SAN DIEGO PADRES NOTES:
Powered by Yu Darvish and Manny Machado, Padres claim series in Toronto, smell a sweep
- The Friars shut out the Blue Jays 2-0 last night, propelled by Yu Darvish’s 6.0 shutout inning performance…he walked 3 with 4 hits allowed and punched out 7 Blue Jays…
Josh Hader got his 23rd save of the season.
- The Friars went homerless in their 7 hits, and Fernando Tatis Jr. doubled for their sole extra-base hit of the game…they left 11 runners stranded and went just 1-for-10 with RISP.
- Manny Machado’s 2-RBI single to center plated Trent Grisham and Ha-Seong Kim in the 5th inning for the eventual game-winning runs.
Friars look for 1st road series sweep of 2023
- In winning last night’s game, this is the 1st road series San Diego won since when they took 2 of 3 from the Rockies in Denver from June 6-11…a win today would be their 1st sweep on the road this season (their sole sweep in a series of at least 3 games was from July 3-5 vs. the Angels in San Diego).
- A win today would tie their season-long winning streak of 3 games (done 6x this year), and it would also tie their longest road winning streak of the season in the same roadtrip (done just once on their 1st roadtrip of the year from April 7-9 @ Atlanta).
Bump Day: Snell riding a historic 9-start stretch
- Blake Snell enters today having allowed just 3 runs in his last 9 total outings, and he’s the 1st Padre starting pitcher in club history to have allowed as few runs in any 9-start stretch (and the only starting pitcher in MLB this year to have done so)…if you include his 85 strikeouts in that time, he’s just the 2nd pitcher in MLB history (going back to at least 1893 when the mound was moved to its current distance from home plate) to have a 9-start stretch with 3 or fewer runs allowed and 85-ormore punchouts, joining Chris Sale’s run in 2018 (June 19-Sept. 11) when he allowed 3 runs in 9 starts with 92 strikeouts.
- June’s NL Pitcher of the Month, he has thrown at least 5.0 innings with 1 or 0 runs allowed in 8 of his last 9 starts since May 31st…in that time, he has a 0.51 ERA (3 ER, 53.0 IP) and a 0.91 WHIP with 85 strikeouts against 21 walks and a .150 opponent average.
Big diff
- The Padres have scored 434 runs and allowed 388 runs for a run differential entering the game of 46 runs, the 2nd-best run differential in the National League West (behind the Dodgers’ 91 run differential)…it’s the 3rd best in the NL overall, with the Braves leading the way with a 143 run diff.
Macho Macho Manny
- Manny Machado drove in the game’s sole 2 runs last night, and it was his 53rd and 54th RBI of the year, tying Juan Soto for the team lead in RBI…it was also his Major League-leading 21st RBI since the beginning of July, and his .836 SLG and 1.267 OPS also lead baseball this month.
Padres ‘pen in the last 3 vs. their prior 15
- From June 27 up until the finale of the Padres vs. Phillies series on Sunday, the San Diego bullpen had allowed at least 1 earned run in 15 straight games for a 7.98 ERA (47 ER, 53.0 IP)…in their last 3 games, however, they have yet to allow a single earned run, 1 of 3 other bullpen’s in baseball to have not allowed an ER since June 17 (Red Sox, Rockies, and Brewers)…the SD bullpen’s season-long stretch of now allowing an earned run was 8 games from May 13-21.
STARTING PITCHER – #4 BLAKE SNELL
Snell set for 15th career start vs. TOR Blake Snell takes the mound for his staff-leading 20th start of the season and the 15th of his career vs. the Blue Jays…he is 5-3 with a 2.58 ERA, 1.12 WHIP and a .189 opp. AVG…the .189 AVG against is the lowest among all active starters who have made at least 9 starts vs. TOR, and Snell has made 14…ranking 2nd is former teammate Jake Odorizzi (.197) and current teammate Yu Darvish (.197).
Extends scoreless inning streak to career-high 21.0 IP
Blake Snell took the ball for Game 1 of last Sat’s doubleheader at Citizens Bank Park and tossed 5.0-shutout innings of 3-hit ball…his 21.0 scoreless inning streak is a new career-high, and the longest by an SD starting pitcher since Jon Garland and Mat Latos both posted 21.0 scoreless inn streaks in 2010…the last SD starting pitcher with a scoreless streak of 25.0+ IP was Bruce Hurst in 1990 (27.0 IP)….it’s longest active scoreless inning streak in the Majors, ahead of Clayton Kershaw (16.0) and and Craig Kimbrel (16.0).
