Two hits
The Oakland A’s have dropped to third place in the AL West division.
The A’s lost 8-0 to the Toronto Blue Jays on Sunday, and were swept in the three-game series at Rogers Centre. Oakland’s offense managed just two hits.
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Today’s game got out of hand quickly, and there was no dramatic comeback at the end like Friday and Saturday. Toronto jumped all over starter Cole Irvin, with a three-run rally in the 2nd and then four more runs in the 3rd on a pair of homers.
- Irvin: 2⅓ ip, 7 runs, 2 Ks, 0 BB, 2 HR, 8 hits, 50 pitches, 90.8 mph EV
That’s the lefty’s shortest outing of the season. One of the homers was by Marcus Semien.
The bullpen came in and kept the Blue Jays mostly quiet for the rest of the afternoon, allowing just one more run. Reliever Sam Moll chipped in two scoreless innings in his first appearance since returning from the minors, and top prospect A.J. Puk tossed one frame.
On the other side of the ball, Oakland did nothing against AL ERA leader Robbie Ray and the Toronto bullpen.
The A’s got two hits all day, with a double by Khris Davis in the 5th and a single by Chad Pinder in the 8th, plus a few walks. They only got to third base once, when Pinder advanced on a pair of wild pitches. Per Statcast, they only had two pieces of hard contact all day, and both were outs. They struck out 15 times in 32 plate appearances, a 47% rate.
With the loss, Oakland fell a half-game behind the second-place Seattle Mariners in the division standings, pending the end of the Mariners game today. In the chase for the Second Wild Card, the Jays have caught up with the A’s in a virtual tie, at least four games behind Boston.
Out of order
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Starting today with a WEB GEM
@RGrich15 pic.twitter.com/pmWhVTXFh0
— Toronto Blue Jays (@BlueJays) September 5, 2021