2020 MLB Season: Simulating AL games, July 3-5
By Bill Felber
In this 2020 MLB season simulation, the Blue Jays take down the Yankees to move into second in AL East.
The Toronto Blue Jays are halfway through the most important week of their season.
In this week’s installment of the 2020 MLB season simulation, the Blue Jays beat the New York Yankees twice in a three-game Independence Weekend series in Toronto. Toronto’s next task is a three-game mid-week series against the AL East-leading Boston Red Sox.
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Toronto is better positioned to take on the Red Sox thanks to its performance against the Yankees. Toronto will start the Boston series just one game behind the first-place Red Sox, who will take an 11-game winning streak into it.
Outfielder Derek Fisher gave Toronto its big boost in Friday’s series opener, sending a Zach Britton pitch into the Rogers Centre ether in the eighth inning. That highlighted a three-run inning that broke a 3-3 tie and made a winner of Hyun-Jin Ryu, 10-5.
Randal Grichuk and Bo Bichette also homered for the Blue Jays.
New York evened the series Saturday, winning 3-2 behind Masahiro Tanaka, who ran his record to 9-2. On Sunday, the Yankees led 2-1 behind Gerrit Cole into the eighth inning. But when Cole surrendered the game-tying hit to Travis Shaw, Britton came on again.
He walked Teoscar Hernandez before retiring Cavan Biggio, then himself giving way to Aroldis Chapman. He retired Joe Panik to temporarily maintain the tie, but gave up a two-run home run to Lourdes Gurriel that made a 4-2 winner out of Toronto’s A.J. Cole. Ken Giles worked an uneventful ninth to gain his 24th save.
Related Story. 2020 MLB Season: Simulating AL games, June 29-July 2. light
AL East W-L Pct GB
Boston Red Sox 51-39 .567 —
Toronto Blue Jays 50-40 .556 1
New York Yankees 50-42 .543 2
Tampa Bay Rays 46-46 .500 6
Baltimore Orioles 32-61 .344 20.5