Toronto Blue Jays vs SF Giants Series Recap
Vibe Check
Young Guys sustain the charge: Barger, Loperfido, and Wagner are making themselves visible in this series. Barger has been making himself visible for most of the season. Loperfido and Wagner are recent call-ups, and both came to the Jays in the same trade last season. The last couple of seasons, there were times when Bo and Vlad were chasing bad pitches to “make something happen”. This year, young players are getting regular and clutch hits that weren’t previously part of this lineup. These players are making me believe that the run this team is on is sustainable.
Offense built on big inning, not plural post-win streak: This is the one thing I’m worried about right now. After the winning streak going into the All-Star Break, the offense seemed to take a breath and started to rely on one big inning, supported by the pitching. I would much rather see the big innings supported by some one-run innings throughout the game. I was not given the warm and fuzzies during this series, as many runners were being left on base. Game 3 has done a lot to change this vibe.
Lauer is the base of the pyramid: early in the year, I would dread Francis' starts. We didn’t know what we would see. It was a reminder that the pitching staff was dealing with injuries. The offense was not performing yet, and it felt like the pitching had to carry the team. Here comes Lauer to provide regular and quality starts every fifth day. He pitched game 2 of this series, and he was incredible in his game. I’m not convinced the wheels won’t fall off because he was signed to a minor league contract to start the season. However, this string of starts is building my confidence game after game.
Confident Fandom? I’m not sure how to exist in this space. I know we had the 2015 and 2016 Jays, but that was 10 years ago, and that team never felt like they were THE beast in MLB. This 2025 team has been the best team in baseball for the last two months. They make comebacks, there are no holes in the lineup, and there are zero free runs in the bullpen. One could argue that this version of the Jays doesn’t have to deal with a runaway team like the Yankees or the Orioles from last season, but the Jays continue to take care of business. At what point do we feel like this team is for real? Now, I think it's that time. Two months of sustained winning is an identity that can be improved upon with health and trades. The best way I can put it is this… this team has outplayed and no longer feels subject to the fits with bloop hits against, errors, and 0fers with RSIP. The talent and contributions from the entire roster are more than the baseball gawds can influence. That’s been going on long enough that I believe in what I’m seeing on the field. What a thing to say as a Blue Jays fan.
Game 1 Moments (Blue Jays Win 4-0)
Early in the game, GIDPs were doing a lot of work for Bassitt. Bassitt games feel like a grind more often than they don’t. As a fan, I don’t like it, but it seems to be the way he decorates his office. Feels like he loses batters to foul-ballitis when there are two strikes, but he gets wins. No notes.
JoJo Parker signed, and a graphic was shown on the broadcast. I don’t think I’ve ever been this excited for the Major League team and the farm system at the same time. I know this isn’t a top-ten farm system, but take a look at the vibe check, and there's a lot to be excited about with this organization.
Credit has to go to Beck for getting the Blue Jay bats under control after the early runs. I want to convince myself that this was a good pitching performance that slowed the train, but I feel like some of this was due to the post-stream “slowdown” from the offense.
Side-effect of not supporting the crooked run innings….the top of the 7th was way more stressful than it needed to be. If the Jays are scoring 2-4 more in the middle innings, we can all relax. I know that’s easy to say as a keyboard pitcher. I just know there is something more in the bats that’s not there right now.
Whatever, wins are wins are wins!
Game 2 Moments (Blue Jays Win 6-3)
Vladdy hits into another double play, and he looks frustrated. His stat line is still good. He had an OPS+ of 126. The whole lineup is supporting the offense this season. Fight through the slump king, take the time you need to get right. The biggest tell is that Vladdy is still taking walks and not swinging at bad pitches. That is huge. When he starts to chase, we are in trouble.
Stranded runners are a theme I don’t want to explore. As mentioned in the vibe check, there is some PTSD around RISP woes. Through 4 innings, the Jays have an entire game’s worth of stranded runners.
7-8-9 hitters for the Jays had all 6 RBI in this game. Hinted at in the vibe check, this is the thing that makes me believe in this team. Bo and Vlad are not “Bo and Vlad” right now, and that’s fine because of games like there where the young guys and the bottom of the lineup are hitting runners in.
Game 3 Moments (Blue Jays Win 8-6)
Vladdy gets going! 2 for 3, 2 RBI, HR, and a walk. One game is not a streak nor a slump buster, but it was nice to see Vladdy swinging the bat today. Small reminders that it’s just under the surface make me feel a lot better.
A big inning was supported: The offense did that thing where they scored four runs in one inning, YAY. THE question of late has been, how will they follow up? In this game, they scored at least one run in three other innings. Teams of the past would have surrendered the lead to the Giants when they scored four runs in the 6th. However, this team, when supporting big innings, stays ahead and gets the win.
7th Inning stranded leadoff double: This felt like the moment of the game. If that run scores, it’s a one-run game, and the Giants have some hope. The runner was stranded, and the game was not close after that.
Nance's relief appearance brought real calm to the last three innings. I know Rodriguez got the 3-up 3-down saved, but Nance told the momentum of the Giants to take a seat.
Random Thoughts
Needs to be said: The Blue Jays were the beneficiary of a lot some suspect balls and strikes this series. That double play to end game 2 was a “get back to the hotel” ump call.
Leo Jimenez is playing his way back to the minors. Of all the contributions from across the lineup, Jimenez is swinging at bad pitches, and isn’t making contributions to convince the team they shouldn’t look at the 27th or 28th guy on the roster. I know the solution is for Gimenez to come off the IL. I said what I said.
The boys need to take a field trip to a suit store and learn how to assist a man in putting on a jacket. It’s low to high, gents. Not the “hold the jacket at shoulder height” method, as almost everyone struggles to get their second arm into the jacket. Also, I have to say it, I don’t think Bo is all that into the HR jacket.
Do Blue Jays’ pitchers have as much trouble getting strike three as the rest of the league? It seems like enemy batters become foulball machines with 2 strikes.
