Two homers aside, Gausman sharp but outduelled by red-hot Cubs rookie
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Kevin Gausman and rookie Cade Horton engaged in a taut pitchers duel that the Cubs would prevail in, 4-1, counter-punching after the Jays took the series opener of this highly anticipated three-game set on Tuesday.
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The Jays' bats were silenced by Horton and failed to manufacture any threat. When only two hits are produced, while an opponent hits two solo homers, the margin gets pretty thin.
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In their final at-bats, against Cubs closer Daniel Palencia, the Jays went quietly into the night, deserving of their fate as their record dropped to 70-51.
The following are three takeaways on a night when the Jays outdrew their season-high attendance from Tuesday night by attracting 43,120, witnessed an ugly injury when Cubs catcher Miguel Amaya tumbled over first base and was carted off the field; and maintained their 4.5-game lead in the AL East as the second-place Red Sox also lost.
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There wasn't much to find fault with in Gausman's performance as he provided his team with a quality outing — seven complete innings of three-hit ball.
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The only problem was that two of those three hits left the yard as Michael Busch and Matt Shaw tagged him for solo home runs in the third and fifth innings, respectively. He also managed just three strikeouts.
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The one thing about Gausman is he will battle and his outing against the Cubs was no exception. He pitched into the seventh inning in a 2-1 game and looked as locked in as he did in the first.
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THE CADE GRADE
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First time through the order and Horton was well-deserving of an A-plus rating.
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He entered the night having pitched a Cubs rookie record 23.2 scoreless innings, a stretch in which he surrendered just 10 hits.
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In facing the order for the first time, Horton struck out five, while inducing four groundouts as his compact windup and delivery may have been difficult to pick up at first view.
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The Jays finally had their first base-runner when Horton walked Bichette with one out in the fourth inning. Vladimir Guerrero Jr. then tagged him for a long fly ball to left that was caught at the warning track. Horton then struck out Addison Barger for the third out.
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Globe and Mail
2 hours ago
- Globe and Mail
Alejandro Kirk's heroics lead Blue Jays to 6-5 comeback win over Texas Rangers
Alejandro Kirk followed a two-run homer in the seventh inning with a game-winning two-run single in the eighth to push the Toronto Blue Jays to a 6-5 comeback win in the series opener against the Texas Rangers on Friday. Kirk's single with the bases loaded allowed the Blue Jays (72-51) to overcome a three-run deficit. Before Kirk's deciding at-bat, Texas reliever Phil Matton (2-5) walked Daulton Varsho with the bases loaded to pull the home team within two runs before 42,260 at Rogers Centre. Kirk and Rangers infielder Marcus Semien traded two-run homers in the bottom of the seventh and top of the eighth. Reliever Louis Varland (4-3) registered the win with Jeff Hoffman notching his 28th save. Jacob deGrom pitched five shutout innings, allowing only two hits with no walks and five strikeouts as the Rangers' (61-62) losing streak was extended to three games. Kyle Higashioka hammered a three-run homer in the second inning. The three-run blow was one of only four hits off Toronto starter Chris Bassitt, who lasted five innings on 100 pitches and matched a season-high four walks with four strikeouts. Blue Jays right fielder Nathan Lukes made a pair of defensive gems early. With his back against the wall, he jumped to take an extra base hit away from Joc Pederson in the first inning. In the second inning, Lukes fielded Evan Carter's rocket off the wall and caught the Rangers outfielder at second. Rangers: They began the day 3½ games back of the final American League wild-card spot. Blue Jays: George Springer homered in the second of his three at-bats in his rehab start for triple-A Buffalo on Friday. Shane Bieber pitched seven shutout innings in Buffalo, striking out four with six hits and no walks on 90 pitches. Springer is expected to rejoin Toronto on Saturday, and Bieber could make his Blue Jays debut next week. Key moment: Kirk's bases-loaded single in the eighth inning scored the tying and go-ahead runs. Key stat: Bassitt still hasn't suffered a loss at home in 2025, going 8-0 with six no decisions. Up next: Lefty Eric Lauer (7-2) will face Texas southpaw Patrick Corbin (6-8) in the middle outing of the three-game set on Saturday.
