By Emily @JaysGirlEmily

Blue Jays from Away

Game 1: Friday, April 13
JAYS WIN!!! 8-4
Starting Pitcher: Marcus Stroman
Winning Pitcher: Danny Barnes

Through the first two innings, Marcus Stroman wasn't looking very sharp, with two runs allowed on three hits in the first, and then again in the second. Mike Clevinger kept the Jays scoreless through three, with just one hit allowed, a double to Kevin Pillar. Then the momentum shifted. Stroman allowed a single and a walk in the bottom of the third, but stranded both. In the fourth, the Blue Jays hung a four-spot on Clevinger thanks to a pair of walks and an RBI single from Pillar, capped off with a three-run blast from Aledmys Diaz.

With the game tied, Cleveland lifted Clevinger after the fourth, and Stroman pitched two more scoreless innings before he was also finished. Toronto got two more baserunners, both on errors, in the fifth and sixth, but neither scored. Danny Barnes pitched the sixth and allowed a pair of hits, but was spared a run by a heads-up play at the plate made by Devon Travis and Russell Martin.

The Jays finally pulled ahead in the seventh, as, with a man on third and one out, Steve Pearce pinch-hit and reached on a fielder's choice (Randal Grichuk was thrown out at the plate because the contact play had been on). Pearce advanced on a passed ball and scored on a Teoscar Hernandez double off Andrew Miller. The Blue Jays bullpen put up three more scoreless innings, but their bats weren't done. They added insurance in the top of the ninth thanks to a Diaz single, Travis getting hit with a pitch, Pearce driving them in with a double, and Hernandez driving in Pearce again (with another double, no less). The Jays had seven hits, and the Clevelands had twelve.

Game 2: Saturday, April 14

Jays... didn't play.

Saturday's game was cancelled due to rain. It will be made up on Thursday, May 3 at 1:10 p.m. (that was previously an off-day for the Jays to travel between cities).

Game 3: Sunday, April 15

Jays didn't play again.

The third and final game in this series was also cancelled. May 3 will now be a doubleheader in Cleveland, beginning at 1:10. So technically, that means they swept the series, right?

Overall Notes:

Josh Donaldson was put on the DL before the start of this series with inflammation in his right shoulder. This would seem to be a continuation of the "dead arm" problem he suffered on Opening Day - not that it's gotten worse, but that it isn't progressing as well as he or the team would have hoped. The stint was backdated to April 11, meaning he could return as early as the series in New York next weekend. Teoscar Hernandez was called up as Donaldson's replacement in the lineup.

My Favourite Player(s) This Series: Pillar/Diaz/Hernandez

It's not a very big sample to pick from, but all three of the above players had two hits in Friday's game.

Kevin Pillar was 2-for-4 with a double, an RBI and a run scored. Aledmys Diaz was 2-for-4 with a home run, three RBI, and two runs scored. Teoscar Hernandez went 2-for-5 with a pair doubles and two RBI.

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