Snell throws 6 scoreless innings, Rays bullpen doesn’t

Game Recap | Box Score

With the 2018 Cy Young Award winner Blake Snell on the mound for the Tampa Bay Rays, no one expected much out of the light hitting Blue Jays lineup. On the other hand, no one expected them to be no-hit through 5 innings either. While Toronto ended up with the win, it’s hard to give much credit to a team that in the first 15 games of the season, has been held scoreless into the 6th inning eight times.

With Clay Buchholz throwing well (although never breaking 90 miles an hour) for his 2019 debut, giving up only one run on six hits, the game would be decided by the respective bullpens. While the Rays pitching staff entered the game with the best ERA in baseball, it was the Blue Jays bullpen that would allow only two hits and strikeout 6 over the last three innings of the game.

Teoscar Hernandez was the impact players of the game for the Blue Jays, first by breaking up a double play in the fourth on an overturned call at first base. In the 7th Teoscar threw a laser beam from left field to get Avisail Garcia who was trying to score from 3rd. Finally, in the bottom of the 8th, he added to Toronto’s lead with a single into left field to score Luke Maile.

With Justin Smoak finally inching past the Mendoza line, almost half of Toronto’s starting lineup is still hitting below .200. Unless things change sooner rather than later, there will need to be some major shakeups to their 40 man roster otherwise, this current team will lose 100 games.