Winnipeg Free Press
2 hours ago
- Winnipeg Free Press
Yelich's two homers lead Brewers to record-tying 13th straight win
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Harris singled home pinch-runner Eli White in the ninth against Carlos Hernández. RED SOX 2, MARLINS 1 BOSTON (AP) — Trevor Story bounced one through the drawn-in infield with the bases loaded and nobody out in the ninth inning — just Boston's third hit of the game — and the Red Sox beat Miami. It was Boston's 10th walk-off win of the season, the most in the majors. Josh Simpson (2-2) walked Roman Anthony and Alex Bregman to start the ninth. Jarren Duran was squared around to bunt, but Simpson hit him with a pitch to load the bases. Calvin Faucher came in to face Story, who hit a chopper past the second baseman to end it. Marlins starter Sandy Alcantara retired the first 12 batters before Story singled to lead off the fifth inning. Alcantara retired the next five as well before Anthony walked with two out in the sixth and scored to make it 1-1 on Bregman's double. Aroldis Chapman (4-2) pitched a perfect ninth for the win. 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Aaron Civale (3-8) gave up three straight singles in the first as Kansas City took a 1-0 lead. He allowed one more hit until the fourth, when Perez sent a 1-0 pitch over the right-field wall to make it 2-1. ORIOLES 7, ASTROS 0 HOUSTON (AP) — Rookie right-hander Brandon Young lost his bid for the first perfect game in Baltimore history with four outs remaining Friday night in a win over Houston. Young retired the first 23 batters he faced, only to have his shot at history end on slow grounder to the third base side by Houston second baseman Ramon Urìas. With two outs in the eighth inning, Urìas, facing the Orioles for the first time since being traded last month, hit a 56 mph grounder between the mound and third base line. Young fielded the ball, but his off-balanced throw sailed wide of first base. Urías was awarded an infield single. Young struck out the next batter to end the eighth. His eight innings pitched were a career high, and he matched his career best with six strikeouts A native of Lumberton, Texas, less than 100 miles northeast of Houston, Young entered the game 0-6 with a 6.70 ERA through the first 10 starts of his big league career. Yaramil Hiraldo retired the side in order in the ninth to preserve the Orioles first one-hitter since May 24, 2024. Astros starter Framber Valdez (11-6) kept the Orioles in check until the fourth when Colby Mayo hit a two-out, solo home run. YANKEES 4, CARDINALS 3 ST. LOUIS (AP) — Jazz Chisholm Jr. homered and Luis Gil pitched one-run ball over 5 1/3 innings to help New York beat St. Louis. Gil (1-1) allowed one run on four hits and three walks and had four strikeouts in his third start of the season. David Bednar pitched a scoreless ninth for his 19th save of the season and second for the Yankees. Andre Pallante (6-10) allowed four runs on six hits and three walks and struck out a season-high eight batters in five innings for the Cardinals, who have lost three straight games. Victor Scott II hit an RBI double down the right field line off Camilo Doval, and Pedro Pagés scored on a wild pitch from Luke Weaver in the bottom of the seventh to cut the Yankees' lead to 4-3. Lars Nootbaar and Masyn Winn hit back-to-back doubles to right field in the bottom of the sixth inning to put the Cardinals on the scoreboard and chase Gil from the game. Jason Domínguez lined a two-out RBI single to left field in the top of the third inning to put the Yankees ahead 4-0. TIGERS 7, TWINS 0 MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Charlie Morton gave up two hits and struck out five over six innings and Detroit scored five runs in the first inning of a win over Minnesota. Dillon Dingler hit a two-run single in the first, in which the Tigers batted around against Twins starter Pierson Ohl (0-3), who was making his fifth career start. An error by Minnesota second baseman Luke Keaschall led to four unearned runs. The was enough for 41-year-old right-hander Morton (8-10), who bounced back after a rough start against the Angels his last time out. Ohl, who faced Detroit earlier this month, lasted only 2 1/3 innings. Four of the seven total runs he surrendered were unearned. Dingler drove in his third run of the game with a double in the third. Javier Báez also drove in a pair of runs for the Tigers, who are leading the AL Central. Spencer Torkelson reached base three times and scored twice for Detroit. ROCKIES 4, DIAMONDBACKS 3 DENVER (AP) — Hunter Goodman homered, Victor Vodnik struck out two in the ninth inning and Colorado beat Arizona. Thursdays Keep up to date on sports with Mike McIntyre's weekly newsletter. Goodman hit his 25th homer — a solo shot off Brandon Pfaadt (12-8) in the first to put the Rockies in front. Tanner Gordon (3-5) allowed three runs on five hits in five innings for the victory. He gave up 10 runs on 12 hits in 4 2/3 innings of a 13-6 loss to Pfaadt and the Diamondbacks in Phoenix his last time out. Jimmy Herget fanned four in two innings, and Juan Mejia struck out two in the eighth to set up Vodnik's fifth save. Tyler Freeman tripled for Colorado leading off the fifth and scored on Jordan Beck's two-out double. Ketel Marte singled leading off the Arizona sixth and Corbin Carroll followed with a four-pitch walk to end Gordon's day. McCarthy singled off Herget to get the Diamondbacks within a run.
