TORONTO BLUE JAYS NOTES:
THE LATEST: The Blue Jays plated three runs in the 7th inning to come back and win last night’s game in Los Angeles by a 4-3 final score…Improved to 2-3 when trailing after six innings (7-52 last season)…Three of their five wins have now been of the come-from-behind variety. Toronto has now won four straight games on the heels of a three-game slide…Last claimed five in a row from Sept. 2-5 at 2022.
FEELING THE FLOW: Bo Bichette gave Toronto the 4-3 lead with a three-run blast in the 7th inning last night…Was his 2nd blast of the campaign…Also doubled in his 1st at-bat and wrapped up his night at 2-for-4…Marked his 30th career game with multiple extra-base hits, tied for 12th most among AL hitters since the 2019 season (the year he began his career). The 25-year-old now has hits in all but one of the night games so far, going 13-for-38 (.342) with two doubles, two homers, six RBI, and six runs scored…Led the AL in hits in each of the last two seasons, becoming the only player in team history to lead the league in hits more than once, and was the first player to do so since Whit Merrifield in 2018 and 2019 for the Royals…His 60 multi-hit games since the start of last season are the most in the AL and 2nd most in MLB.
VLADS THE IMPALERS: Vladimir Guerrero Jr. was on hand to watch his father, Vladimir Sr., throw out the ceremonial first pitch last night…Jr. went on to single twice and finished 2-for-4 with a run scored…Has reached base in every game this season, now 13-for-31 with a double, two homers, six RBI, and five walks for a .419 AVG (3rd in the AL), a .500 OBP (T-4th) and a 1.145 OPS (7th). The 24-year-old has recorded an MLB-leading 19 hard-hit balls (95+ MPH) this year, one more than 2nd-place Matt Chapman…Recorded 265 hard-hit balls over the course of last season, the most in the Majors (2nd: José Abreu – 256).
READ THIS CHAP-TER: Matt Chapman ripped a line-drive single at 112.5 MPH in the 4th inning of last night’s contest…Is now batting .452 (14-for-31) with six doubles, two walks, and seven RBI for a 1.130 OPS through eight games…The 14 hits lead all MLB batters. The third baseman’s hot start also has him leading MLB in doubles while sitting T-4th in extra-base hits… Among AL batters, currently ranks 6th in OBP (.485), 8th in OPS, and T-11th in SLG (.645).
BOTTOM’S UP: Kevin Kiermaier went 1-for-4 on a single last night…Is now 9-for-25 (.360) while recording hits in each of his six games with an at-bat to start his Blue Jays career… His nine hits while batting 9th are tied for the most in MLB (Orlando Arcia – 9).
HITTING IT: The Blue Jays have notched 83 hits so far, trailing only the White Sox (85) for the most in MLB…Currently rank 1st in the AL in AVG (.287) while sitting 3rd in OBP (.345), 6th in SLG (.401), and 6th in OPS (.746)… Have homered in each of the last five games after going homerless in the first three.
LENGTHY ROAD WORK: The Blue Jays start the season with 10 straight road contests as renovations wrap up at Rogers Centre… Ties the longest road trip to kick off a campaign in team history (10G in 1984)…Marks the 3rd trip of 10+ games to begin a season by any team in the last 20 years, joining the 2019 Red Sox (11G) and the 2022 Athletics (10G)…Played three games in St. Louis (1-2), four in Kansas City (3-1) and will wrap up the trip with a trio here in Anaheim (1-0). Toronto’s .556 road win% in 2022 (45-36) ranked 3rd in the AL and tied for 2nd best in team history (1st: .580 in 1993)…Blue Jays hitters led the AL in road runs (416), AVG (.266), OBP (.331), SLG (.428), and OPS (.759)…The pitching staff ranked 5th in the AL in road ERA (3.70), 5th in road WHIP (1.24), and 6th in road opponents’ batting average (.245).
ROMANO-MATIC: Jordan Romano tossed a 1-2-3 9th inning to close out last night’s game…Now has four saves to lead the Majors (2nd: Félix Bautista/David Bednar – 3).
