MLB: Blue Jays defeated Athletics 12-1

TORONTO –

George Springer hit his 11th home run of the season to lead the Toronto Blue Jays 12-1 past the Oakland Athletics 12-1 on Sunday.

Cavan Biggio added a late three-run homer in the five-run eighth inning as Toronto (43-36) got two wins in the three-game set with the Athletics. Santiago Espinal had a two-run double, while Vladimir Guerrero Jr. and Bo Bichette each had an RBI single as the Blue Jays had 11 hits.

Starter Yusei Kikuchi (7-2) was fantastic, striking out eight and limiting the Athletics to only two hits and a seven-inning run.

Relievers Trent Thornton and Bowden Francis held Oakland scoreless the rest of the way.

Tony Kemp’s solo shot in the sixth was the only attack the humble Athletics (20-60) could muster.

Luis Medina (1-7) gave up four runs – three earned – in five innings on four hits and seven walks, with four strikeouts. Ken Waldichuk and Yacksel Rios jointly cough up eight points.

Springer opened the game with a 392-foot bomb to center field. It was the 55th career opening home run, the second highest in Major League Baseball history, surpassing Alfonso Soriano’s 54. Hall of Fame outfielder Rickey Henderson is the all-time leader with 81.

Guerrero scored another run in the first when Oakland midfielder Esteury Ruiz wobbled his single, allowing Whit Merrifield to get around the bases for a 2–0 Toronto lead.

Springer accounted for another Toronto-run in the second inning when, with the bases loaded, he grounded into a double play. That gave Espinal time to run home.

Toronto again loaded the bases in the third, this time scoring a run when Medina’s wild pitch off Kevin Kiermaier went past track and field catcher Shea Langeliers. All three Blue Jays-runners advanced and Matt Chapman scored.

Kemp cut into Toronto’s four-run lead in the sixth, leading off the inning with his third home run of the season. He took a four-seam 150 mph fastball—Kikuchi’s first pitch of the inning—110 yards to the right to make it 4–1.

Springer drove in another run in the bottom of that inning. After Kiermaier reached on a triple, Springer hit a towering sacrifice fly deep into center field, leaving Rogers Center’s 41,069 fans wanting the ball over the wall. Although it fell into Ruiz’s glove, Kiermaier trotted home with ease.

Espinal extended that lead in the seventh when his single escaped Ruiz’s extended glove and bounced over the wall in centerfield for a ground-rule double. Bichette and Guerrero took that for a 7-1 lead.

In the eighth, Oakland moved in the infield with runners on second and third base and American League hit leader Bichette at the plate. But that defensive trick didn’t work, as Bichette singled into left field to drive in catcher Tyler Heineman.

The Blue Jays continued to pile on in the inning. Guerrero grounded into a fielder’s choice that scored Springer. Biggio then brought home Guerrero and Chapman with his seventh home run of the season, a 110-yard bomb off Rios for the game’s final score.

ON DECK — Toronto has Monday off before hosting the San Francisco Giants in a three-game interleague series. The rival Boston Red Sox will visit Rogers Center starting Friday.

The Athletics also have Monday off and travel back to Oakland on Tuesday to host the New York Yankees.

This report from The Canadian Press was first published on June 25, 2023.