The Blue Jays bounced back Tuesday night with a much-needed 4-2 win over the Athletics, improving to 73-73 and keeping themselves one game behind Cleveland for the final AL Wild Card spot with 16 games remaining. Toronto now has a chance to take the series and secure a fourth consecutive series victory.
On game 147 preview of Flight Deck, Nick Alberga breaks down José Soriano’s outstanding performance. Soriano gave Toronto exactly what it needed after a frustrating series-opening loss, tossing seven innings of two-run baseball while allowing just six hits and one walk. Spencer Miles then slammed the door with two perfect innings and three strikeouts to earn the save.
The offence was led by another historic night from Kazuma Okamoto. Josh Smith and Okamoto went back-to-back in the second inning, with Okamoto launching his 30th home run of the season. He becomes the first rookie in Blue Jays franchise history to reach 30 home runs, continuing what has already been a remarkable first MLB season. Okamoto is also heating up at the perfect time, hitting .333 with a 1.009 OPS through his first seven games of September.
Nick will also look at the Wild Card picture after Cleveland beat Baltimore on Tuesday. Toronto remains just one game behind the Guardians, meaning there is very little room for error down the stretch. With only 16 games left, every game against a team below .500 becomes increasingly important.
Looking ahead, it’ll be a bullpen game for both sides in the series finale. Braydon Fisher gets the start for Toronto and enters at 3-4 with a 3.20 ERA and 68 strikeouts. Fisher has opened eight games this season and enters today having put together five consecutive scoreless appearances.
The Athletics counter with left-hander Brady Basso, who enters at 1-2 with a 4.32 ERA. Basso has made four starts this season but has generally been used as an opener, with his longest outing of the year coming last week when he threw three scoreless innings in relief against Seattle.
With Toronto back at .500 and still just one game outside of a playoff spot, can the Blue Jays take advantage of Oakland, secure their fourth straight series win and keep the pressure on Cleveland in the Wild Card race?
We finish with Nick’s picks presented by bet365.
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