Relievers Zach Pop, Adam Cimber, Anthony Bass, Yimi Garcia and closer Jordan Romano were a big reason the Blue Jays (61-51) snapped a three-game losing streak with a 2-1 win over Cleveland. Guardians (60-53) on Saturday. With Cleveland up 1-0, Toronto starter Mitch White found himself in trouble with two outs in the fourth inning. Toronto interim manager John Snyder then turned the game over to his relievers. They shut down the visitors to allow Matt Chapman and Teoscar Hernandez to hit solo homers to lead off the fifth and seventh innings, respectively. “Zach came in to clean up my mess,” White said. “I don’t mind passing the torch to them. They were awesome.” Bass and pop were two weapons added to the Blue Jays bullpen at the trade deadline. Bass (3-3) earned the win for his seventh clean sheet. “You can’t say enough about the work they did from Pop to Cimber and Bass to Yimi,” Schneider said. “Everybody came up. “They’ve been really, really good for a while. So it’s been a good fit after Mitch and just a credit to those guys. They’ve all been pretty much.” The bullpen has shined the last two games with a combined 9 ⅓ shutout innings. In Friday’s opener, an 8-0 loss, Pop, Trevor Richards, Trent Thornton, Cimber and David Phelps each pitched a shutout inning. Romano, meanwhile, earned his 26th save in a four-strikeout performance Saturday, the fourth time he’s gone more than an inning since Snyder replaced Charlie Montoyo. “Romano showed he can do it,” Snyder said. “I trust him on any point, really.” The Guardians (60-53) saw their six-game winning streak end before 44,977 at the Rogers Centre. Cleveland opened with a run in the first inning. Steven Kwan led off with a walk and advanced to second when Canada’s Josh Naylor reached on a two-out walk. Andres Jimenez knocked in Quan with a single to center. Toronto shortstop Vladimir Guerrero Jr. extended his hitting streak to a career-high 22 games with a double in the opener. But for the most part, the Blue Jays continued to be stymied by Cleveland’s pitching. Finally, Chapman led off the fifth inning with a blast to left-center to tie the game and end a 16-game scoreless streak for Toronto. Chapman’s game-tying homer also tied him for the team lead with Guerrero at 23. With the game tied, Hernandez took Cleveland starter Tristan McKenzie (8-9) deep to left center for his 17th homer. “It was a tough time,” Hernandez said. “We’ve faced a lot of good pitchers.” Blue Jays center fielder Raimel Tapia made two great catches. With a runner on first and nobody out, the left-handed outfielder made a diving catch to his left on a drive by Amed Rosario in the first inning. In the fifth inning, Tapia lined a home run over his right shoulder into the warning track in left-center off the bat of Jose Ramirez to end the inning with runners on first and second. Tapia was also thrown out at home plate, trying to score on a single from second base to end the seventh inning. Toronto’s White went 4 ⅔ innings, giving up a three-hit streak with three strikeouts and three walks. After a rough first inning, White retired eight in a row before a fourth at Gimenez. STRIPED RETURNS Ross Stripling returned to the Blue Jays on Saturday after a successful five-inning rehab start for Triple-A Buffalo on Friday. He could find a spot in the rotation as early as Wednesday if the Blue Jays decide to give struggling Jose Berrios an extra day of rest. NEXT Toronto’s Kevin Gausman (8-8) will face Cleveland’s Shane Bieber (7-6) in the series finale on Sunday. The Blue Jays continue their six-game homestand with the first of three against the Baltimore Orioles on Monday. This report by The Canadian Press was first published on August 13, 2022
