Five Blue Jays storylines to watch as second half of MLB season begins
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CTV News
3 hours ago
- CTV News
Alcaraz joins list of marquee withdrawals from Canadian Open
Italy's Jannik Sinner, left, celebrates with the trophy after beating Carlos Alcaraz of Spain, right, to win the men's singles final at the Wimbledon Tennis Championships in London, Sunday, July 13, 2025. (AP Photo/Kin Cheung) World number two Carlos Alcaraz has joined the list of big names skipping next week's Canadian Open in Toronto with the Spaniard saying he needs to focus on recovering from muscle issues after losing to Jannik Sinner in the Wimbledon final. The 22-year-old won the Italian Open, French Open and Queen's Club titles before Sinner brought his 24-match winning streak to a halt at the All England Club earlier this month. 'After many consecutive weeks of competition without rest, I will not be able to play in Toronto this year,' the five-times Grand Slam champion wrote on social media on Monday. 'I have small muscle issues and need to recover physically and mentally for what comes next. To the tournament and my fans in Canada I am very sorry, I will see you next year.' The U.S. Open tune-up event will now be without four of the world's top six men's players after Sinner, Novak Djokovic and Jack Draper also opted out. World number one Sinner said he needed to prioritize his health, number five Draper is out with an arm injury and number six Djokovic is dealing with a groin problem that he sustained during his run to the Wimbledon semi-finals. The Canadian Open starts on Sunday and runs until August 7. The U.S. Open begins on August 24. (Reporting by Shrivathsa Sridhar in Bengaluru; Editing by Peter Rutherford)
CTV News
8 hours ago
- CTV News
Bichette's two-run double lifts Jays over Yankees 4-1; Toronto adds to division lead
Toronto Blue Jays first base Vladimir Guerrero Jr. (27) and outfielder George Springer (4) celebrate runs against the New York Yankees during fifth inning MLB baseball action in Toronto on Monday, July 21, 2025. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Thomas Skrlj TORONTO — Bo Bichette's two-run double sparked a four-run fifth inning as the Toronto Blue Jays opened a three-game series against the New York Yankees with a 4-1 win on Monday. Myles Straw hit an RBI single three batters later to drive home Bichette as Toronto (59-41) won its fourth straight. Leo Jimenez reached first on a throwing error in the next at bat, scoring Straw. The win gave the Blue Jays a four-game lead over the Yankees in the American League East. Kevin Gausman (7-7) was impressive, giving up the one run and striking out eight over seven innings of work. He allowed four hits and two walks. Relievers Brendon Little, Yariel Rodriguez and Jeff Hoffman preserved the win. Giancarlo Stanton's solo home run led off the fourth inning for New York (55-45). Carlos Rodon (10-7) allowed four runs, two earned, on six hits and five walks over five innings. He struck out four. Scott Effross and JT Brubaker combined for three innings of scoreless relief. TAKEAWAYS Yankees: It was a rough fifth inning for the left side of New York's infield. Third baseman Oswald Peraza's throw to first baseman Paul Goldschmidt was way off-line, turning what could have been a groundout into two bases for Myles Straw. In the next at bat, shortstop Anthony Volpe pulled Goldschmidt off the bag with his throw to allow Jimenez to reach safely and give Straw enough time to cross home. Blue Jays: Toronto loaded the bases in the second and fourth innings but wasn't able to score any runners, squandering an opportunity to break the game wide open. Bichette's double brought the sold-out crowd of 41,786 to their feet and finally took advantage of a solid night at the plate. KEY MOMENT Gausman issued two balls to Jazz Chisholm Jr., in the third inning with two runners on base and the game scoreless. But the Blue Jays starter bore down, skimming the bottom of the zone with back-to-back four-seam fastballs then getting Chisholm out when the slugger bit on a splitter for a foul tip. KEY STAT Bichette entered the game hitting an impressive .394 with runners in scoring position. His two-run double brought him up to .400 with teammates on second or third base. UP NEXT Max Scherzer (1-0) gets the start as Toronto continues its three-game series against New York. The Jays have won 11 in a row at Rogers Centre. Cam Schlittler (1-0) will take the mound for the Yankees. This report by The Canadian Press was first published July 21, 2025. John Chidley-Hill, The Canadian Press
The Province
9 hours ago
- The Province
The 'Who Jays' are in first place. How is this happening?
