George Springer, Bo Bichette and Daulton Varsho will look to flex their muscles again on Wednesday night when the visiting Toronto Blue Jays chase a series victory against the Cincinnati Reds.
Springer hit two homers, and Bichette and Varsho each went deep for the second time in as many days in Toronto’s 12-9 victory on Tuesday.
The power surge allowed the Blue Jays (80-59) to maintain a 2 1/2-game lead in the American League East.
The setback, however, was the ninth in the last 12 games for the reeling Reds (70-69), who reside five games behind the New York Mets in the race for the third and final wild-card berth in the National League.
Springer has batted a blistering .402 (43-for-107) with 10 homers since the All-Star break, while Bichette is hitting .367 with 23 RBIs in his last 27 games.
Bichette responded to seeing his career-best 14-game hitting streak end Sunday by getting four hits in the Blue Jays’ 5-4 setback to the Reds on Monday. He added a three-run shot in the second inning on Tuesday, while Varsho had a solo shot in the seventh.
Cincinnati chipped away at an early seven-run deficit to force Toronto to delve into its bullpen.
“We got them into their bullpen way before they wanted to,” Reds manager Terry Francona said. “We knew we were up against it going into it. … They’ve got a pretty good guy starting (Wednesday), but I hope it helps.”
That “pretty good guy” is Toronto’s Shane Bieber (1-1, 2.38 ERA), who will start on Wednesday in the series finale against Cincinnati’s Zack Littell (9-8. 3.63) in a battle of right-handers.
Bieber recorded his second straight strong performance but walked away with a loss last Friday. The 2020 AL Cy Young Award winner allowed two runs on five hits over 5 1/3 innings in a 7-2 setback to the Milwaukee Brewers.
“For me, there’s some frustration,” Bieber said, per the Toronto Star. “I thought I could have finished stronger, but it’s a privilege to be frustrated again. So I’m happy to take the good with the bad and move forward.”
Bieber, 30, has struck out 15 without walking a batter in his two starts since returning from Tommy John surgery. He is 4-0 with a 3.20 ERA in six career appearances (all starts) against Cincinnati.
Bieber would be wise to keep a keen eye on Cincinnati’s Austin Hays, who went deep for the second time in three games with a three-run shot in the second inning on Tuesday. He also had an RBI double in the fourth.
Should the Blue Jays need a rested arm after using six pitchers on Tuesday, they can consider Ryan Borucki. The left-hander was called up from Triple-A Buffalo prior to Tuesday’s game. He was designated for assignment on Aug. 15 by the Pittsburgh Pirates.
Meanwhile, Littell, 29, yielded four runs for the third time in four outings in a no-decision vs. the St. Louis Cardinals on Friday in a 7-5 Reds loss in 10 innings.
He is 2-0 with a 3.48 ERA in five career appearances (three starts) against Toronto.
–Field Level Media
