(Toronto) It’s only late July, but the playoff vibe has arrived at Rogers Center in Toronto.
Matt Chapman and Danny Jansen hit solo home runs in the second and third innings for the Blue Jays, who beat the Los Angeles Angels 4-1 on Friday night.
The Torontonians snapped the Angels’ four-game winning streak and secured an important victory in the American playoff race.
“We’re fighting for a playoff spot every day,” Chapman said. To have that as an afterthought and to continue to play as a team and for each other, things are going well at the moment. »
Whit Merrifield was 3-for-4 with a homer for the Blue Jays (58-46), who won for the 13th time in their last 19 outings, including four of their last five. Bo Bichette pushed Merrifield home with a double in the sixth.
The Blue Jays are five games behind the Baltimore Orioles and the top of the American East Division. They also hold the third and last rank of the drafted teams. The Angels are four games out of that position, while the Boston Red Sox and New York Yankees are between them.
“It’s not September yet,” said Merrifield, who was leading off on the pitch rather than George Springer. Matches will be less dramatic than later this season. But they are still important against formations that will be in the race. »
Kevin Gausman (8-5) was superb in more than six innings on the mound, adding nine strikeouts to his total. He leads the American League with 171 strikeouts this season. The right-hander limited opposing batters to five hits and three walks.
Yimi Garcia closed the books and was credited with a third save this season.
Angels star Shohei Ohtani homered in the first inning. The Japanese hit the first shot in his direction over the fence to right field. It was his 39th home run of the season, a Major high.
“Looking back, that was obviously too good a throw,” Gausman said. I think we did a good job afterwards to pull ourselves together and vary our shots. He wasn’t the most valuable player for nothing. »
Lucas Giolito (6-7) went five and a third innings in his first outing with the Angels. He gave up three runs, six hits and five walks.
Giolito was traded to the Angels by the Chicago White Sox along with right-handed pitcher Reynaldo Lopez on Wednesday.
