Max Scherzer pitches six strong innings as Blue Jays defeat Rockies

The first four innings of this game saw no scoring. After a scoreless top of the fifth, the Blue Jays started to get some traffic, hitting two singles and drawing a walk to lead the bases with one out. Up stepped Jesús Sánchez, who hit an up-the-middle single. Vladimir Guerrero Jr. drew a walk to give the Jays a 2-0 lead.

Hunter Goodman’s home run in the top of the sixth was the lone run that the Rockies scored, but the Jays responded in the bottom of the seventh. It started with a Sánchez single, followed by a Guerrero Jr. single. Kazuma Okamoto drove in a run with a single, then Nathan Lukes hit an RBI single of his own. The inning was capped off by an RBI double from Ernie Clement.

Takeaways…

Mason Fluharty made his third appearance of the season, striking out a batter and allowing a hit in his two-thirds of an inning. Braydon Fisher got Fluharty out of that inning, then pitched a scoreless eighth. Jeff Hoffman got the final three outs in a non-save situation, striking out a batter in the process. 

Jesús Sánchez has continued his hot start, finishing the game with two singles. Both of those were important, as he drove in the first run of the game with his first, and started the three-run inning with his second.

Kazuma Okamoto also had continued his great start, driving in an insurance run in the bottom of the seventh. Every single Blue Jay had a hit in this game, with Sánchez, Nathan Lukes, Vladimir Guerrero Jr. and Tyler Heineman all finishing with two hits. The Jays finished with 14 hits, although they struck out 10 times.

The Jays have a chance to win their second consecutive series and move their record to 5-1. However, they have to get through Kyle Freeland on Wednesday. It’s a getaway day, with a start time of 1:07 PM ET. Kevin Gausman starts for the Blue Jays.