Late-game walks turn winnable games into another Blue Jays’ loss

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Maybe it’s the break being just around the corner, but the Blue Jays are playing free and easy these days and it has been working for them.

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Unfortunately for the Jays the injury-plagued bullpen has not been part of that free and easy feel and it was the pen that let them down in Arizona on Friday night in a tough 5-4 loss.

With three normally key pieces of the Toronto pen either hurt or down on the farm trying to find their form, any relief pitching for Toronto has been heavily reliant on a couple of healthy vets in Chad Green and Trevor Richards and those two are starting to show signs of that workload catching up to them.

Richards, who suffered a loss Tuesday in San Francisco when he wild pitched in the winning run, came on in the eighth protecting a 4-2 lead.

A pair of walks and wild pitches were his undoing this night as both would score on an Alek Thomas single to shallow left as Arizona tied the game.

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When the Jays couldn’t manage anything against the Diamondbacks’ fireballer closer Justin Martinez, it fell to Green to extend the game in the bottom of the ninth.

Green, who has given up a run in two of the three past appearances before last night, picked right up where Richards left off walking the bases loaded before a sacrifice fly from Geraldo Perdomo won it for the Diamondbacks.

The Diamondbacks only had six hits all night, and only two of them were for extra bases but

Between Green, Richards, and starter Yariel Rodriguez, they combined for eight walks with three of those coming around to score.

The fact that they were the three runs that turned the game around only made it hurt more.

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Coming off back-to-back series wins to start this road trip and looking to make it three series wins in a row and five wins in the past six games, the Jays fell behind early but it didn’t shake them.

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And it didn’t shake them when starter Rodriguez with his pitch count up early, lasted just four innings.

Instead, they patiently chipped away at the deficit and calmly worked their way back from chasers to leaders … at least temporarily.

With the All-Star break beginning after Sunday’s game, this team seems to be playing with ease and confidence that hasn’t been seen much to this point this season.

The Jays didn’t mount much of any offensive attack until the game was five innings old and once they started chipping away the confidence started growing.

Kevin Kiermaier plated the first run with a one-out groundout to the right side that was hit just softly enough to get Alejandro Kirk home from third.

An inning later George Springer led off with a triple into the alley in right centre. Spencer Horwitz brought him home with a fly ball to left to tie the game.

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In the seventh former Diamondback Daulton Varsho used his knowledge of the ballpark to turn a sure-fire double into a triple again leading off the inning.

Ernie Clement, an out later, brought him home following a nine-pitch at bat against Arizona starter Ryne Nelson whose fastball was still sitting consistently at 97 seven innings into the game.

Clement got the job done with a fly ball to centre and with Varsho running there was little chance for centre fielder Alek Thomas to throw him out.

Toronto wound tack on what would be an important insurance run in the eighth when they loaded the bases on three consecutive singles before Vladimir Guerrero Jr. brought home Toronto’s fourth and final run of the game with the third Toronto sacrifice fly of the night.

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Even the bullpen initially looked like they would fall in line with the rest of the team as Genesis Cabrera, Ryan Buff and Brendon Little all gave John Schneider’s Jays a scoreless inning to get the game into the eighth.

Richards and Green though couldn’t seem to find the strike zone and another winnable game for the Jays went in the books as a loss.

The two teams will go at it again tonight with eight-game winner Jose Berrios taking on Arizona’s Yilber Diaz who will be making just his second Major League start.

A BLUE JAYS FOR NOW

Kevin Kiermaier has cleared waivers opening the door for the Jays to facilitate a trade and get the $4-plus million off their books or potentially just release the 10-year veteran.

It can’t be a good feeling for the four-time gold-glover but it’s not exactly news that a team floundering for most of the year would turn its attention to its bottom line once playoff contention seems more hope than actuality.

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