Peete Alonso blasted his 41st home run, and the Baltimore Orioles put an end to the Toronto Blue Jays’ postseason dreams with a 4-2 win in Wednesday’s doubleheader opener, booting the defending American League champs right out of the race.
Alonso Levels Up, Bassitt Shines
What a game from Alonso! That two-run shot in the fifth pulled him even with Houston’s Yordan Alvarez and Tampa Bay’s Junior Caminero for the AL lead in homers. And get this, he’s already eight RBIs ahead of Alvarez for the league lead. He could seriously mess with Alvarez’s Triple Crown pursuit, man. Meanwhile, Chris Bassitt was dealing, taking a shutout deep into the sixth inning. He gave up two runs and seven hits in five-plus innings before getting pulled. Those two runners he left on base eventually scored, but only after a throwing error by second baseman Jeremiah Jackson. Jackson wasn’t all bad though, he nailed an RBI single in the second and later pulled off a wild rundown play that allowed Colton Cowser to score from third. Andrew Kittredge locked it down in the ninth for his 11th save.
The Blue Jays’ Bitter End and Scherzer’s Crossroads
So the Blue Jays, sitting at 77-81, are officially done. Their best shot now is just to finish .500. It’s crazy to think this is the same team that pushed the Los Angeles Dodgers to extra innings in Game 7 of the World Series last season. Ouch. Max Scherzer, at 42 years old, had a rough outing. He gave up four runs and four hits in five innings, taking his record to 3-9. It was his 500th career appearance and 491st start, a massive milestone, but it was overshadowed by the loss. He struck out seven and walked three. Scherzer’s already talking about coming back on short rest to pitch Sunday in the season finale, and you just know he’s got something big to say about his future in the next couple days. What a way for a legend’s season, and maybe even career, to wind down.
Sunday’s season finale could be a huge moment for Scherzer and baseball fans everywhere. Will he pitch? Will he announce his future? The Blue Jays are just playing out the string, but you gotta wonder what changes are coming after this kind of season.
This article was created with AI assistance and published under Seattle On Tap’s editorial standards. See our Editorial Policy.
Originally reported by Yahoo Sports.
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