LUP-ING HIM IN: Jordan Luplow was recalled from Triple-A Buffalo yesterday and made his Blue Jays debut last night as he slotted in at designated hitter (0-for-3, 2K).
LEFT OVERS: The Blue Jays are facing three left-handed starters this series…Are 2-1 in such contests so far…Have batted .299 vs. LHPs in 2023 (4th in the AL).
GETTING ON: Toronto has had an AL-high 110 batters reach base so far this season (2nd: CWS – 108)…Are now on a streak of 26 games with 8+ runners on base, the longest of all MLB clubs (courtesy Stats Perform). The Blue Jays led the AL in times on base in 2022 (2,395) as Bo Bichette and Vladimir Guerrero Jr. tied for 3rd most among AL hitters at 306.
STARTING PITCHER – José Berríos, RHP #17
TODAY’S GAME:
Making his 2nd start of the season…Took the loss in his last start on 4/3 at KC, giving up 8 runs on 9 hits and a pair of walks over 5.2 innings with 7 strikeouts (89 pitches – 56 strikes). Has made 141 starts since the beginning of 2018, tied for the 3rd most among MLB hurlers (Aaron Nola – 145, Gerrit Cole – 142).
2022 HIGHLIGHTS:
Equaled his 2021 totals with 32 starts, 12 wins, and 17 quality starts. Picked up his 7th win of the year on 7/12 vs. PHI…Surrendered 3 runs on 6 hits over 6.0 innings with no walks and a career-high-tying 13 strikeouts (13K on 6/4/22 vs. MIN)…Became the 3rd pitcher in franchise history to strike out at least 13 batters without walking any, joining Roger Clemens (4x) and Robbie Ray (2x)…Induced a season-high 20 swing-and-misses, one off his career high set on 6/17/19 vs. BOS.
Earned the win on 7/31 vs. DET, throwing 7.0 innings of one-run ball while scattering 3 hits and a walk with 6 punchouts on 80 pitches (56 strikes)… In 6 July starts, went 3-0 with a 3.00 ERA (12 ER/36.0 IP), 7 walks, and 42 strikeouts. The Jays won each of his 13 home starts from 9/19/21-7/31/22, passing Roy Halladay (12G from 5/31/07-4/6/08) for the longest streak in franchise history.
Gave up 2R/1ER over 6.1 frames on 9/12 vs. TB with 6 hits, a walk, and 4 strikeouts…Reached 1,000 career innings after striking out Taylor Walls to end the 2nd inning…Became the 6th Puerto Rico-born pitcher to reach the milestone before the age of 29. On 9/27 vs. NYY, fanned Aaron Hicks in the 4th inning for his 1,000th career punchout…Became the 5th Puerto Rican-born player to reach 1,000 strikeouts and the fastest to reach the milestone, doing so in 179 games (2nd: Javier Vázquez – 182 games).
OTHER HIGHLIGHTS:
Drafted in the 1st round (32nd overall) by the Twins in 2012.
Pitched for Team Puerto Rico in the 2017 World Baseball Classic, going 1-0, 8.10 ERA (6.2 IP, 6 ER) with two walks and 10 strikeouts.
Named to 2018 and 2019 AL All-Star teams, pitching 1.0 inning in both games.
Acquired by Toronto from Minnesota on 7/30/21 in exchange for INF Austin Martin and RHP Simeon Woods Richardson.
In 2021, set a career high with 204 strikeouts, good for 5th in the AL…His 3.52 ERA was 5th best in the AL while his 192.0 innings pitched ranked 2nd.
VS. THE ANGELS: Facing the Angels for the 8th time in his career and 3rd time as a Blue Jay…Has allowed 6 runs in each of his last two meetings, both at Angel Stadium…Pitched at least 5.0 frames in each of his first 5 starts against the Halos.
LOS ANGELES ANGELS NOTES:
LEADING OFF: Today, the Angels play the second (0-1) of six games on the opening homestand of the season against the Toronto Blue Jays (0-1; April 7-9) and Washington Nationals (April 10-12)…Halos went 4-2 on first road trip of year against Oakland (2-1) and Seattle (2-1), marking first time winning each of first two series of a season since 2018 (won first five series).
