Blue Jays close out Astros with ‘welcome to the big leagues’ heat
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Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 22/04/2022 (1297 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.
Three things you need to know about the Blue Jays’ 4-3 win over the Astros in Houston on Friday night:
Poor kid
With the tying run at third and two out in the bottom of the ninth, Astros manager Dusty Baker sent J.J. Matijevic to the plate for his major-league debut.
The 26-year-old had an 1.134 OPS in Triple-A to start this season, but quickly found out that the big leagues is a whole different ball game. Jays closer Jordan Romano blew him away on four pitches, the last one a 98 mile-per-hour fastball up and away.
Late-inning heroics
Matt Chapman knows the Astros very well, having played his entire career in the American League West prior to last month’s trade to Toronto.
He hadn’t done much at Minute Maid Park, hitting just .193 with only three home runs and nine RBIs in 31 games going into Friday, but he played hero at the most important moment.
With two out in the top of the ninth and Vladimir Guerrero Jr. on first, Chapman ripped a two-strike fastball from Hector Neris into the gap in left-centre for an RBI double, scoring Vladdy with the winning run.
The boys at the bottom
With two out and nobody on in the top of the fifth, the Jays trailed Justin Verlander and the Astros 3-1, having been held to that one run on just two hits.
Santiago Espinal was at the plate, with only two major-league home runs in his career. The second baseman turned on a 95 mile-per-hour fastball from the Hall of Famer to be and planted it in the concourse above the Jays bullpen in deep left-centre field to cut the deficit in half.
On the very next pitch, Bradley Zimmer snuck a fly ball into the Crawford Boxes in left. The home run was his first hit of the season after starting his Jays career 0-for-14.
Mike Wilner is a Toronto-based baseball columnist for the Star and host of the baseball podcast “Deep Left Field.” Follow him on Twitter: @wilnerness
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