Blue Jays tie club record by winning their 10th home game in a row as Yankees come to town

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While their pitching was a bit spotty, the Blue Jays’ offence was spot on, the main reason why disaster was averted as Toronto won its 10th straight home game to tie a franchise record.

On a sun-baked Sunday afternoon, the Jays led the San Francisco Giants by five runs after five innings, but would hold on for an 8-6 win and their third successive sweep at the Rogers Centre.

The stage is now set for a three-game series against the visiting New York Yankees that begins Monday night in what promises to be yet another epic matchup. The Bronx Bombers arrive in town three full games behind the AL East-leading Jays after winning the rubber match of their three-game set in Atlanta on Sunday.

The following are three takeaways on a day the Blue Jays’ big bats cranked out three home runs and Yariel Rodriguez pitched a 1-2-3 ninth to earn his second save of the season.

1. Berrios fades after fourth

Once they returned from the all-star break, the Jays quickly turned the page from a tough stretch that saw them lose three of four entering the summer slumber.

A big reason can be traced to the pitching as Chris Bassitt and Eric Lauer turned in quality starts in the first two wins over the Giants.

Jose Berrios had a tough act to follow, in other words, when he started Sunday’s series finale.

After a rough start in which he gave up a double and an RBI single to the first two batters he faced in the game, Berrios — with the help of a couple of double plays behind him — carried a 3-1 lead into the fifth inning before running into trouble again.

After ex-Jay Matt Chapman reach on an infield single, Berrios walked Dominic Smith — the first free pass issued by a Toronto pitcher in this series.

On the 19th pitch of the inning, Berrios recorded his first out — on an infield fly rule, no less — but light-hitting No. 9 hitter Andrew Knizner followed with a single up the middle, scoring Chapman to pull the visitors to within a run.

A fielder’s choice grounder and a big strikeout of Heliot Ramos — with Rafael Devers in the on-deck circle — got Berrios out of that jam, but the sixth inning put him right back into another.

With his offence having given him four more runs to work with in the bottom of the fifth — and a 7-2 lead —  Berrios gave up a leadoff single to Devers, then two outs later, a two-run bomb to Chapman as he was clearly losing his effectiveness while his pitch count climbed.

That was the end of the line for Berrios. Braydon Fisher relieved him and promptly allowed all three batters he faced to get on base (one scoring). Justin Bruihl gave up a soft single up the middle to Jung Ho Lee to make it 7-6.

The damage could potentially have been worse except that Lee was thrown out trying to take second base on his hit. He was originally called safe, putting runners at second and third, but Ernie Clement noticed he had over-slid the bag with Andres Gimenez applying the tag and quickly motioned for a video review, which confirmed Lee was out, ending the threat.

Overall, Berrios gave up four runs in 5.2 innings, allowing eight hits and a walk while striking out five. He got the win, improving to 6-4, but was fortunate to be supported by an offence that would record a four-run inning for the third game in a row.

2. Ray day

Giants starter Robbie Ray won a Cy Young Award with the Blue Jays in 2021, endearing himself to many with his competitive edge and loud grunts, while turning heads with his tight baseball pants.

When last seen on the mound in Toronto, the left-hander pitched for the Seattle Mariners in Game 2 of the 2022 wild-card playoff. No need to reflect on that outing because everyone is pretty much aware of the gory details.

The bottom line is that Ray was making a rare appearance in Toronto as a member of the opposition.

He entered the day with a long history of giving up home runs — he even yielded 33 long balls during his Cy Young season with the Jays — and on Sunday he served up two more, one each to Vlad Guerrero Jr., to tie the game 1-1 in the first and George Springer leading off the fifth — the 15th homer Ray has given up this year.

He also gave up a two-run double to Bo Bichette in the third inning, though to be fair, Ramos took a bad route to the ball.

Command was an issue for Ray, whose pitch count had climbed to 65 after three innings, his frustration growing in the fourth after walking his fifth Jays batter on the afternoon.

3. Sun of a gun

Baseball is as much a game of routine as it is about pitching, hitting and defence.

Batting practice, for example, begins at the same time, depending on whether it’s a day game or night game.

Sunday home games at the Rogers Centre are a traditional 1:37 p.m. first pitch. However, this particular Sunday series finale against the Giants began at 12:05 p.m., the roof open under a blue sky.

Whether the unorthodox time had any bearing on it or not, the early afternoon sun wasn’t friendly to the home side. Starting left fielder Davis Schneider wasn’t wearing sunglasses and made no attempt to block the sun by using his glove when Lee lofted a routine fly ball his way to open the game. The result was a leadoff double. One batter later, a soft hit into left-centre scored the game’s first run.

It was puzzling why a normally bespectacled Schneider wasn’t wearing sunglasses, given the conditions, though he did don the shades for the second inning. Centre fielder Myles Straw, who was wearing sunglasses, made the first out in the second when he also used his glove to shield the sun.

Clement also wasn’t wearing sunglasses when he started at third base. However, his adventure with Mother Nature did end well in the second when he caught Brett Wisely’s popup by turning his body sideways to shield the sun.

Up next

The New York Yankees come to town for a three-game series beginning Monday night (7:07 p.m. first pitch) in a matchup featuring Kevin Gausman and Carlos Rodon. Rodon the lefty all-star was on the mound at the Rogers Centre on June 30 when he gave up five hits and two earned runs in 5.0 innings, a 96-pitch outing featuring four strikeouts and three walks … A day later on Canada Day, Gausman gave the Blue Jays 5.0 innings, but he issued more free passes (4) than he recorded strikeouts (3) in a 99-pitch outing.