HOUSTON – All things considered, Ryan Goins’ overall offensive profile hasn’t changed that much this season. He’s hitting .213 with a .609 OPS—numbers more or less in line with his career averages.
But somehow Goins keeps delivering in big spots. He’s now 20 for 60 with runners in scoring position after his most recent clutch hit, a 10th inning single against former Toronto starter Francisco Liriano that drove in Rob Refsnyder to set up a 4-3 Blue Jays win over the Houston Astros Saturday.
“That’s one guy when he was here I’d always tell him that I never want to face him,” Goins said of Liriano. “He’s one of the nastiest guys in the league.”
Especially for a left-handed hitter like Goins, but he came through nonetheless. That’s not to say he’ll continue this stretch of clutch hitting indefinitely, but this run’s legitimately impressive. He has nine hits with the bases loaded, more than any other major-league hitter, and his 40 RBI rank fourth on the Blue Jays ahead of Josh Donaldson, Troy Tulowitzki and Russell Martin, among others.
“For you guys that don’t think RBIs matter, they matter a hell of a lot,” manager John Gibbons said. “Go-Go in limited at bats, he’s driven in a lot of runs for us. He’s got that knack. Some guys do.”
Without an athletic slide from Refsnyder, the Blue Jays would never have taken the lead against Liriano, who has now taken the loss in both of his Astros appearances. Left fielder Derek Fisher made an accurate throw home as Refsnyder attempted to score from second, but he evaded the tag from Brian McCann—a former teammate of his with the New York Yankees.
“He’s really exceptional at that tag,” Refsnyder said of McCann. “I’ve seen him do it a bunch, and I’ve thrown a couple of balls where he’s had to do it, so I had a feeling he was going to make that kind of tag. I was lucky enough to get in there.”
Earlier in the game, Marco Estrada provided the Blue Jays with a strong start to keep the game close. It’s one thing to shut down the Chicago White Sox, the weakest offensive team in the American League. The seven innings Estrada completed Monday were encouraging, to be sure, but they came against an objectively weak Chicago lineup. On Saturday, he prepared for a much tougher test.
The Astros are averaging nearly six runs per game, by far the most in baseball. They have 11 players with 10-plus home runs, and that’s not counting third baseman J.D. Davis, Houston’s latest call-up, who joined the team Saturday after hitting 26 home runs in the upper minors. A tough lineup, in other words, for a pitcher whose last two months have included more struggles than successes.
Estrada responded with seven strong innings at Minute Maid Park. Along the way he walked two while allowing just five hits. He struck out seven, generating 11 swinging strikes on a day his fastball topped out at 91 mph.
“That’s two really good ones in a row,” Gibbons said. “He looks like the old guy.”
“Overall my fastball command has gotten much better,” Estrada added. “I still walked (two hitters), which drives me crazy, but other than that I was around the plate and it’s really what worked for me was my fastball.”
Early home runs from Josh Reddick and Tyler White accounted for Houston’s runs against Estrada. He cruised through the middle innings before escaping a two-on, none-out jam in the seventh with a pop-up and two strikeouts.
“Honestly I don’t let that stuff get to me,” Estrada said. “It could have been bases loaded, no outs and I think about it the exact same way.”
Houston native Ryan Tepera followed up with two innings of relief, and has now pitched 56 innings on the season. Underlining how much the Blue Jays have used Tepera, only five MLB relievers had pitched more than 56 innings entering play Saturday. Roberto Osuna then struck out two batters in the 10th inning on the way to his 28th save.
The Blue Jays didn’t do much damage against Houston starter Charlie Morton, who struck out seven in his seven innings of work. A Josh Donaldson RBI double cashed in Jose Bautista in the first, and Bautista later drove in two runs of his own on ground balls. Otherwise, the Toronto lineup was quiet at the plate.
Thanks to Estrada, that was enough to keep the game close. Because the Blue Jays are in last place, much of the discussion surrounding the 34-year-old focuses on the future: will he be traded in August? Might the Blue Jays extend him? Those questions are important ones, but regardless of where that discussion leads, there’s something to be said for consistent innings down the stretch in 2017.
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