Toronto Blue Jays outfielder George Springer hit his 55e career homer as leadoff in a 12-1 win over the Oakland Athletics on Sunday afternoon at Rogers Centre.
The veteran thus took the second rank in the history of major league baseball for this statistic. Only Rickey Henderson did better than him. The Baseball Hall of Famer kicked the ball out of bounds in such a situation 81 times.
Springer stretched his arms on an offering from Luis Medina and the ball landed 392 feet farther. It was his 11th home run this campaign.
The 33-year-old athlete didn’t stop there, as he also produced a run on a sacrifice fly in the sixth inning.
Having hit home runs in his last two outings, Vladimir Guerrero Jr. was unable to extend his happy streak. He still drove in a point and sprained the plate twice. Cavan Biggio meanwhile stood out with a bombshell three-pointer in the eighth.
Kikuchi’s Best Release
On the mound, Jays starter Yusei Kikuchi (7-2) had a great outing. He allowed only one run and two hits in seven innings of work, in addition to passing eight rivals in the mitt. Medina (1-7) gave up four runs, three hits from a safe place and seven walks in five engagements.
“I agree,” Blue Jays pitching coach Pete Walker said when asked by Sportsnet if this was Kikuchi’s best game this season.
“He knew we had to win this game[…]. He was on a mission and it was really in this state of mind that he was during his last departures. In this game in particular, he was very focused and determined. He wanted to continue, because he felt he was throwing the ball very well. His state of mind is really good. He realizes that he is in a pretty good position at the moment and that he wants the ball.
By virtue of this gain, the Blue Jays won their three-game series against the A’s by a score of 2 to 1. The club from the Queen City now has an appointment with the San Francisco Giants, who will be on Canadian soil for three duels. The first of them will take place on Tuesday.
2023-06-25 20:32:13
#feat #victory #George #Springer #Jays
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