Blue Jays Recap: Hutchison Prevents Sweep Against Yankees

Aug 16, 2015; Toronto, Ontario, CAN; Toronto Blue Jays starting pitcher Drew Hutchison (36) delivers a pitch against New York Yankees during the game at Rogers Centre. Mandatory Credit: Dan Hamilton-USA TODAY Sports

After the Blue Jays made up so much ground on the New York Yankees, fans were hoping to continue rolling this weekend when the Bronx Bombers came to town. The first two games didn’t go as planned, with the Jays needing a win Sunday to avoid being swept and falling 2.5 games behind New York. Fortunately, the Jays had luck on their side today, with Jose Bautista delivering a two-run home run after Carlos Beltran lost a routine fly ball in the sun.

Although heavily criticized in the past couple weeks, Drew Hutchison responded with his second straight exceptional start at home. Putting aside his struggles on the road, Hutchison has been downright dominant in the friendly confines of the Rogers Centre. Down the stretch, the Jays are fortunate to have Hutchison appearing to turn a corner and really pitch some good baseball.

• The Jays got things started in the bottom of the third, thanks in part to some luck and the sun above the Rogers Centre. With 2 outs, Carlos Beltran lost a routine Troy Tulowitzki fly ball and the Jays shortstop ended up at second base. A Josh Donaldson single and Jose Bautista home run later, the Jays were up 3-0
• Drew Hutchison continued to deal into the 6^th inning, where he made his first real mistake, leaving a fastball up in the zone to Jacoby Ellsbury who deposited it into the right field seats. Until then, Hutchison had been very effective mixing in his off-speed pitches and burying his slider against the Yankees. It was the only real blemish on an otherwise great outing from Hutch.
• Hutchison pitched into the 7^th inning, with John Gibbons pulling the righty to bring in Brett Cecil to turn around the switch hitting Carlos Beltran. The move was successful, with Beltran flying out, but one wonders whether Hutchison could’ve been left in the game. That said, the Jays bullpen has been reliable in August and Gibbons clearly has a lot of confidence in his relievers.
• In the bottom of the 7^th, the Jays had a golden opportunity to tack on some insurance runs with runners on first and second and none out. But Ben Revere failed to drop down a successful sacrifice bunt, Tulowitzki struck out and Donaldson grounded out sharply to third to end the inning without adding to the score.
• Aaron Sanchez came in to the 8^th and pitched a clean inning. It was a welcome sight to see the young flame thrower rebound well after Friday night’s debacle.
• Edwin Encarnacion extended his hit streak to 14 games. Whatever minor injuries he’s dealing with, they don’t seem to be affecting his hitting.
• Roberto Osuna came into the 9^th looking for his 13th save. After Ellsbury grounded out, Osuna worked around a Brett Gardner single to strike out A-Rod and induce a week dribbler from Mark Teixeira to end the game.
• For those watching at home and following the on-screen pitch tracker, umpire Paul Emmel’s strike zone was a little all over the place, but at least the inconsistency appeared to go both ways.
• The Jays continued a very strange streak of scoring all of their runs in one inning without adding runs at any other point of the game. While I’m thinking this is pure coincidence, the Jays bats have cooled a bit. Here’s hoping a trip to the hapless Philadelphia Phillies this week will get the hitters going.

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