Indeed, there was a specific Ohtani-esque buzz. It was a loud game, everybody seemed to be excited and it’s nice to kick it off with the win.” “Anytime he goes anywhere, it’s a big deal,” Chapman said. The Angels appear intent on being buyers, a noble position for a club that employs two of the best players on earth, but falling six games back could, if not convince the Angels to outright sell, make them a more conservative buyer, which could help the Blue Jays, who are shopping, too.Īsked whether this game felt more intense, given the stakes or time of year, Chapman mentioned that Ohtani in town typically gets people excited, as well. With a sweep, Toronto could put the Angels six games back in the wild-card race by Sunday, only two days before the trade deadline. Schneider said he would be reassessed Saturday.īut on a more positive note for the Blue Jays, the win guarantees the Angels won’t be less than two games within striking distance of the Blue Jays by the end of the series. If there was one hiccup in the game, it was closer Jordan Romano’s exiting with two outs in the ninth with the same lower back discomfort that first bothered him in the All-Star Game. “It’s where we wanted to be at the beginning of the season in a position to come into series just like this and play teams like this where we know it makes a difference on what the rest of the year is going to look like,” he said.īut the Blue Jays put an end to the Angels’ win streak with some statement home runs from Chapman and Danny Jansen, another stellar one-run performance from Gausman, who looked more like himself after dealing with side pain earlier this month, and an escape-artist act from reliever Erik Swanson to get out of a bases-loaded jam in the seventh. “They’re playing well right now, a lot of momentum and when you’re trying to leap a couple of teams, you’re just foot on the gas all the time so, but we understand where they are,” Schneider said of the Angels before the game.įor his part, Nevin realized the magnitude of this series, too. They were a club with good vibes coming in, and the Blue Jays knew that. The Angels immediately made good on their word, too, making a trade for Friday’s starter Lucas Giolito, whom they acquired from the Chicago White Sox. Not to mention, the club made a bold declaration to be buyers at the deadline, with Sports Illustrated reporting earlier this week that Ohtani would not be traded. The Angels have been the hottest team since the All-Star break, going 9-3, and they arrived in Toronto winners of their last four games. Do the grade-school math and you’ll realize a sweep for either club could swing things dramatically in the standings, not to mention have reverberations leading into next week’s Aug. It’s only July, but this series carries significant importance in the standings and could have an impact on the playoffs.Īt the start of the three-game set, the Blue Jays were three games ahead of the Angels for the third and final American League wild-card spot. If emotions were running high, there was good reason for it. Schneider said his view of the situation was “manager and player talking about what unfolded and just leave it at that.” Just sometimes I get fired up.”Īsked whether he would give Ohtani a pitch to hit the rest of the series, Chapman smirked and said, “No comment.” “I’m competitive and I just want to win baseball games, so it’s nothing negative or anything like that. “Obviously I think there’s better ways to handle things, but it’s just one of those things that you get caught up in the moment and you get a little bit frustrated, so I think for me personally, I probably could have handled it better, but it comes from a good place. “I go out there every day, I want to win and I get passionate sometimes,” said Chapman, who hit his own solo home run in the second inning to tie the score. Amateur lip-reading suggested it was about the team’s strategy to pitch to Ohtani, who leads the majors with 39 home runs.Ĭhapman called it a “heat of the moment kind of thing” and chose to keep his comments “between me and my teammates and the coaches.” It's Chappy Hour □ /J圎sSEkCARĪfter the top of the first inning, in which Angels superstar Shohei Ohtani hit a first-pitch home run to right field off starter Kevin Gausman to put the Angels up 1-0, cameras caught Chapman making what looked like heated comments toward Schneider. “It’s nice to get game one, for sure,” said Chapman, who also spoke about his moment with Schneider after the game. In the end, the Blue Jays held on for an important 4-1 win Friday night.
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