Shutouts/Punchouts/Quality Starts/100+ Pitch Outings
In Game 1 of last Sat’s doubleheader at PHI, Snell tossed a season-low 82 pitches across 5.0-shutout innings in SD’s eventual 6-4 defeat….it was his 7th scoreless outing this season across 5.0+ frames – the most such starts in the NL and tied with TEX’s Nathon Eovaldi for most in the Majors..all 7 of those starts have come in his 9 outings since May 31….he’s reached the 100 pitch plateau 9 times this season, tied for the 4th-most 100+ pitch outings this season…he’s posted quality outings in 7 of his last 9 outings since May 25, having his quality start streak snapped at 6 in a row on July 3 vs. LAA, tying his career high QS streak from April 10-May 8 during his Cy Young 2018 season…he’s punched out 10+ in 5 of his last 7 outings, and since 2018, he’s posted the most double-digit SO games (28) among all ML left-handers, ahead of Chris Sale (27) and Robbie Ray (26).
Leader of the pack since May 25
Among all qualifying pitchers since May 25, Snell ranks 1st in ERA (0.62), total strikeouts (91), SO/9 IP (14.12), opp. AVG (.156), opp. OPS (.458), H/9 IP (4.81) and FIP (1.99).
TORONTO BLUE JAYS NOTES:
THE LATEST: The Blue Jays were limited to six singles for the second straight game as they fell, 2-0, to the Padres last night…Were shut out for the 5th time this season, 5th fewest among AL teams…Have been blanked five times in their last 23 games after a streak of 91 straight games without being shut out, which was the longest active streak in the Majors. Toronto has still won eight of its last 11 games and has gone 27-18 over its last 45 contests…Its .600 win% over that span (since May 26) is the best mark in the AL (2nd: TEX – .563).
BEEN BERRÍ GOOD LATELY: José Berríos pitched in his 200th career game last night…Tossed 6.0 frames of two-run ball, giving up four hits and four walks while recording a season-hightying nine strikeouts (also: April 25 vs. CWS)…Threw a season-high 106 pitches (66 strikes), his most in a game since tossing 109 on Sept. 9, 2021 at NYY… Marked his 11th quality start of the year…Now ranks 3rd among AL pitchers in innings pitched (119.1) while ranking 10th in ERA (3.39).
Over his last 18 outings, the righty has gone 8-5 with a 2.71 ERA (33 ER/109.2 IP) and a 1.10 WHIP…His ERA over that span (since April 14) is 2nd best among
AL pitchers.
STARTING SOMETHING: Toronto pitchers have now combined for 46 quality starts, 3rd most in the Majors…The starting rotation ranks 3rd in MLB in strikeouts (544), 5th in innings pitched (524.2), 8th in ERA (3.96), and 12th in AVG (.244).
MULTI-TALENTED: Bo Bichette drew a walk in his 1st plate appearance last night and followed that up with singles in the 5th and 8th innings to finish 2-for-3…Marked his 37th multi-hit game, tying Masataka Yoshida (37) for the AL lead. The two-time All-Star currently leads the AL with 130 hits, 19 more than any other batter in the junior circuit, trailing only Luis Arraez (134) for the most in the Majors…Has taken possession of 1st in the AL in batting average at .321, one point up on Yandy Díaz (.320)…Also sits 3rd in total bases (202), 9th in SLG (.499), 11th in OPS (.849), and 11th in extra-base hits (39).
FEELING GEORGEOUS LATELY: George Springer led off last night’s game with a single… Has led off an inning with a hit on an AL-high 47 occasions this year (2nd: Marcus Semien – 40)… Extended his hitting streak to eight games while going 12-for-36 (.333) with three doubles, a homer, and six RBI over that span…Over his last 30 contests, is batting .325 (40-for-123) with 19 runs scored, nine doubles, four home runs, and 16 RBI (.864 OPS).
BOTTOM’S UP: Kevin Kiermaier singled and stole his 11th base in the 2nd inning last night…Has recorded 55 hits while batting 9th, the most in the Majors (2nd: Michael Harris II – 50)…Is 8-for-22 (.364) with a double and three RBI across his last eight games played.
HOME WORK: The Blue Jays have kicked off the unofficial 2nd half of the season with this six-game, seven-day homestand (3-2 so far)…Have gone 26-20 this season at Rogers Centre…The .565 win% at home is 4th best in the AL…Will head out west for a six-game trip beginning tomorrow, visiting both the Mariners (47-48) and the
Dodgers (55-40) for three games apiece. Toronto batters rank 3rd in the AL in home AVG (.262), 4th in home OBP (.333), 6th in home OPS (.743), and 8th in home SLG (.410)…The pitching staff ranks 1st among AL teams with 3.45 home ERA and a .219 home opponents’ average while sitting 3rd with a 1.17 home WHIP.
FEELING AT HOME: Chris Bassitt gets the start today, coming off 6.0 frames of two-run ball last Saturday vs. ARI…Has 13 quality starts this season, tied for 4th most among AL hurlers, one back of the leaders…Also sits T-9th in the AL with 115.2 innings pitched. In nine starts at Rogers Centre this season, the 34-year old has gone 5-1 with a 2.47 ERA (16 ER/58.1IP), a 0.87 WHIP, and a .165 opponent’s average.
