TORONTO — It hurt but Cavan Biggio’s patience at the plate handed the Toronto Blue Jays a key win on Tuesday.
Biggio drew two walks and then was hit by a pitch with the bases loaded in the eighth as Toronto scratched out a 2-1 win over the Philadelphia Phillies to keep pace in the competitive American League wild-card chase. Biggio, whose father Craig was hit by the second most pitches in Major League Baseball history, said he was just trying to wait for his pitch.
“I’m just trying to keep it simple. I’m just trying to get a good pitch and I never really got it,” said Biggio.
Toronto loaded the bases in the eighth when Vladimir Guerrero Jr. drew a one-out walk, joining pinch-hitter Nathan Lukes and Whit Merrifield on the bases.
George Springer hit into a fielder’s choice with Phillies third baseman Alec Bohm throwing Lukes out at home. A video review confirmed that Lukes was out, drawing massive boos from the sold-out Rogers Centre crowd of 42,615.
Apparently rattled by the boisterous crowd or the pressure of the bases-loaded situation, relief pitcher Seranthony Dominguez’s next pitch clipped Biggio on the top of his lead foot to push Merrifield across the plate for the winning run.
“We saw a lot of pitches and we were able to get on base in the eighth inning,” said Biggio. “Being able to get on base and being able to manufacture a run was huge, especially with (closer Jordan) Romano coming in.”
Romano, from nearby Markham, Ont., returned to action in the ninth after 17 days on the injured list with lower back inflammation. He induced a fly ball from Bohm to lead off the inning then got Bryce Harper out swinging. Romano then whiffed Nick Castellanos for the final out of the game and his 29th save of the season.
“It takes a certain mentality to close out games, let alone a one-run game against the top of their order,” said Blue Jays manager John Schneider. “Very nice to have him back.”
George Springer’s RBI single was the only traditional run scored by Toronto (67-54) in a game dominated by starting pitchers Yusei Kikuchi and Zack Wheeler.
Kikuchi earned a no decision despite pitching a quality six innings where he allowed one run on four hits and struck out seven. Relievers Yimi Garcia and Jordan Hicks (2-7) combined for two scoreless innings before Romano came on.
“I wasn’t looking too far ahead,” said Kikuchi through translator Yusuke Oshima. “Just really taking care of each pitch, going one pitch at a time.
“I got a little bit tired there at the end I was just able to give my all today.”
Johan Rojas had an RBI single as Philadelphia (65-55) lost its third straight. Wheeler held the Blue Jays to a run on three hits and four walks, with five strikeouts over seven innings. Dominguez (2-3) and Jeff Hoffman came in from the Phillies bullpen.
Philadelphia finally got to Kikuchi in the sixth. Edmundo Sosa led off the inning with a sharply hit ball that went up the third-base line and off Santiago Espinal’s glove for a single. Rojas then hit a double to deep left field with the speedy Sosa not hesitating to round second and third, easily beating the throw from Merrifield for a 1-0 lead.
Kikuchi bore down and got out of the inning without giving up any more runs. He struck Kyle Schwarber out for his seventh K of the night, then induced pop flies from Bohm and Harper.
Springer backed up Kikuchi’s resilience on the mound with an RBI single in the bottom of the inning. Merrifield led off Toronto’s half of the sixth with a single. Three batters later, Springer singled up the middle to drive in Merrifield and tie the game 1-1.
CHAPMAN STILL OUT — Espinal started at third with Matt Chapman still recovering from an inflamed right middle finger. Chapman hurt it about two hours before Sunday’s 11-4 win over the Chicago Cubs when he pinched his finger between a dumbbell and the weight rack.
ON DECK — Kevin Gausman (9-6) gets the start for Toronto in the second game of its two-game series with Philadelphia on Wednesday.
The Phillies will counter with Aaron Nola (9-8).
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Aug. 15, 2023.
