Blue Jays kick off series in Minnesota with 3-1 win

Sure is nice to have a break from the AL East.
Bo Bichette and Kevin Kiermaier homered in the third inning, and Kevin Gausman and the bullpen got the job done collectively as the Blue Jays defeated the Twins in the first game of the weekend series 3-1.
The Jays were 1-for-7 with RISP, but the Twins were almost equally as bad going 1-for-9 themselves. Gausman didn’t have his best start, but even his OK starts are valuable enough to contribute to a win.
Blue Jays Nation’s Player of the Game: Bo Bichette
The MLB leader in hits added two more on to his total tonight, going 2-for-4 with a two-run home run and a single. Bichette is the first Blue Jay to reach 10 home runs, and he was the only Blue Jay tonight to have a hit with a runner in scoring position.
Things worth mentioning
Winning is a good feeling and I don’t want to stray away from the team’s success tonight, but there were a couple of costly base running mistakes that, thankfully, did not bite them in the behind tonight. One of them came right off the bat. George Springer hit a leadoff double in the opening frame, and was moved over to third on a Bichette flyout. Vladimir Guerrero Jr. grounded a ba …

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Author: Evan Stack / Blue Jays Nation

Samsonov shines as Avalanche top Leafs in shootout: Muzzy’s Muzing’s

Not sure anyone saw that type of game coming.
Nathan MacKinnon notched the shootout winner as Colorado edged Toronto 2-1 on Wednesday night at Scotiabank Arena.
With the loss in the skills competition, the Leafs fell to 1-1-1 on their four-game homestand. By far, it was one of the best efforts in recent memory for Ilya Samsonov. The 26-year-old Russian netminder, who’s now a ridiculous 17-2-2 on home ice this season, made 28 stops. Alexandar Georgiev turned aside 17 shots to improve to 30-14-5.
Believe it or not, all the scoring took place in the first period. Morgan Rielly potted his third and Mikko Rantanen responded with his 43rd on the power play. From there, both teams, thanks to some steady defensive play and goaltending, locked things down.
Toronto went 0-for-3 on the power play, Colorado was 1-for-5. In two meetings with the defending Stanley Cup champs this season, the Leafs grabbed three of a possible four points. Not bad, not bad.
 
MUZZY’S MUZINGS:
THE START
Despite heading into the first intermission tied at 1, I thought the Leafs looked pretty good in the opening 20. Against teams like Colorado, the margin for error is razor thin —that’s why it’s imperative to stay out of the box. Unsurprisingly, Mikko Rantanen made them pay. Luckily, that was the only power play tally Toronto s …

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Author: Nick Alberga / The Leafs Nation

Raptors fans rip Scott Foster after awful calls in Raptors-Nuggets

Raptors fans rip Scott Foster after awful calls in Raptors-Nuggets

There remains no more sure way to ruin a great basketball game in the NBA than by having Scott Foster officiate it. The Toronto Raptors were reminded of this unfortunate NBA truth during what was a fantastic back-and-forth game between themselves and the Denver Nuggets. After largely holding MVP frontrunner Nikola Jokic in check on […]
Raptors fans rip Scott Foster after awful calls in Raptors-Nuggets – Raptors Rapture – Raptors Rapture – A Toronto Raptors Fan Site – News, Blogs, Opinion and More

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Author: Mike Luciano / Raptors HQ