Blue Jays thump Phillies, option Loup and Venditte

The Blue Jays combined for 14 hits in game two against the Phillies

Marcus Stroman and the Toronto Blue Jays got back on track Tuesday afternoon with a convincing 11-3 win over the visiting Philadelphia Phillies.

Coming off arguably the most difficult stretch of his career on the field, Stroman served up seven strong innings. The young right-hander allowed just two earned runs on six hits, striking out six batters. Aaron Loup was tagged with one run in his lone inning of work and Gavin Floyd cleaned things up with a perfect ninth.

Josh Donaldson was the offensive star for the Blue Jays, going 3-for-5 with two doubles, a grand slam, and five RBIs. Kevin Pillar hit his fifth home run of the season in a 3-for-5 day and – no surprise here – Edwin Encarnacion continued his red-hot pace with another big fly of his own.

Michael Saunders left play early on Tuesday and described it as mild hamstring tightness following the game. Ryan Goins took over in left field while Darwin Barney subbed in off the bench.

After the game, the Blue Jays made a pair of moves in their bullpen by optioning both left-handers, Loup and Scott Diamond. 


This leaves the Blue Jays with a six-man bullpen and three-man positional bench before the corresponding moves are made, which will depend largely on the timeline of shortstop Troy Tuylowitzki. Toronto’s bullpen currently consists of Osuna, Grilli, Storen, Biagini, Chavez, and Floyd.

Chad Girodo is a candidate promotion from the triple-A Buffalo Bisons as Toronto is now without a left-handed bullpen option.

Loup was not at his best today, and Diamond’s debut with the Blue Jays on Monday did not go as planned. The Canadian took the ninth inning in the on-sided loss, but allowed three hits on a pair of hits and two walks.