Global News
3 hours ago
- Global News
Kirk plays hero, steals first base in Jays' win
TORONTO – Alejandro Kirk's late-game heroics resulted in three deafening ovations from the 42,260 inside the Rogers Centre on Friday. The first roar arrived in the seventh inning when the Toronto Blue Jays catcher smacked an opposite-field two-run homer to right. The next inning, the sellout crowd cheered as Kirk delivered a bases-loaded single to left field to score the game-tying and game-winning runs. But the most thunderous praise from the faithful came when Kirk caught the Texas Rangers by surprise and stole his first career base. 'I didn't know what was going on,' Kirk said through an interpreter after the 6-5 win. 'Then I turned around and saw myself (standing at second base) on the scoreboard.' The Blue Jays celebrated along with their low-key teammate's first stolen base. Vladimir Guerrero Jr. pulled the base out of the ground and presented Kirk with the keepsake. Story continues below advertisement Kirk stated the memento will soon be on display in his home. He also admitted he was surprised when first-base coach Mark Budzinski told him to steal second. Get daily National news Get the day's top news, political, economic, and current affairs headlines, delivered to your inbox once a day. Sign up for daily National newsletter Sign Up By providing your email address, you have read and agree to Global News' Terms and Conditions and Privacy Policy 'I looked around and said, 'Are you serious?'' Kirk said. Budzinski was serious. Kirk made history. He was holding on to the base during his post-game interview. 'The fact that he was holding it on the field post-game is even better,' Blue Jays manager John Schneider said. 'I think they're authenticating it.' Although Toronto starter Chris Bassitt endured a difficult outing, lasting only five innings and giving up an early three-run homer, his night ended on a high note, watching his battery mate's late-game wizardry. 'He's catching (all-time base stealing leader) Rickey (Henderson) slowly,' Bassitt said with a smile. Story continues below advertisement Kirk hit his homer with an 0-1 count and his single with a 1-2 count. 'Kirk, the hitter, is pretty hard to face,' Bassitt said. 'So I hate to say it, but I expect it from him. There are not many guys on our team that I'd rather have up than him because he can do damage with any kind of pitch. 'I'm always happy when he's up late in big situations.' This was the American League East-leading Blue Jays' 39th comeback win of the season, and second in as many games after Guerrero belted a game-winning two-run homer in the seventh inning for a 2-1 win against the Chicago Cubs on Thursday. 'I think the more you do it, the more comfortable you are when you're in that situation,' Schneider said. 'It's not luck. It's hard to do, but like anything, the more you do it, the better you get at it.' Springer, Bieber updates George Springer homered in the second of three at-bats in his rehab start for triple-A Buffalo on Friday and could return to the Blue Jays lineup on Saturday. Righty Shane Bieber pitched seven shutout innings in Buffalo, striking out four with six hits and no walks on 90 pitches. Story continues below advertisement Bieber could make his Blue Jays debut next week, likely on the road against the Miami Marlins next Friday. This report by The Canadian Press was first published Aug. 15, 2025.
