Former Twins Varland and Duran have rare hiccups in Blue Jays' walk off win over the Phillies

Where would the Toronto Blue Jays be without Brandon Valenzuela. The rookie catcher has given the Blue Jays a spark on both sides of the ball. He leads the team in fWAR since his debut on Apr. 5th (1.6), has an OPS+ of 120 and ranks in the 100th percentile for framing. It's safe to say he's been a welcomed addition to the club and on Tuesday night (Jun. 10) he came through in the biggest way, hitting a walk-off single against Johan Duran to give the Blue Jays a 3-2 win over the visiting Philadelphia Phillies.

If a walk-off win isn't enough, the circumstances that led up to Valenzuela's at-bat are just as fascinating. The game was tied 1-1 going into the ninth inning and with who Blue Jays' manager John Schneider and Phillies manager Don Mattingly had coming out of the bullpen, almost everyone in Rogers Centre expected the game to go to extra innings.

But that's why they play the game, as they say, as neither Louis Varland nor Johan Duran pitched like their dominant selves in that ninth inning, leading to the dramatic finish. Varland gave up a run in the top of the ninth, and Duran allowed several guys to reach base in the bottom half before Valenzuela's hit ended the whole affair.

Former Twins teammates have been everything their new team's could have asked for

At the 2025 trade deadline the Minnesota Twins were sellers and shipped off a pair of very reliable relievers in Varland and Duran to the Blue Jays and the Phillies respectively. Since those trades all Varland and Duran have done is make the Twins look silly for letting them go. While one of the prospects in those deals is turning into a pretty serviceable starter in Minnesota (Mick Abel, 3.98 ERA, 23 Ks, 20.1 innings pitched) the output from Varland and Duran has just been to good to ignore.

Varland has been worth 1.7 fWAR this season with an 11.61 K/9 rate and 0.50 ERA (after Tuesday's game) while Duran has produced a 1.1 fWAR with a 13.71 K/9 rate and 2.08 ERA. But neither guy was their typical dominant self in the ninth inning of Tuesday's game.

Varland began the ninth by walking Bryce Harper, but after getting the next two batters out (while Harper moved up to second on a fielder's choice) Bryson Stott hit a double to left field that brought Harper home and put the Phillies up 2-1. It was the first earned run that Varland had allowed since Apr. 25 versus Cleveland. In between those appearances, Varland didn't allow more than two un-earned runs to score while he racked up 24 strikeouts in 20.2 innings pitched and produced a 1.51 FIP and 88.9% left on base percentage.

Duran then entered, looking for his 17th save of the season. But he also got into trouble by allowing Jesús Sánchez to reach on an infield single, giving the Blue Jays' outfielder his third hit of the game to raise his average to .296. He was replaced with speedster Myles Straw. That speed became a big factor as the next batter, Yohendrick Piñango, singled to right, allowing Straw to get to third. Piñango was replaced on base by Daulton Varsho, who stole second during Valenzuela's at-bat.

That put two fast guys in scoring position for arguably the Blue Jays' hottest hitter with nobody out. Down 0-2, Valenzuela laid off a pitch that broke inside and got passed the Phillies catcher, allowing Straw to come home to tie the game. One pitch later, Valenzuela got his hit to cash in Varsho and end the game. The final line for Duran read, three hits allowed, and two earned runs while failing to record an out.

Those are the first earned runs allowed by Duran since May 22. The three hits he allowed tied the same amount of hits Duran allowed in total over his previous eight outings. Duran also appeared in the ninth inning of Monday's game in which the Phillies won 5-2, and while he only allowed a single hit he didn't strike anybody out. It's the first time all season in which he has failed to record a strikeout in back-to-back appearances.

The win gives the Blue Jays a victory in three of their last four games, and while it was another low-scoring affair, it also highlighted how much the Blue Jays have been relying on a rookie catcher and an elite reliever all season.

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