The offense hits on all cylinders as Blue Jays spank the Phillies 18-11

As our old friend John Gibbons tweeted tonight, the Phillies are glad they play in the NL East and not the AL East.

Phillies glad they play in NL East and not AL East #BlueJays
— John Gibbons (@johngibbons05) September 21, 2022

The Blue Jays continued their September success against quality opponents as they posted a football-esque score in a win over the Phillies 18-11 tonight behind their potent offense. The Phillies are in a very similar position as the Blue Jays; they currently sit in the final Wild Card spot in the NL. These games still mean a lot to Philly, so the Blue Jays going in there and running up the numbers is a big statement against another playoff-level team.
Bo Bichette started the month carrying this offense on his shoulders, and now we’re seeing the lineup turn more complete, as all facets of the offense have found ways to contribute. All nine starters in the lineup recorded at lease one hit, and the Jays had a base runner in every inning.
For the night, Toronto had ten extra-base hits. Five of those came from the first batter of the inning, and better yet, all five of those leadoff hits came around to score. The bottom line is that the Blue Jays attacked early and often on whichever Phillies pitcher stood on the mound, and they didn’t strand many runners as has been the case many times this season.
It was all Jays from the start, as Matt Chapman put Toronto ahead 3-0 with a 3-run home run the 1st inning. The Jays were aided heavily by the first of two errors from Phillies SS Bryson Stott. Vladimir Guerrer …

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Author: Evan Stack / Blue Jays Nation

Things got heated as the Orioles beat the Blue Jays 9-6 on Tuesday

You wanted a Blue Jays win tonight? How about some ejections, cleared benches, and Yusei Kikuchi getting meaningful innings in September?

Aside from a Blue Jays win, all of the above were present as Toronto dropped the third game of a four-game set to the Orioles 9-6. Aside from Bo Bichette hitting his fourth home run in two games, this one was pretty ugly for the Jays.

“Go win something” https://t.co/efmByDU6va pic.twitter.com/rKyHhAgKX1
— Lewis (@JaysKid_RHP) September 7, 2022

Toronto was plagued early on by a rough start from Mitch White. White’s first two innings were quick and efficient, but his third inning turned into a disaster. With Toronto already ahead 3-0, White walked Rougned Odor and Jorge Mateo, as well as hit Cedric Mullins to load the bases with no one out.
From there, the Orioles would record an RBI from four of their next five batters, storming ahead 5-3. White never got out of the third, as his final line stood at 2 and 1/3 IP, 3 H, 5 R, 3 BB, and 2 Ks. His ERA is now 5.09, way above his ERA from when we joined the team (3.70). It is also now the third straight outing that White has given up at least five runs.
The Jays got three scoreless innings between Julian Merryweather and Anthony Bass to keep things afloat, as an RBI double from Chapman cut the Orioles’ lead to one at 5-4. With one out in the sixth, however, John Schneider oddly went to Yusei Kikuchi. It went…about how you think it went, as Kikuchi allowed a run in two-thirds of an inning of work.
The Jays got that run back in the top of the 7th, as Bo Bichette came into score from a Teoscar Hernandez double play, making it 6-5. Despite this, it still begs the question: Why was Kikuchi in that situation when Anthony Bass only threw 7 pitches? 
Sparks flew at the end of the inning, as B …

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Author: Evan Stack / Blue Jays Nation

Toronto Blue Jays CF George Springer leaves game after grabbing at elbow, but feels “really good”

Things are tense in Toronto tonight, and rightly so.

Despite beating the Detroit Tigers 5-3 in thanks to a double-dong game from Matt Chapman, the big news surrounds George Springer’s elbow.
The elbow issue he’s playing through is well known at this point and Thursday night, he left the game in the bottom of the eighth. He hit a deep fly out and immediately grabbed at his right elbow.

George Springer’s elbow didn’t look great on this swing and now he’s out of the game pic.twitter.com/jCp9DNCZwt
— Brandon Wile (@Brandon_N_Wile) July 29, 2022

After the game, Jays skipper John Schneider said Springer “is feeling good, he really is.” Schneider called it elbow discomfort and that they would check in on him tomorrow.
Springer also made some massive throws from the outfield throughout the game and some clips were shown on the broadcast highlighting him wincing a bit at time.
Even if Springer is okay, the concern should be there and it, and could shift Ross Atkins’ focus at the deadline. We’ve already seen Andrew Benintendi shipped to the ‘Yanks, and the New York Mets picked up OF Tyler Naquin from the Reds Thursday night.
Springer’s a trooper and no doubt will continue to work through this elbow problem, but if he is forced to miss anytime down the stretch, the Jays’ outfield depth isn’t tremendous. Raimel Tapia has been solid as a rock from the left side, but Bradley Zimmer has been an issue at the plate, despite some good work in the outfield and baserunning this season.
Zach Laing is the Nation Network’s news director and senior columnist. He can be followed on Twitter at @zjlaing, or reached by email at zach@oilersnation.com.
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Author: Zach Laing / Blue Jays Nation

2022 MLB Draft day primer: How does the draft work and who are the Blue Jays linked too?

It’s finally here. Tonight at 7:00 PM eastern time, the 2022 MLB draft officially kicks under way.

As far as I can tell, tonight will cover the first two rounds, which includes the Blue Jays compensatory #77 and #78 picks.
The MLB draft is a rather confusing process compared to other North American sports, so I’ll explain it to the best of my capabilities.
How does the draft work:
In this section, we’ll look at what type of player is available as well as how the bonus pool works.
Who’s eligible:
The MLB draft has 20 rounds, but the Blue Jays will be able to draft 22 players due to those compensatory picks. The team got those picks when they extended a qualifying offer to both Robbie Ray and Marcus Semien at the end of the 2021 season. Since the two players signed elsewhere, the Jays got those two picks.
If you’re drafted by an NHL or NBA team, you essentially don’t have a choice in the matter but to play for that team. Yeah, you get weird instances like when Eric Lindros declined to play for the Quebec Nordiques or when Steve Francis refused to play for the Vancouver Grizzlies. However, most of the time once you apply to be drafted, you can’t be drafted again.
This isn’t the case with the MLB draft. The draft has a litany of pathways, such as being a recently graduated high school player, a third year university player or a junior college/community college pla …

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Author: Brennan Delaney / Blue Jays Nation