SAN FRANCISCO – Right now, it seems, no pitcher is good hitting for the Toronto Blue Jays. Like Jake Peavy before him, the struggling Matt Cain should have been there for the taking. He wasn’t. Yet once again Tuesday, it didn’t matter, as a big night from Troy Tulowitzki ensured the offence scratched out enough to capitalize on the latest gem from J.A. Happ, who came within one out of a complete game in a 4-0 win over the San Francisco Giants.
Eventually, track record makes you think the Blue Jays will start routinely pummelling opponents again. For the time being, it’s tremendous starting pitching and defence that’s carried them to victory in six of their past eight outings. Not how they drew it up, but at 18-17 despite three regulars batting less than .200 and another slowly sinking there, they’ll definitely take it.
Happ, now 5-0 with a 2.05 ERA, has been a big part of keeping the Blue Jays afloat through the sluggish start for the offence. Mixing in changeups and curveballs with his two- and four-seam fastballs, he kept the Giants off-balance all night, and on the rare occasions base-runners reached, he made sure they didn’t go anywhere.
“He’s been special,” said Tulowitzki. “I remember facing him in Philly when he was younger, I think those were some of his better years, then he struggled a little bit but I really think he’s found something. Man, right now he’s one of the best lefties in the game.”
With an ERA of 1.68 since last Aug. 14 – second-lowest in the majors over that span – it’s tough to argue. On Tuesday he needed to be that good, as Cain, he of the 7.84 ERA coming in, was almost as stingy.
Tulowitzki turned on a 2-1 fastball in the second for his sixth homer of the season, while in the seventh, the shortstop followed a Michael Saunders triple by taking four straight curveballs before lofting a cutter to centre for a sacrifice fly that made it 2-0.
“I wanted to put something in the air, they had the infield in,” said Tulowitzki. “Those curveballs, I wasn’t quite sure, I finally got a cutter, able to lift it. That wind was blowing in kind of hard, it was a close play, luckily we scored.”
Fort McMurray Fire Relief: Help support those affected by the Fort McMurray fires. You can make a contribution at redcross.ca or by texting FIRES to 45678 to donate $10.
Cain held it there until the Blue Jays tacked on two more in the ninth off reliever Derek Law, as Tulowitzki followed a Saunders single with an RBI double and later scored on a Russell Martin single.
“There’s a long way to go, it’s not like I’m happy with where I’m at,” he said. “There’s a whole bunch of games left to prove myself, so it’s not like I’m going to sit here and, OK, now I’m good to go. I’ve still got to come out here every day and work hard and not take anything for granted.”
The multi-hit game was just Tulowitzki’s third of the season, and pushed his average up to .178.
“For all the Tulo haters out there, suck on that one for tonight,” said manager John Gibbons. “It’s just a matter of time and I tip my hat to him because he’s been taking a lot of heat, he’s been working hard and you know what? He’s a damn good player.”
Thanks to the extra breathing room, Happ came back out for the ninth but after he issued a two-out walk to Brandon Belt on his 111th pitch, and with two on, Gibbons brought in Roberto Osuna. A Matt Duffy walk loaded the bases before Osuna struck out Jarrett Parker for his eighth save.
“I was disappointed,” said Happ. “That was a good battle Belt had there, I made some good pitches and he fouled them off, and was patient enough to see Ball 4. Disappointing to not be able to finish it out, that would have been a lot of fun, but Osuna came in and did a great job of getting me out of that jam.”
Download it now: iOS | Android | Windows | Special Offer
The Giants didn’t manage a hit until Kelby Tomlinson’s bunt single with one out in the third, but Russell Martin promptly erased him when the shortstop tried to steal second. Happ then shredded Cain’s bat to end the frame.
A dazzling double play started when Ryan Goins fielded Buster Posey’s grounder up the middle and flipped to a charging Tulowitzki at second for a relay to first that ended the fourth.
And Happ escaped another jam in the sixth when the first two batters reached but Cain, trying to advance the runners, bunted right to the mound leading to a force out at third. Denard Span then sent a grounder right to Tulowitzki, who started another pretty inning-ending double play.
In the eighth, a Tulowitzki error put two on with one out but Happ recovered to strike out pinch-hitter Trevor Brown before Span flew out to left.
All that made for a dominant performance, with Happ allowing six hits and three walks while striking out five. The way he’s pitching demonstrates his evolution from his first stint with the Blue Jays.
“I had to trust and let go a little bit, and trust that the work’s been put in, it’s time to execute out there,” he said. “In the past maybe I’d try to overthink things a little bit, trying to think what the best pitch is going to be. The best pitch is going to be the pitch you have conviction in, and that’s what I’m trying to do, trust Russ, trust what I see if I want to shake to the pitch, and go from there.”