Blue Jays bust out of funk with strong outing from Ross Stripling, clutch hit from George Springer
George Springer #GeorgeSpringer
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Blue Jays’ Ross Stripling delivers a pitch in the second inning against the Baltimore Orioles at Rogers Centre on Wednesday, Aug. 17, 2022 in Toronto. Photo by VAUGHN RIDLEY /GETTY IMAGES Article content
Fresh off the injured list and with his team in desperate need of a boost, Ross Stripling gave the Blue Jays everything they could have hoped for in his return to the lineup.
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Stripling wasn’t around to earn a decision in his one but you could make the argument his performance opened the door for the much-needed unclenching by the Jays’ offence that suddenly let loose with the kind of outburst that has been long overdue.
Still scoreless into the bottom of the seventh thanks almost exclusively to Stripling, the Jays sent 10 men to the plate in the inning, scoring six times to bust this one open on their way to a 6-1 win.
The big hit was a one-out single by George Springer, who came on as a pinch-hitter for Raimel Tapia and got his 1,000th career hit to score Teoscar Hernandez and open the floodgates.
Santiago Espinal followed with a two-run double for a little more breathing room and then a little extra cushion came when Lourdes Gurriel forced in a run with a bases-loaded walk and Alejandro Kirk plated two more with a double off the wall in left.
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The six-run inning was more runs than the Jays have scored in an entire game in almost two weeks dating back to their 9-3 win over the Twins on Aug 4.
Yimi Garcia wound up with the win, but there’s no question the player of the game was Stripling, who set the tone early and was just so dominant.
Blue Jays’ George Springer celebrates after scoring a run on a double by Santiago Espinal in the seventh inning against the Baltimore Orioles. VAUGHN RIDLEY/GETTY IMAGES
The 6 1/3 was his second-longest outing of the year and coming off a stint on the injured list that is saying something.
Twice earlier this season, he has limited opponents to a single hit over five or more innings but given the circumstances with this Jays team desperate to break out of its skid and needing a win to avoid falling out of a playoff spot, Stripling hasn’t had a bigger performance this year.
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It even overshadowed a rather big moment for Springer, who was taking a day off, himself a recent returnee from the injured list, only to have that day off cancelled when the Orioles opted to bring in a left-hander with Tapia coming up.
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Springer slashed a single to dead centre and was celebrating the moment two steps into his run to first.
Garcia got a huge assist from shortstop Bo Bichette as he bare-handed a hopper back to short and just got Ryan Mountcastle at first as Cedric Mullins took third on the play with the game still scoreless.
Garcia then struck out Austin Hayes to end the inning and keep the shutout intact.
The offence came to life and the Jays put some very bad days behind them.
mganter@postmedia.com
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