Blue Jays’ Axford plays role of couples counsellor

Aaron Loup spoke with Arash Madani to talk about the experiment happening around the majors with relief pitchers starting games, and joked about a potential relationship spat between fans that the bullpen overheard.

As a member of a big-league bullpen, Toronto Blue Jays pitcher John Axford has to be ready for anything.

MLB games can go awry as quickly as a romantic relationship can turn upside down. But in Friday’s Blue Jays victory over the Philadelphia Phillies, Axford found himself in a predicament completely unrelated to baseball.

Perhaps in a particularly salty mood with their team trailing in the game, a Philadelphia couple decided to call it quits during the fifth inning Friday. Axford and the rest of Toronto’s relief corps happened to overhear the entire breakup from their position in the bullpen.

Axford took it upon himself to let the couple know the Blue Jays are there for them if they want to talk through their issues and hear an unbiased point of view on the matter.

Who says athletes have to stick to sports?

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