to play and you’ve got to really compartmentalize each one. It’s tough on a few guys physically that play both. It just seems like you’re always happy with a split. It feels like it’s tough to sweep them for whatever reason, whether that’s momentum or just flow of the game. But obviously the goal is to win both. It’s more mentally locking it in for two nine-inning games.”
Well, the Blue Jays needed more than 18 innings to get it done, but they swept their twin-bill Wednesday against the Chicago White Sox, riding two Whit Merrifield homers and a go-ahead Vladimir Guerrero Jr. double in the seventh to take the nightcap 5-4, after busting loose for a six-spot in the 11th inning after 10 scoreless frames to claim the opener 6-2.
The dual victories at Guaranteed Rate Field also meant the Blue Jays ran the table in the season series between clubs, the type of dominance they need outside the division to counterbalance their 7-20 mark against the American League East. Now 48-40, they’ll close out the first half with another series of opportunity at the lowly Detroit Tigers, with Alek Manoah returning to start Friday’s opener.
“It’s big,” Merrifield said of sweeping the day. “These things usually end up in a split. To put together 20 innings good enough to beat a pretty good team over there – I know they’re going through some things, but I mean, that’s a talented team – was good for us.”
Seven dominant innings of one-hit ball from Jose Berrios, matching up against a similarly strong Lance Lynn in the first game helped position the Blue Jays well for the second game, in which Yusei Kikuchi grinded through five innings of four-run ball.
Jay Jackson, the 27th man called up for the doubleheader earning his first win with the Blue Jays, Tim Mayza and Nate Pearson, closing it out for his first career save, each followed Kikuchi with a clean inning and a third, locking the game down while the offence pulled out the win.
“Jordy was down, (Erik Swanson) was down and had a chance for guys like Jay and Nate to step up and they did,” Schneider said of his pitching arrangements in the second game.
Pearson came into the game with two out in the eighth and gave up a base hit to Luis Robert Jr. before getting Eloy Jimenez to end the frame. Once he returned to the dugout, Schneider told him the ninth was his, it dawned on the 26-year-old that he was about to get a save opportunity in the big-leagues and then he locked in to prepare for the ninth.
“It felt just like a normal outing,” said Pearson, who collected the ball from his final out and plans to give it to his parents. “Obviously you know what’s on the line, you’re about to end the game, so it’s a little more pressure added. But as long as you tame it and focus on what you do, attacking and competing, that’s what gets you through.”
Merrifield’s second homer came leading off the sixth and tied the game 4-4, immediately after the White Sox had taken the lead in the fifth on Tim Anderson’s double-play ball. Then in the seventh, Bo Bichette’s one-out single, the third of his four hits, was cashed in by Guerrero’s laser double to right, although he was thrown out having rounded too far around second.
Guerrero’s RBI single in the fifth had earlier tied the game 3-3, the inning after Matt Chapman’s solo shot had eaten into a 3-1 deficit.
“In a game where things went back and forth, it was good for our offence to continue to respond when they would score a couple runs,” said Merrifield. “That was good for us to do that.”
The runs were even harder to come by in the first game, but the catalyst for the decisive rally was Danny Jansen, pinch-hitting for Kevin Kiermaier after Alejandro Kirk struck out to open the frame, whose 68.4 m.p.h. roller down the third-base got things going after 10 innings with only one hit.
George Springer broke the dam with a groundball single up the middle that opened the scoring, Bichette chopped a ball through the right side to make it 2-0, Guerrero ripped one through the 5-6 hole to bring a third run while Daulton Varsho’s bunt single made it 4-0 and ended Aaron Bummer’s day.
Bryan Shaw took over and one out after Chapman hit the inning’s third infield single, Cavan Biggio ripped a two-run double that really pushed the game out of reach.
The outburst prompted the Blue Jays to use Thomas Hatch in the bottom half, but he ate into the padding provided by the offence immediately, giving up an RBI double to Oscar Colas and RBI single to Andrew Vaughn and exiting after a one-out walk to Andrew Benintendi.
Yimi Garcia took over and locked things down for his first save.
Berrios and Lynn, set to face off Tuesday night before rain forced a postponement that set up Wednesday’s twin-bill, duelled for seven impressive innings, each allowing just one hit and one walk while overwhelming opposition batters.
“I was trying to do my best, trying to (throw) quality pitches the way I did and we held the game 0-0, he pitched well, and I did too,” said Berrios. “That’s baseball and at the end of the day we came out with a win.”
Berrios began his outing by walking Andrew Benintendi, retired his next seven batters until an Elvis Andrus single in the third and then sat down 12 of his final 13 batters, only Andrus reaching on a Biggio error in the sixth.
Lynn, who struck out a franchise record-tying 16 on June 18 at Seattle, was similarly mesmerizing before a sparse gathering at Guaranteed Rate Field. Despite a fastball that averaged only 92.6 m.p.h., he consistently beat Blue Jays hitters with it, getting 12 of his 25 whiffs with his four-seamer, while also utilizing his cutter (seven whiffs on 14 swings) to great effect.
The only hit against him was a one-out Springer single in the third, which came after an Kirk walk and Kiermaier fielder’s choice, but Bichette promptly struck out before a Brandon Belt groundout ended the threat.
Berrios is now done for the first half, a fifth outing of seven innings or more capping a strong rebound in which he posted a 3.50 ERA in 108 innings over 18 starts, with 101 strikeouts and a 1.14 WHIP. Last year, he finished with a 5.23 ERA over 172 innings in 32 starts, prone to blowing up early, lasting less than five innings eight times, something that bothered him most about his 2022. It’s only happened twice in 2023.
Not making it through five innings so often a year ago, “I’m not helping my team, I wasn’t able to save our bullpen guys,” said Berrios. “This year so far I’ve been doing that, so I feel really happy about it. …
“The way that I’ve been working so far, all that hard work has been paying off. But we’re not done yet. We want to try to shut down a bit this all-star break, get that second (wind) and come ready for the second half.”
Kikuchi, too, has also bounced back, although not quite to Berrios’ level, after a difficult 2022, and is sitting with a 4.24 ERA in 93.1 innings over 18 starts. He also gave up his 22nd homer, a two-run shot by Jimenez in the third, that tied Lynn for the most in the majors.
“Just comparing from last year, I think I’ve been able to throw the ball more in the zone and attack hitters that way,” Kikuchi said through interpreter Yusuke Oshima. “Looking forward to the second half, I think if we can move away from pitches being a little bit down the middle and working more along the sides, I think that will lead to more success.”