In a season in which the Blue Jays seem to have had someone new step up every day, Sunday’s spotlight shone on Tommy Nance.
The right-handed reliever, in just his sixth game on the roster, was thrust into huge leverage and got the job done spectacularly in an 8-6 win over the San Francisco Giants at the Rogers Centre聽鈥 the surging Jays’ 10th straight victory at home.
“You need everyone when you’re trying to go for a sweep,” manager John Schneider said after his team completed its third consecutive home sweep, before a crowd of聽41,693. “Couple of guys down, (other) guys have got to step up and they did. Gold star of the day for Tommy, for sure.”
Nance, a 34-year-old journeyman, made 20 appearances with last year’s last-place Jays. He was waived through the league at the end of spring training with no takers and spent the first half of this season pitching to a 5.74 ERA in Buffalo.
But with one out in the seventh, the Jays clinging to a two-run lead and a runner on second base, the call went to the veteran to face Giants cleanup hitter Willy Adames, who had homered twice in Saturday’s 6-3 Jays win. Nance struck him out on three pitches, then retired Mike Yastrzemski on a weak grounder to first.
Nance was sent back out for the eighth and proceeded to strike out former Jay Matt Chapman and Dominic Smith before getting Brett Wisely to hit a lazy fly ball to end the inning. Five up, five down. Yariel Rodr铆guez retired the Giants in order in the ninth for his second big-league save, leaving the dangerous Rafael Devers in the on-deck circle.
With聽closer Jeff Hoffman and top left-hander Brendon Little having pitched both Friday and Saturday, the Jays bullpen was thin in the third game after a four-day all-star break. Nance and Rodr铆guez provided a huge shot in the arm and left-hander Justin Bruihl helped out, too, with a big strikeout of Devers after giving up a leadoff double in the seventh.
“They were ready,” starter Jos茅 Berr铆os, who worked 5 2/3 innings and picked up his sixth win of the season, said of his unexpected setup relievers. “They took advantage and they did their work. That’s great for them and also for the team. That’s why we’re called Blue Jays team. Everybody has to contribute to every win.”
The bats contributed early after the Giants scored a fluke first-inning run, on a Jung Hoo Lee fly ball that Davis Schneider lost in the sun for a double and a softly hit RBI single by Heliot Ramos that followed.
Vladimir Guerrero Jr. tied it right away with his 13th homer, a two-out solo shot off Robbie Ray (who won a Cy Young with the Jays in 2021), and Bo Bichette put the home side on top for good with a two-out, two-run double in the third, just past the outstretched glove of Ramos in left field.
The Jays appeared to put it away with a four-run fifth聽鈥 they had a four-run inning in each of the three wins over San Francisco聽鈥 with George Springer belting his team-leading 17th home run and Addison Barger adding his 14th, a two-run shot. But the Giants responded with four runs of their own in the sixth, including a Chapman homer that sent Berr铆os to the showers.
The bullpen locked it down from there, led by Nance.
Manoah and Varsho
The Dunedin Blue Jays beat the Yankees’ Tampa affiliate Sunday with Alek Manoah on the mound. The big right-hander, who had Tommy John surgery last June, allowed a run on three hits with no walks and two strikeouts over two innings, throwing 28 pitches and averaging 93.3 m.p.h. on his fastball. He could be back by mid-August.
Outfielder Daulton Varsho could be back a lot sooner. The gold glover, rehabbing a May 30 hamstring strain, belted a three-run homer in the same game and played six innings in centre field. His next game will likely be in Buffalo with the Triple-A Bisons on Tuesday.
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