We’re entering what could end up being the most exciting 24 hours of the Blue Jays season so far.
On Thursday morning, the Blue Jays acquired lefty reliever Brad Hand from the Washington Nationals, and he’ll join the team in Toronto tomorrow for their first game back home since September of 2019.
Who knows what this team’s roster will look like once the first pitch is thrown tomorrow night. Hopefully, we see a few more key moves from the Jays on deadline day.
Before all that, let’s break down tonight’s win.
That was easy
Right from the first inning of this game, the Blue Jays took control and never looked back.
It all started with a 3-run first inning against Boston starter Eduardo Rodriguez, including a 2-run double to right from Teoscar Hernandez.
They’d add 1 more in the 2nd on a George Springer RBI single, and added 2 more in the 4th, drawing 3 walks, 1 with the bases loaded against a wild Eduardo Rodriguez.
The Blue Jays were doing a great job all night of making the Red Sox pitchers work. They were getting deep in counts and forcing the pitchers to give them something to hit.
In the 5th, with 2 on and 2 out, Vladdy put the game out of reach.
A 436 foot, 114 mph 3-run shot from Guerrero extended the Jays lead to 9-0, and it was all Blue Jays in Fenway Park. Can’t wait to see Vladdy hit one of those at home.
Boston brought in Brandon Workman and his 1.92 WHIP into the 6th inning to try and stop the Jays lead from getting any bigger.
It did not work.
The Jays got 3 straight hits to start the inning, and RBI hits from Randal Grichuk, Santiago Espinal, and Reese McGuire (who had 3 doubles in this game) extended the Jays lead to 12-0. Every single hitter in the Jays starting lineup had at least 1 hit and at least 1 RBI. You don’t see that very often.
It’s games like this that make you wonder how they aren’t higher in the standings. If they could just learn to finish close games, they’d be up at the top with the Red Sox.
Hyun-Jin Ryu was absolutely fantastic tonight, and although he didn’t get much help from his shortstop, he was able to hold the Red Sox at bay all night, throwing 6 scoreless innings, allowing just 2 hits. He retired 12 straight at one point.
The best part about this start from Ryu was his command. He was dotting his fastball, his changeup was at the knees or below, and he was getting lots of whiffs on his curveball all night. Ryu had struggled with his command a bit in June and July, but he looks to have found his game again.
Jays acquire Brad Hand
If you’re a Blue Jays fan, I don’t see how you don’t like this deal.
Brad Hand is a left-handed reliever coming from the Washington Nationals in exchange for Jays catcher Riley Adams.
Hand has pitched in the majors for the Miami Marlins, San Diego Padres, Cleveland Indians (now the Guardians), and Washington Nationals, putting up a 3.65 career ERA and 126 career saves.
Yes, his contract expires at the end of the year, and yes, he hasn’t pitched very well in the last month or so, but the Jays just managed to pick up a reliable left-handed arm with a proven track record of pitching late in games. That’s everything they need.
Hand is a fastball/slider pitcher that has success against righties and lefties. His fastball sits at around 93, and his slider is a bit slower than most, averaging about 80 mph.
The Jays gave up Riley Adams in this deal, and honestly, I’m not losing sleep over it.
Adams got a cup of coffee in the major leagues earlier this year, thanks to injuries to Danny Jansen and Alejandro Kirk. Other than a double he hit in his debut in Chicago, he really struggled with the bat, and looked shaky behind the plate at times as well.
I wouldn’t be surprised to see him make the major leagues as a full-timer, but the Blue Jays already have a lot of depth at the catcher position, strengthened by the emergence of Gabriel Moreno in AA this year.
I like Adams, but losing him is something the Jays could absolutely afford to do, even if it’s for a rental. They’ll be just fine. Best of luck of Adams in Washington.
Some Final Thoughts
It’s off to Toronto, baby!
After a lengthy 161 game road trip, the Jays will finally play their first game in Toronto since September of 2019.
Let’s start with a bang.