Blue Jays survive Hoffman meltdown to earn rare series win

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On Tuesday in Anaheim, the Blue Jays were attempting to string together their first three-game win streak since they opened the season as reigning American League champions.

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In the process, they also were attempting to capture their first series win since the opening weekend against the visiting Athletics.

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Not much has gone right for the Jays in the intervening weeks, a stretch that has seen the club experience almost as many injuries as wins.

Along the way, six successive series were lost.

To suggest the club has rediscovered its mojo would be a stretch.

Fashioning a 4-2 win over the host Los Angeles Angels in a tightly contested Tuesday night tussle should inspire confidence, while also providing some much-needed comfort, not to mention relief given the wild events of the ninth inning.

A series sweep is now in play.

The following are three takeaways on a night closer Jeff Hoffman became unhinged in the ninth, mercifully lifted as Louis Varland was asked to record his first big-league save, a milestone reached when his first pitch led to a game-ending double play.

1. Vlad to the Bone

To borrow a line courtesy of the Jays’ media relations department, the face of the franchise entered the night riding an 11-game hit streak.

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Angel Stadium was the site of Vladimir Guerrero Jr.’s first road game when he broke into the big leagues in 2019, and is the former home of his hall of fame dad.

During his hit streak, Vlad Jr. has gone 20-for-44.

In his first at-bat Tuesday night, he grounded into a double play after Ernie Clement reached base on a sharply hit single.

Nathan Lukes was back at leadoff with Daulton Varsho, who has hit as high as second in the order, batting sixth.

The Jays threatened in the second inning and had runners on second and third.

Kazuma Okamoto grounded out, followed by a flyout to right field by Andres Gimenez to end the inning.

Gimenez hit the ball hard, but all-world outfielder Jo Adell got a great jump before securing the third out.

In the third, Clement hit into an inning-ending double play.

Vlad Jr. lined out to third to leadoff the fourth inning.

2. Big Fish in a Small Pond

The Angels have toiled playing in the shadow of the nearby Dodgers, the two-time defending champions whose roster is dotted with marquee names.

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Mike Trout used to have Shohei Ohtani as a teammate with the Angels, but the club never reached the stage where it captured the national attention from a team perspective.

Trout hit five of his seven long balls during an epic series in New York against the Yankees last week.

Against Jays starter Patrick Corbin, Trout has gone 2-for-14 with seven strikeouts in career matchups with the left-hander.

Corbin got the better of Trout when he induced a long out to right field in the first inning.

One start in A-ball, a not-so impressive start in his Toronto debut, even though the Jays did earn the win over the visiting Twins, and yet Corbin appears to have found his footing.

Through two innings against the Angels, Corbin needed 19 pitches to record the six outs.

Corbin issued a leadoff walk in the third inning, but it was erased on groundball the Jays turned into a double play.

The frame ended with Corbin recording his second strikeout on the night.

A three-up, three-down fourth featured Corbin inducing a groundout to Trout.

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L.A. recorded its first hit off Corbin on a one-out single in the fifth inning.

A second hit put runners on the corners before a sac fly opened the game’s scoring.

Corbin would provide the Jays with five complete innings of two-hit ball.

Once viewed as a desperate fill-in to address a depleted starting rotation, Corbin is earning the $1 million the Jays doled out.

Regardless of what happens with Corbin moving forward, the money was well spent.

3. Rare K for Clement

The Jays don’t strike out very often.

In fact, no team in baseball has struck out fewer times than the Jays.

One of the best to put the ball in play is Clement.

It’s why the sight of Clement swinging through a pitch for the third strike is so rare.

In his third at-bat Tuesday, Clement did strike out.

It was his seventh K of the season in Clement’s 94th at-bat.

After Clement’s whiff, Vlad Jr. reached base on an infield hit that should have been ruled an error, a costly missed play as Vlad Jr. would come around to score on an Eloy Jimenez sac fly.

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Vlad Jr. went from first to third on a Jesus Sanchez single.

The hit given to Vlad Jr. extended his streak to 12 games.

With a base open in the eighth inning following a one-out double to Clement, Vlad Jr. was intentionally walked.

Both would score as the visitors took control.

Up Next

First pitch in Wednesday’s series is scheduled for 3:07 p.m., with RHP Jose Soriano looking to improve on his 5-0 record and sterling ERA of 0.28 for the host Angels, while LHP Eric Lauer is scheduled to take the ball for the visitors; Lauer earned the win in his season debut, but he’ll enter his scheduled outing with a 1-3 record and a 7.13 ERA; Wednesday also marks the finale of a nine-game trip for the Jays, who dropped four of their first six before arriving in SoCal; Wednesday is also the day George Springer (big toe) is technically eligible to be activated from the IL, but no one expects the veteran back, at least not now as he continues to improve.

fzicarelli@postmedia.com

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