Thanks largely to three home runs, the Jays moved closer to the playoffs with a 6-0 win over the New York Yankees on Thursday at Rogers Center.
It was Dalton Varsho who led the Jays’ attack (88-71) by extending his arm in the third inning to give his team a 1-0 lead. In the fourth inning, Matt Chapman doubled the Queen City club’s lead by sending the ball out of bounds.
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Although the Jays were defensive offensively in the first two meetings of this series against the Yankees (81-78), they managed to get the ball to safety 13 times, more than in Wednesday’s and Thursday’s games combined.
Brandon Belt finally ended any hope of a Bronx Bombers comeback when he hit a three-run home run in the sixth inning.
Vladimir Guerrero Jr. stayed quiet in Toronto’s win, striking out three times in five at-bats. However, he got a hit.
Chris Bassitt (16-8) was outstanding for Toronto, striking out 12 players. It was Yimi Garcia who replaced him and ended the game.
Thanks to this win, the Blue Jays now have a one-game lead over the Houston Astros, who hold the third and final tier of drafted teams, and two and a half ahead of the Seattle Mariners (85-73), who are the first club to be eliminated from the series in the American.
John Schneider’s team begins its final regular season series on Friday against the Tampa Bay Rays.
Édouard Julien’s Twins lose to the worst team on the circuit
On Thursday afternoon, the Minnesota Twins (85-74) suffered a 2-1 loss to the Oakland Athletics (49-110), the worst team in major baseball. The offensive was lacking in this duel, while Édouard Julien’s teammates only struck four times from a safe position.
As for Julien, he was held in check in his four appearances at bat and was taken out of the game once. However, he managed to go for a walk. William Castro is the only person to have scored a point for the Minnesota-based club.
The Twins begin their final series of the regular season on Friday at Coors Field against the Colorado Rockies (57-101).