The Toronto Blue Jays flexed their offensive muscle en route to sweeping a series in Boston before benefiting from solid pitching to take two of the first three games of a four-game set in Cleveland
After answering a 1-0 setback on Tuesday with a victory by the same score one night later, the Blue Jays will look to continue their good fortune on Thursday afternoon in the finale of their series against the Guardians
George Springer capped a 13-pitch at-bat against Guardians rookie Logan Allen with a solo homer in the first inning to provide all the offense Toronto would need on Wednesday. Springer admitted he had to work for his 14th homer of the season and first since July 7
“I’m trying to put the ball in play, just trying to get something to hit,” Springer told Sportsnet. “Ended up hooking some balls into their dugout. Spoiled some (pitches), and then was able to hit one out.
“I was just trying to attack, not give in and walk Springer,” Allen said. “Unfortunately, that play was the difference.
Springer added two singles to cap his eighth three-hit performance of the season and improve to 13-for-29 (.448) since ending a 35 at-bat hitless streak on Aug. 2
“George has been George for a long time,” Blue Jays manager John Schneider said. “And for the last few weeks, he’s been really good.
Vladimir Guerrero Jr. had two hits on Wednesday to improve to 5-for-12 with a double in the series
While the Blue Jays are a season-high 14 games over .500, the Guardians are headed in the opposite direction after dropping nine of their last 12
Kole Calhoun had two of the six hits for Cleveland, which has mustered just two runs during the first three games of this series
Toronto will turn to Alek Manoah (3-8, 5.72 ERA) in the finale against Cleveland’s Noah Syndergaard (1-5, 6.75) in a battle of struggling right-handers
Manoah, 25, posted his first win in nearly one month on Friday despite allowing three runs on six hits — including two homers — in 6 2/3 innings of a 7-3 victory over the Boston Red Sox
“Being able to attack the strike zone and ahead in a lot of the counts was huge,” Manoah said. “The slider was working well. The fastball was going to both sides of the plate.
Manoah did not record a decision despite permitting just two runs on five hits in five innings in his lone career encounter against Cleveland on May 8, 2022
The Guardians have received strong pitching performances from rookies Gavin Williams, Tanner Bibee and Allen to begin this series. The trio combined to allow one run and strike out 21 against four walks in 19 innings
Syndergaard, 30, endured a horrific night during his initial outing at Progressive Field. He yielded a career-high four homers and five runs total in six innings during a 7-4 setback to the Chicago White Sox on Saturday
Syndergaard is 1-0 with a 2.08 ERA in three career meetings (two starts) against Toronto
–Field Level Medi
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