Nathan Lukes of the Toronto Blue Jays. Photo by Geoff Stellfox / Getty Images The names line up in rather large letters by the lockers in the opulence that is the Blue Jays clubhouse. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. THIS CONTENT IS RESERVED FOR SUBSCRIBERS ONLY Subscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across Canada. Exclusive articles by top sports columnists Patrick Johnston, Ben Kuzma, J.J. Abrams and others. Plus, Canucks Report, Sports and Headline News newsletters and events. Unlimited online access to The Province and 15 news sites with one account. The Province ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition to view on any device, share and comment on. Daily puzzles and comics, including the New York Times Crossword. Support local journalism. SUBSCRIBE TO UNLOCK MORE ARTICLES Subscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across Canada. Exclusive articles by top sports columnists Patrick Johnston, Ben Kuzma, J.J. Abrams and others. Plus, Canucks Report, Sports and Headline News newsletters and events. Unlimited online access to The Province and 15 news sites with one account. The Province ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition to view on any device, share and comment on. Daily puzzles and comics, including the New York Times Crossword. Support local journalism. REGISTER / SIGN IN TO UNLOCK MORE ARTICLES Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience. Access articles from across Canada with one account. Share your thoughts and join the conversation in the comments. Enjoy additional articles per month. Get email updates from your favourite authors. THIS ARTICLE IS FREE TO READ REGISTER TO UNLOCK. Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience. Access articles from across Canada with one account Share your thoughts and join the conversation in the comments Enjoy additional articles per month Get email updates from your favourite authors Fluharty. Lauer. Little. Sandlin. Wagner. Straw. Nance. Lukes. Bruihl. Heineman. Loperfido. Francis. Clement. Jimenez. Schultz. Schneider. Fisher. If you can't match a first name to a last, that's understandable. Most of baseball couldn't. This is the most unique, the invisible, unexpected team in Blue Jays history. And we can't take our eyes off them. They won't let us as they remain in first place in the American League East, now four games up on the Yankees, with a better record than the huge spenders in New York, Los Angeles and Philadelphia. They won't let us turn away. These are your first-place Blue Jays, winners of 11 in a row at home. Yep, that's 11 in a row. Those World Series champions of 1992 and 1993 never won 11 in a row at home in Toronto. The great 1985 Jays, who probably should have won a World Series in an awful stadium, never got to 11. Same with those electric teams of 2015 and 2016, at least one of which should have been fitted for rings and didn't quite get there. Essential reading for hockey fans who eat, sleep, Canucks, repeat. By signing up you consent to receive the above newsletter from Postmedia Network Inc. Please try again This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. There were not a lot of Nathan Lukeses on those teams, or Addison Bargers or Will Wagners or Joey Loperfidos. And you can keep adding on to those names. The great Blue Jays teams in history had MVP candidates such as Jesse Barfield and George Bell in 1985 — the AL MVP that year was won by current Blue Jays coach Don Mattingly — like Joe Carter and Roberto Alomar and Dave Winfield in 1992 and John Olerud and Carter and Paul Molitor in 1993. Great players doing great things. Josh Donaldson won the MVP in 2015 when baseball returned to life in the city and finished fourth the following year — with Jose Bautista hitting 40 home runs in 2015 and Edwin Encarnacion hitting 42 homers in 2016. That's the history of winning teams in the sport. The best players, the biggest boppers, the deepest bullpens win. There aren't 15 or 16 of who-are-these-people? on most winning teams. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. Mrs. Nathan Lukes, who has followed her husband city to city, league to league, and knows the letters DFA well, noticed the other day that the Jays starting lineup against the San Francisco Giants had two players on Major League contracts and everybody else in the starting nine were hoping there is a next year on any of their deals. 'That's the beauty of this team,' said Lukes, who hits wherever the Jays put him the lineup and plays whatever position he is asked to play. This is his 10th season of professional baseball and the Blue Jays are his ninth team. He had bounced through various levels of the minor leagues, getting used to carrying change of address cards and understanding furniture rentals, and at 31 years of age he's still trying to establish himself as a big league something. And maybe here. That is happening for so many in this breathtaking Blue Jays season. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. 'It's every day,' said Lukes. 'Every day you don't know who that person is going to be in this lineup. Every day it's always someone different who comes through. That's the fun of it. 'When you have a team like that, you just know people are going to produce. You just don't know who it's going to be. To me, it's an honour to be part of this group. We're special. I think the fans know it, we know it. The coaching staff knows it.' And how is this possible? Vladdy Guerrero Jr. and Bo Bichette are not MVP candidates this season. Solid as the Jays veteran rotation is, nobody is screaming Cy Young. The most likely award-winner this season — if there is one — is the manager John Schneider, and he's likely behind Detroit's A.J. Hinch in the popular vote. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. 'This shows you what baseball is,' said Lukes. 'Small money, big money, you still have to play nine innings, you still need 27 outs. That's the beauty of it. That never changes.' The Jays swept San Francisco on the weekend, just after the all-star break, and large offensive contributions came from Tyler Heineman, the veteran backup catcher; from Will Wagner, son of the Hall of Famer; from the young slugger Addison Barger and the unlikely Joey Loperfido. And a couple of key hits from Lukes in between. Before the break, the Jays won seven in a row at home, including a sweep of the then first-place Yankees. The key offensive hits, except those from the old man George Springer, came from Loperfido and Davis Scheider and Barger and Ernie Clement. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. 'We know they're playing incredibly well,' said Yankees manager Aaron Boone, again on the hot seat with a team lacking in fundamentals. 'The emergence of their supporting cast has been really good. They've performed at a very high level.' All of a sudden, the Who Jays have a four-game lead on the Yankees, something that hasn't happened a lot over the past 32 years. The Jays won their most recent World Series in 1993. Since then, they have won the AL East once, made the playoffs five times, won 10 playoff games in all. In that time, the Yankees have been to the World Series eight times, winning five of them, and in those 32 years that the Jays won 10 playoff games, the Yankees happened to win 128 of them. This race is not a first among equals. This is an anomaly worth admiring. This is the impossible suddenly becoming more than possible. 'Our goal is not to think about what we're doing,' said Lukes. 'Just keep doing it. When you start picking apart your numbers in this game, that's when you get into trouble. I've been through that before. A lot of us have. The best part is, just be ready, be enthusiastic, just keep playing the way we're playing. And just keep winning.' ssimmons@ Vancouver Canucks News News News News