BALLY SPORTS SO CAL TODAY: Tonight’s game will air live on Bally Sports So Cal…The Los Angeles Kings game against the Colorado Avalanche will be airing on Bally Sports West…The Angels game on Monday vs. Washington will also air on Bally Sports So Cal.
HOME DEBUT: Tyler Anderson is scheduled to make his first home start as a member of the Angels today…He earned the win in his Angels debut on Sunday at Oakland after working 6.0 shutout frames, allowing four hits and two walks with four strikeouts…Anderson signed a three-year contract with Angels, Nov. 16, 2022.
ANGELS RECENT RECORDS TO BEGIN SEASON
AFTER SEVEN GAMES: AFTER EIGHT GAMES:
2023: 4-3 2023: ???
2022: 3-4 2022: 4-4
2021: 5-2 2021: 6-2
2020: 2-5 2020: 2-6
2019: 1-6 2019: 2-6
ON WITH THE SHO: Dating back to last season, Shohei Ohtani has reached base safely (via hit, walk, or HBP) in a career-high 30 consecutive games…It’s the second-longest active streak in the Majors, behind Aaron Judge (40 games).
RENDON IS BACK: Today, Anthony Rendon returns to the Angels active roster today after completing his four game suspension…On Monday, Major League Baseball issued a five-game suspension and an undisclosed fine to Rendon for his actions involving a fan last Thursday in Oakland…The
suspension was ultimately reduced to four games..
STARTING STRONG: Through the first seven games of the season, Angels starting pitching has combined to post a 2.61 ERA (38 IP – 11 ER) with 37 strikeouts…The starters ERA ranks third in the Majors, behind the Twins (1.12 ERA; 40.1 IP – 5 ER) and Dodgers (2.30 ERA; 47 IP – 12 ER).
VS. TORONTO: Today is the second (0-1) of six games this season between the Angels and Blue Jays…Halos will visit Toronto for three games July 28-30…Last year, Toronto won the season series 4-3 with the road team winning all seven games (Blue Jays swept all four games at Angel Stadium and the Angels swept a three game series at Rogers Centre).
SNAP THE STREAK: Angels are looking to snap a five-game home losing streak against the Blue Jays…The five game streak matches the Halos longest ever home losing streak vs. Toronto (also, lost five straight at home vs. Jays from Aug. 21, 2015 – Sept. 16, 2016).
VETERAN ROSTER: The Angels Opening Day active roster featured just one rookie: Logan O’Hoppe.
HOME OPENERS: Angels are now 27-36 all-time in Home Openers following last night’s defeat…LAA has lost last two Home Openers after winning their previous two against the White Sox in 2021 and Mariners in 2020.
ROOKIE RAKING: Logan O’Hoppe has driven in the Angels first run of the game in four of his six starts this season…His eight RBI this season lead the team…He was the first player to have an RBI in each of the Angels first three games of a season since Mike Trout in 2017…Before Trout, it last happened in 2007 by both Vladimir Guerrero and Casey Kotchman.
CANNING ON REHAB: Thursday night, RHP Griffin Canning made a rehab start for Low-A Inland Empire…He struck out 10 across 5.0 innings of work and allowed two runs (one earned) on six hits with two walks.
THE 11 SPOT: Last Saturday afternoon at Oakland, the Angels plated 11 runs in the top of the third inning, marking the Halos highest scoring frame since July 2, 2016 (11 runs in the 7th inning at Boston)…It was the sixth 11+ run inning in franchise history.
A UNIQUE SAVE: Last Saturday at Oakland, Tucker Davidson earned his first career save after tossing 4.0 scoreless frames to finish off the Angels 13-1 win over the A’s…The 12-run victory marked the largest run differential in a save for an Angels pitcher since Chris Bootcheck (4 IP) in a 14-1 win vs. Royals on May 28. 2005.
BABY BACKSTOP: With his start on Opening Day, Logan O’Hoppe (23 years, 49 days) became the youngest Opening Day catcher in Angels history (previous was Buck Rodgers – 23 years, 237 days in 1962)…He was the first Angels rookie catcher to start on Opening Day since Bengie Molina in 2000.