HITTING IT: Toronto batters have notched 858 hits this season, 3rd most in the AL…Are also currently 3rd in the AL in team AVG (.260), 5th in OBP (.328), 6th in SLG (.415), 6th in OPS (.742), and 7th in extra-base hits (289).
0 TO 100 REAL QUICK: John Schneider has recorded 99 wins in 170 games at the helm of the Blue Jays…With a victory today, will match Cito Gaston’s franchise mark of reaching the 100-win mark in 171 games (courtesy Stats Perform).
THE D-JAYS: According to Sports Info Solutions, Toronto fielders have recorded a total of 45 Defensive Runs Saved, the most in the Majors (2nd: TEX – 39)…The group is led by an MLB-high 22 runs saved in center field, 11 more than any other team (KC – 11).
INTERTAINMENT: Toronto is playing its 10th interleague series of the year…Has gone 19-9 vs. NL clubs so far…The .679 win% in interleague games is the best among MLB teams (2nd: MIA – .667)…Have set a club record with the 19 interleague wins (14 in 2021).
VS. THE PADRES: All-Time: 8-9
2023: 0-2 Home: 3-5
Home: 0-2 Rogers Centre: 3-5
The Blue Jays are meeting the Padres for the first time since 2019 when they dropped two of three games in Toronto…Only one matchup between the 30 current MLB teams has seen fewer meetings than Toronto vs. San Diego’s 15 coming into this series (White Sox vs. Mets – 13)…Are now 3-5 all-time here at Rogers Centre, having also gone 2-1 in 2016…Have never been swept by the Padres. Brandon Belt leads all current Blue Jays with 163 career games against the Padres, hitting .265 (141- for-533) with 33 doubles, five triples, 17 home runs, and 64 RBI (.816 OPS)…In seven games against his division rival last season, went 8-for-21 (.381) with two doubles, two homers, five RBI and five walks for a .536 OBP and a .762 SLG. Vladimir Guerrero Jr. went 3-for-12 with a double and a walk in his only series vs. San Diego as a rookie in 2019. Cavan Biggio was 3-for-10 also as a rookie in that series, including a home run and two RBI.
STARTING PITCHER – Chris Bassitt, RHP #40
TODAY’S GAME:
Making his 21st start of the season and his 10th at Rogers Centre…Picked up his 9th win of the year his last time out, on 7/15 vs. ARI, tossing 6.0 frames of two-run ball (7H, 0BB, 5K)…Was his 13th quality start of the season. Has 6 starts of at least 6.0 scoreless innings this year, tied with Michael Wacha and Nathan Eovaldi for the most in MLB. Has held opposing RHH to a .201 AVG, the 11th-best mark in the AL.
2023 HIGHLIGHTS: Gave up 3 runs over 4.0 innings on 7/9 at DET, allowing 9 hits with no walks and 4 strikeouts. Took a no-decision on 7/4 at CWS, giving up 3 runs over 6.0 innings of work (6H, BB, 5K). Won his 8th game of the year on 6/29 vs. SF, tossing 6.0 shutout innings with 3 hits, 3 walks, and a career-high 12 strikeouts…Tied a franchise record with 9 strikeouts through the first 4.0 innings. Picked up the win on 6/7 vs. HOU, tossing 8.0 frames of 2-run ball with 4 hits, no walks, and 5 strikeouts on just 81 pitches (58 strikes)…Marked his 10th quality start of the year. Earned his 6th win of the year on 6/2 at NYM, throwing 7.2 frames of shutout ball with 3 hits, no walks, and 8 strikeouts…Returned home immediately after his start for the birth of his son, Colson, and was placed on the Paternity List from 6/3-6/5. Allowed 6 runs (2 earned) across 6.1 frames of work on 5/22 at TB…Had his career-best scoreless innings streak ended at 28.0…Marked the 2ndlongest single-season streak in franchise history (Roger Clemens: 33.0 IP from 8/15-9/5/98), and the 3rd-longest overall (Dave Stieb: 34.0 IP from 9/13/88-4/5/89). Tossed 7.0 shutout innings on 5/17 vs. NYY, giving up 3 hits, a walk, and a hit batter with 7 strikeouts…Became just the 4th non-opener in Blue Jays history to throw 3 consecutive scoreless starts in a single season, joining Roger Clemens (1998), Al Leiter (1995), and Dave Stieb (1988). Threw a complete game shutout on 5/12 vs. ATL, the 2nd CG SO of his career (also: 5/27/21 vs. LAA), and the 1st nine-inning complete game shutout by a Blue Jay since Mark Buehrle on 6/3/15 at WAS…Scattered 2 hits, 2 walks, and 2 hit batters while striking out a season-high 8 on 103 pitches (70 strikes).
