The Toronto Blue Jays and their feast-or-famine attack are hoping to find consistency against a familiar foe.
After taking two of three from the visiting Chicago White Sox last week, the Blue Jays head to Chicago on Monday for the opener of a three-game series between the struggling teams.
Toronto has lost three in a row, while the White Sox have dropped nine of 10.
After pounding the Detroit Tigers 9-1 on Thursday in the opener of a four-game road series, the Blue Jays managed just three runs in the next two games before losing a 14-11 slugfest on Sunday.
“I thought, overall, the entire offense put together good at-bats all game long,” Toronto’s Daulton Varsho said Sunday. “We just couldn’t come out on top in the end.”
The Blue Jays fell behind 5-0 after three innings and trailed 8-3 after five. Home runs from Cavan Biggio, Isiah Kiner-Falefa and Varsho helped the Blue Jays regroup. A three-run blast from Varsho punctuated a five-run Blue Jays’ outburst in the eighth and provided an 11-9 lead.
However, Toronto proved susceptible to the long ball, too, as Matt Vierling hit a walk-off three-run blast in the ninth to end the game.
“Today was a very tough game to lose,” Biggio said, “but I loved the way they fought. Their bats never seemed to stop, but we had an answer every inning, it seemed like … I think this is a very positive game for us to build off.”
The White Sox aren’t feeling that way about their most recent game, a 4-1 loss that capped a four-game sweep for the Baltimore Orioles. Chicago finished with just one hit, a pinch-hit solo home run from Danny Mendick leading off the eighth inning.
Monday’s pitching matchup is a rematch of the Blue Jays’ 9-2 home win against the White Sox on Wednesday.
Toronto right-hander Chris Bassitt (4-6, 4.39 ERA) stymied Chicago over seven shutout innings, scattering five hits and two walks and striking out four.
White Sox counterpart Nick Nastrini (0-3, 11.91) struggled Wednesday in his only career appearance against the Blue Jays. The right-hander allowed nine runs (eight earned) and seven hits in 3 1/3 innings. He walked six with no strikeouts.
Chicago has endured unevenness from its starting rotation while scuffling to the worst record in the majors, but the organization has shown it believes in Nastrini.
“One start is not going to make or break his future,” White Sox manager Pedro Grifol.
Nastrini appreciates the opportunity to channel his resilience.
“If you play this game long enough … you’re going to face adversity,” Nastrini said. “I don’t want to have a loser’s mentality about this — it kind of comes off that way — but you have to accept failure. You can’t really run from it, because it’s gonna happen. You’re gonna get punched in the face, and it’s really just how you respond from it.”
Bassitt is 4-2 with a 3.27 ERA in eight career starts against the White Sox, with 35 strikeouts in 44 innings.
–Field Level Media