Alejandro Kirk and the Toronto Blue Jays are carrying plenty of momentum into Friday’s opener of a three-game road series against the Philadelphia Phillies.
Toronto has won 12 of its last 14 games, including a three-game road sweep of the St. Louis Cardinals this week. The Blue Jays received key contributions from many players during the series, but Kirk led the way by going 9-for-15 (.600) with two doubles, two homers and four RBIs.
Ernie Clement had a home run and a double among three hits in Wednesday’s 5-2 victory, while Kirk and Vladimir Guerrero Jr. each supplied a pair of hits.
“Every time we get punched in the mouth, we punch right back,” said Clement, who left the game late with a leg injury that manager John Schneider downplayed. “That’s just so exciting, when they score a run and you score two. It’s the most fun we’ve had as a group this year and in past years.”
Toronto will look to Kevin Gausman (5-4, 3.87 ERA) to keep the good vibes going on Friday. The veteran right-hander is coming off a quality start against the Minnesota Twins on Saturday when he allowed three runs and four hits over six innings.
Gausman has made nine career appearances (eight starts) against Philadelphia, going 1-4 with a 4.24 ERA.
The Phillies will counter with left-hander Ranger Suarez (4-1, 2.70), who has been terrific since a bumpy season debut. He has allowed just six earned runs over his last six starts, good for a 1.36 ERA over that stretch.
In his last outing, Suarez gave up two runs and five hits over seven innings of a 2-1 road defeat to the Pittsburgh Pirates.
“He really pitched good,” Phillies manager Rob Thomson said. “First-pitch strikes. Command of the zone. His changeup was really good. … That was a really good day’s work.”
Suarez has never started against Toronto. He worked 2 1/3 scoreless innings of relief against the Blue Jays in a game back in 2021.
The Phillies are coming off a productive series against the Chicago Cubs when they won two of three, including a 7-2 victory Wednesday.
Philadelphia has struggled to hit home runs, particularly since Bryce Harper went on the injured list Saturday with a wrist inflammation, but Kyle Schwarber and Alec Bohm both went deep in Wednesday’s win.
“I thought we swung the bats very well,” Thomson said. “In this series, we had a lot of hits — a lot of singles, I understand that — but I liked our approach.”
Jesus Luzardo allowed one run in six innings and struck out 10 for Philadelphia, which had lost nine of its previous 10 games entering that series.
“That’s a good club over there,” Thomson said. “They can really swing the bats, so to win the series against them is huge.”
The Blue Jays took two of three from the Phillies in Toronto earlier this month. Kirk delivered the walk-off hit in the second game of that series before registering three more hits in the finale.
–Field Level Media