WELCOME TO THE RENAISSANCE: With Anthony Rendon, Hunter Renfroe & Luis Rengifo hitting 4-6 in the Angels Opening Day batting order, it was the first lineup in franchise history to feature three straight players who have the same first three letters of their last name…The last MLB occurrence was by Detroit on July 20, 2015 (Victor Martinez, J.D. Martinez, Jefry Marte).
THE NEW GUYS: Angels Opening Day roster featured eight players new to the organization in 2023: LHP Tyler Anderson, INF Brandon Drury, RHP Carlos Estévez, INF Jake Lamb, LHP Matt Moore, OF Brett Phillips, OF Hunter Renfroe and INF Gio Urshela.
TODAY’S STARTING PITCHER – LHP TYLER ANDERSON
• TODAY’S GAME: Making second start of the season and first at home…Is in eighth Major League season and made seventh straight Opening Day roster…Signed a three-year contract with Angels, Nov. 16, 2022.
• LAST TIME OUT: Earned the win in Angels debut on Sunday at Oakland after working 6.0 shutout frames, allowing four hits and two walks with four strikeouts.
• VS. TORONTO: Today marks mark second career start vs. Blue Jays…Took loss in only previous game vs. Toronto on June 29, 2016 for Colorado in fourth game of MLB career (L; 6 IP, 8 H, 3 R, 2 ER, 2 BB, 6 SO).
• AT ANGEL STADIUM: Today marks third career start at The Big A and first as a member of the Angels…In his two career games at Angel Stadium as a visitor, was 0-1 with an 18.00 ERA (7 IP – 14 ER) and eight strikeouts; made one start for Giants in 2020 and one for Mariners in 2021.
• GOOD DAY: Owns a 3.86 ERA (259 IP – 111 ER) for his career in day games, compared with a 4.26 ERA (549.1 IP – 260 ER) at night…Last year, made six starts in day games for Dodgers and pitched to a 2.70 ERA (33.1 IP – 10 ER) and 31 strikeouts.
• THE CHANGE: Last season, held opponents to a .179 (41/229) average against his changeup.
• SPRING RECAP: Made four total starts in Spring Training games, including two in traditional Cactus League play, the Angels exhibition contest vs. Team USA and a Freeway Series game against the Dodgers… Combined to go 2-1 with a 3.44 ERA (15.2 IP – 6 ER) with nine strikeouts.
• 2022 RECAP: Made 30 appearance (28 starts) for Dodgers last season…Was selected to National League All-Star team after going 15-5 with a 2.57 ERA (178.2 IP – 51 ER) and 138 strikeouts…Among N.L. leaders, he ranked tied for second in winning percentage (.750), fifth in ERA, tied for fifth in wins, seventh in WHIP (1.00) and eighth in opponent batting average (.221).
• DODGER LEADER: Led Dodgers staff with 178.2 IP (career-high) in 2022 and ranked third with 15 wins (career-high)…Also had career-bests in ERA (2.57), WHIP (1.00) and opponent average (.221)
• 2022 POSTSEASON: Started Game 4 of the 2022 NLDS for the Dodgers at San Diego and worked 5.0 scoreless innings…Allowed two hits and two walks with six strikeouts in Padres 5-3 win.
• NEAR NO-NO: Took a no-hitter into 9th inning of June 15, 2022 start for Dodgers vs. Angels, walking two and striking out eight…Shohei Ohtani’s one out triple in the 9th inning originally broke up the no-hit bid; following the game, an official scoring change overturned an error call, resulting in Jared Walsh breaking up the no-hitter with a 7th inning infield single.
• GETTING AROUND: Angels are his sixth Major League team…Has previously played with Colorado (2016-19), San Francisco (2020), Pittsburgh (2021), Seattle (2021) and Los Angeles (N.L.) (2022).
• CAREER NOTES: Native of Las Vegas, NV, where he attended Spring Valley HS…Was a first round (20th overall) selection by Colorado in the 2011 Draft out of the University of Oregon…Made Major League debut with Rockies on June 12, 2016 vs. San Diego.
