Blue Jays Clutch Plays: Jesús Sánchez Steps Up

[Matthew Creally]

Welcome back to Blue Jays Clutch Plays, a recurring post that highlights the six most pivotal plays (three pitching, three hitting) from the past week of Blue Jays baseball, according to MLB's win probability model. Click here to read last week's edition.

Just five days ago, the Blue Jays had dropped the first two games of a series at Yankee Stadium and were staring down the barrel of four consecutive games against Cam Schlittler, Carlos Rodón, Bubba Chandler, and Paul Skenes. Naturally, they won all four of those contests, marking their longest winning streak of the season. They had a chance to sweep the Pirates at home and lost the series finale on Sunday, but after salvaging their road trip and taking two out of three on the weekend, they aren't in a bad spot heading into a winnable stretch against the Marlins and Orioles. Here are the biggest moments from the week that was.

Pitching

3. Tyler Rogers: Aaron Judge GIDP, Bot 8, 5/21 (+11.0% WPA)

Toronto's pitchers had Aaron Judge figured out all series, as the Yankees' hulking slugger went 1-for-15 with eight strikeouts across the four games. In one of Judge's biggest opportunities to make something happen, Tyler Rogers whipped a sinker that dropped below the zone, and Judge rolled it over to the left side in a double play situation. Andrés Giménez positioned himself to field the ball perfectly, and Vladimir Guerrero Jr. made a nice scoop at first base to execute the twin killing and end the frame.

2. Kevin Gausman: Jake Mangum Groundout, Top 7, 5/22 (+11.7% WPA)

Kevin Gausman's biggest out of the night happened to come on his last batter. The odds were shifting in favour of the Pirates as the contact-oriented Jake Mangum came to the plate with the tying run on second in a two-run game. Not only did Gausman keep the ball on the ground, but the fact that it was hit to first with the corner infielders drawn in meant that no runs scored on the play. Vlad Jr. stepped on first, paving the way for Mason Fluharty to come in and complete the inning.

1. Louis Varland: Amed Rosario Strikeout, Bot 9, 5/20 (+14.8% WPA)

The Jays had to fight for every inch last Wednesday in New York after a lengthy rain delay gave way to an outstanding pitcher's duel between Trey Yesavage and Cam Schlittler. Things didn't come easy in the ninth, as Louis Varland allowed the tying run to get into scoring position before finding himself a strike away from making the save. With Jazz Chisholm Jr. running on the play, Varland got Amed Rosario to make a half-hearted offer at a fastball way above the zone to seal the victory. 

Hitting

3. Jesús Sánchez: RBI Double, Bot 6, 5/23 (+15.1% WPA)

Jesús Sánchez had himself a solid week, as this was the second big double he recorded in a key spot. He had Paul Skenes's number on Saturday, going 2-for-3 against him with two doubles and a 106-mph lineout. Earlier in this at-bat, Sánchez was the benefactor of a fortuitous missed check swing call by the third base umpire, but he didn't hesitate to swing at a 3-2 changeup way below the zone from Skenes, roping it into the right field corner for the go-ahead RBI.

2. Jesús Sánchez: RBI Double, Top 9, 5/18 (+21.8% WPA)

As important as it was to take the final two games of the Yankees series and earn the split, the Blue Jays were painfully close to sweeping them, losing each of the first couple games by one and stranding the tying run at third in both contests. The margins were particularly thin in Monday's back-and-forth opener, but things were looking up after Sánchez chopped one over the head of Paul Goldschmidt at first and all the way down the line to score Ernie Clement and bring the Blue Jays to within a run. 

1. Ernie Clement: 3-run HR, Top 4, 5/18 (+34.6% WPA)

Had Toronto hung on to their earlier lead or completed their ninth-inning comeback attempt, this would've gone down as the Ernie Clement Flu Game. Battling a bad case of strep throat, Ernie found himself in a two-strike, two-out situation with men on the corners and the Jays down by a run. He got a changeup that Ryan Weathers did a decent job locating, but he lofted it to left-center and it carried through the unseasonably hot air all the way over the fence. This was the Jays' fourth-most clutch hit, and Clement's biggest, of the season by WPA, surpassing his walk-off single back on opening weekend.

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